Documents

Electrical Engineering Students Wishlist

dychen — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 14:09:47 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by dychen on 4/1/2023 2:09:47 PM

What should Electrical Engineering students buy for their first semester?

Electrical Engineering (EE) is a field that encompasses a wide range of specialties, but for students learning the basics, there are some tools that apply to almost everything, and make learning more interesting and fun.

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to set you up for a life in Electrical Engineering.

The Basics

Basic Tools

As an EE student, you'll want to have your own basic set of tools to make your life easier. These are some of tools that every EE needs, no matter what their specialty:

Needle-nose Pliers -

Electronic components are tiny and wiring up those tiny connectors is something our hands are just not built for. Needle-nose pliers are essential for any kind of circuit building.

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Stripper

One of my lab partners use to strip wires with his teeth. With a few bites, a twist, and a pull, he'd have any gauge wire stripped and ready to go. For us regular people, wire strippers are mandatory.

Wire Strippers

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Loupes or magnifying glasses are incredibly helpful when soldering or working with a breadboard.

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Tweezers

I don't envy anyone who has to modify a circuit made up of surface mount components, but for those types of jobs, eagle eyes, steady hands, patience, and a good set of tweezers are required.

Tweezers Six Pack

Breadboard

A breadboard is a quick prototyping tool where you can plug components and wires into holes to quickly connect them. Most labs will provide the necessary breadboard, but having one at your disposal is very handy.

Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard

DC Power Supply

Circuits need a power source and for classroom projects, 5-12V should be sufficient.

Bench Power Supply

Soldering

Every EE should keep their soldering tools handy. Whether it's building cables or modifying/repairing equipment, soldering tools get a lot of use on the workbench.

Soldering Iron -

Soldering starts with a good iron. Because they're main task is melting things, they need to have enough power; 40W should do the job. A higher wattage iron doesn't get hotter, it maintains its temperature better. Every time an iron melts solder, it cools down. A higher wattage iron will heat back up more quickly. There's not much that's more frustrating than blobs of solder are taking forever to melt because the iron isn't getting hot fast enough.

Soldering Iron

Helping Hand and Circuit Board Holder - You can always tell who likes to solder by the burn marks on their knees. We've all done it; holding a PCB or connector between our knees, with a soldering iron in one hand and a wire in the other. No matter how careful you are, you're going to hit your knee at some point! Growing a third arm is the best solution, but since science isn't quite there yet, save your knees with a Helping Hand setup or a circuit board holder.

Helping Hand -

Helping Hands

Circuit board holder -

Circuit Board Holder

Wicks and Desoldering Pumps -

Sometimes things won't go right, and you'll find that you accidentally shorted two pins on an IC. Use a wick or a desoldering pump (or both) to remove that extra solder after you've heated it up.

Solder Wick

Desoldering pump

Soldering Iron cleaner -

Soldering irons quickly get oxidized. To keep them clean, brass shavings are more effective than a wet sponge (although a wet sponge does make that cool sizzling sound).

Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner

Solder - Of course, don't forget the solder!

Solder

Test Equipment

Testing is tricky with complex circuits. In order to make sure the different parts of the circuit are doing what you want them to, you need tools to measure the signal at each point.

Multimeter -

Multimeters measure voltage, resistance, and current, the basic and most important measurements in electronics. Want to know if a component is broken? Measure across it; if the voltage drop is 0V, then it's broken.

Digital Multimeter

Oscilloscope - Oscilloscopes measure electrical signals mapped against time, useful for viewing the outputs of capacitors and inductors, distortion and noise, and clocked digital signals.

PC USB Oscilloscope -

USB Oscilloscope

Software

A big part of electrical engineering in the modern world is software. Most designs can be modeled and optimized before the first resistor even gets plugged into the breadboard.

PSpice - a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) circuit simulator that lets you design and simulate circuits built from a library of almost every component and IC available.

https://www.pspice.com

MATLAB - MATLAB (MATrix LABoratory) is used by many EEs to solve the complex math that arises from engineering problems. MATLAB simplifies matrix manipulations, graphing, creating algorithms, and with add-on toolkits, differential equations and linear algebra.

https://www.mathworks.com

Simulink - Simulink is a GUI add-on for MATLAB from Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. It lets you combine graphical and textual programming, making MATLAB easier to use.

https://www.mathworks.com

LabVIEW - LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instruments Engineering Workbench) from National Instruments is software that connects with measurement devices in order to control, retrieve, and analyze their data.

Labview

PI Expert - PI Expert from Power Integrations is a free tool that lets you design power supplies based on the specifications you need. It's a great learning tool in that you can switch parts in and out to see their effect on the circuit. It can even automatically optimize your design.

https://www.power.com/piexpert/

3D Printer

3D printers are on everyone's wishlist, but for EEs, they are especially useful. EEs are always in need of custom enclosures, mounts, risers, shims, and more. 3D printers can even print out entire sets of tools for the workbench. Because of advancing technology, prices have come down in recent years.

Ender 3 PRO 3D Printer

Microcontrollers and Single Board Computers

The integration of hardware and software has produced some of the most innovative devices out there. Microcontrollers and single board computers (SBC) are powerful learning tools to get you familiar with combining software and hardware.

Arduino

Arduino is a microcontroller that functions as an interface for a variety of hardware, including sensors, robots, displays, and more. It comes with its own development environment where you can write code (C++) to control the hardware attached to it. You can find Arduinos everywhere, from classrooms to automated factory floors.

Arduino Nano 33 IoT

Raspberry Pi is entire computer packed onto a single board, capable of running any software compatible with the Linux operating system. Several manufacturers build "hats", small boards designed to interface with Pi that connect specifically to different types of hardware.

Raspberry Pi 4 2GB

Scientific Calculator

Last but not least, a good scientific calculator is mandatory for any EE student.

Mine was the legendary Hewlett Packard 28S (https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp28c.htm).

This $235 beast did everything, graphing, unit conversions, and it was the first Reverse Polish Lisp (RPL) (https://www.hpmuseum.org/rpl.htm) calculator.

However, the feature you really need as an EE student is solving matrices; any basic circuits class will have you solving hundreds. No one wants to solve matrices by hand! Luckily, these days, you don't need to pay $200 for a scientific calculator. Whether you're using iOS or Android, pop on your App Store and search for "scientific calculator" to pull up some low cost or even free alternatives to the monster HP.

Tags: what should i buy?, students, stem, electrical engineering, wishlist

Electrical Engineering Students Wishlist and Giveaway!

dychen — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 12:20:52 GMT

Revision 5 posted to Documents by dychen on 3/28/2023 12:20:52 PM

What should Electrical Engineering students buy for their first semester?

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to set you up for a life in Electrical Engineering.

The Basics

Basic Tools

As an EE student, you'll want to have your own basic set of tools to make your life easier. These are some of tools that every EE needs, no matter what their specialty:

Needle-nose Pliers -

Electronic components are tiny and wiring up those tiny connectors is something our hands are just not built for. Needle-nose pliers are essential for any kind of circuit building.

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Stripper

Wire Strippers

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Loupes or magnifying glasses are incredibly helpful when soldering or working with a breadboard.

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Tweezers

I don't envy anyone who has to modify a circuit made up of surface mount components, but for those types of jobs, eagle eyes, steady hands, patience, and a good set of tweezers are required.

Tweezers Six Pack

Breadboard

Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard

DC Power Supply

Circuits need a power source and for classroom projects, 5-12V should be sufficient.

Bench Power Supply

Soldering

Every EE should keep their soldering tools handy. Whether it's building cables or modifying/repairing equipment, soldering tools get a lot of use on the workbench.

Soldering Iron -

Soldering Iron

Helping Hand -

Helping Hands

Circuit board holder -

Circuit Board Holder

Wicks and Desoldering Pumps -

Sometimes things won't go right, and you'll find that you accidentally shorted two pins on an IC. Use a wick or a desoldering pump (or both) to remove that extra solder after you've heated it up.

Solder Wick

Desoldering pump

Soldering Iron cleaner -

Soldering irons quickly get oxidized. To keep them clean, brass shavings are more effective than a wet sponge (although a wet sponge does make that cool sizzling sound).

Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner

Solder - Of course, don't forget the solder!

Solder

Test Equipment

Testing is tricky with complex circuits. In order to make sure the different parts of the circuit are doing what you want them to, you need tools to measure the signal at each point.

Multimeter -

Digital Multimeter

Oscilloscope - Oscilloscopes measure electrical signals mapped against time, useful for viewing the outputs of capacitors and inductors, distortion and noise, and clocked digital signals.

PC USB Oscilloscope -

USB Oscilloscope

Software

A big part of electrical engineering in the modern world is software. Most designs can be modeled and optimized before the first resistor even gets plugged into the breadboard.

PSpice - a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) circuit simulator that lets you design and simulate circuits built from a library of almost every component and IC available.

https://www.pspice.com

https://www.mathworks.com

Simulink - Simulink is a GUI add-on for MATLAB from Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. It lets you combine graphical and textual programming, making MATLAB easier to use.

https://www.mathworks.com

Labview

https://www.power.com/piexpert/

3D Printer

Ender 3 PRO 3D Printer

Microcontrollers and Single Board Computers

Arduino

Arduino Nano 33 IoT

Raspberry Pi 4 2GB

Scientific Calculator

Last but not least, a good scientific calculator is mandatory for any EE student.

Mine was the legendary Hewlett Packard 28S (https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp28c.htm).

This $235 beast did everything, graphing, unit conversions, and it was the first Reverse Polish Lisp (RPL) (https://www.hpmuseum.org/rpl.htm) calculator.

Tags: what should i buy?, students, stem, electrical engineering, wishlist

Electrical Engineering Students Wishlist and Giveaway!

dychen — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:57:04 GMT

Revision 4 posted to Documents by dychen on 3/23/2023 2:57:04 PM

What should Electrical Engineering students buy for their first semester?

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to set you up for a life in Electrical Engineering.

Electrical Engineering Wishlist Giveaway

STEM Giveaway Prize

Tenma DC Powersupply
Multicomp Breadboard
Multicomp Soldering Iron

Questions:

What was the first thing you learned in engineering school that stuck with you throughout your career?
What is missing from this list?

Terms:

Post your answer as a comment below between 21st September 2021 and 31st October 2021.
The best answers will be chosen by the element14 community team, and you will be shipped your prize (or local equivalent) free of charge.

List of Items:

The Basics

Basic Tools

As an EE student, you'll want to have your own basic set of tools to make your life easier. These are some of tools that every EE needs, no matter what their specialty:

Needle-nose Pliers -

Electronic components are tiny and wiring up those tiny connectors is something our hands are just not built for. Needle-nose pliers are essential for any kind of circuit building.

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Stripper

Wire Strippers

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Loupes or magnifying glasses are incredibly helpful when soldering or working with a breadboard.

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Tweezers

I don't envy anyone who has to modify a circuit made up of surface mount components, but for those types of jobs, eagle eyes, steady hands, patience, and a good set of tweezers are required.

Tweezers Six Pack

Breadboard

Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard

DC Power Supply

Circuits need a power source and for classroom projects, 5-12V should be sufficient.

Bench Power Supply

Soldering

Every EE should keep their soldering tools handy. Whether it's building cables or modifying/repairing equipment, soldering tools get a lot of use on the workbench.

Soldering Iron -

Soldering Iron

Helping Hand -

Helping Hands

Circuit board holder -

Circuit Board Holder

Wicks and Desoldering Pumps -

Sometimes things won't go right, and you'll find that you accidentally shorted two pins on an IC. Use a wick or a desoldering pump (or both) to remove that extra solder after you've heated it up.

Solder Wick

Desoldering pump

Soldering Iron cleaner -

Soldering irons quickly get oxidized. To keep them clean, brass shavings are more effective than a wet sponge (although a wet sponge does make that cool sizzling sound).

Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner

Solder - Of course, don't forget the solder!

Solder

Test Equipment

Testing is tricky with complex circuits. In order to make sure the different parts of the circuit are doing what you want them to, you need tools to measure the signal at each point.

Multimeter -

Digital Multimeter

Oscilloscope - Oscilloscopes measure electrical signals mapped against time, useful for viewing the outputs of capacitors and inductors, distortion and noise, and clocked digital signals.

PC USB Oscilloscope -

USB Oscilloscope

Software

A big part of electrical engineering in the modern world is software. Most designs can be modeled and optimized before the first resistor even gets plugged into the breadboard.

PSpice - a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) circuit simulator that lets you design and simulate circuits built from a library of almost every component and IC available.

https://www.pspice.com

https://www.mathworks.com

Simulink - Simulink is a GUI add-on for MATLAB from Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. It lets you combine graphical and textual programming, making MATLAB easier to use.

https://www.mathworks.com

Labview

https://www.power.com/piexpert/

3D Printer

Ender 3 PRO 3D Printer

Microcontrollers and Single Board Computers

Arduino

Arduino Nano 33 IoT

Raspberry Pi 4 2GB

Scientific Calculator

Last but not least, a good scientific calculator is mandatory for any EE student.

Mine was the legendary Hewlett Packard 28S (https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp28c.htm).

This $235 beast did everything, graphing, unit conversions, and it was the first Reverse Polish Lisp (RPL) (https://www.hpmuseum.org/rpl.htm) calculator.

Tags: what should i buy?, students, stem, electrical engineering, wishlist

Electrical Engineering Students Wishlist and Giveaway!

dychen — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:45:28 GMT

Revision 3 posted to Documents by dychen on 3/23/2023 2:45:28 PM

What should Electrical Engineering students buy for their first semester?

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to set you up for a life in Electrical Engineering.

Electrical Engineering Wishlist Giveaway

STEM Giveaway Prize

Tenma DC Powersupply
Multicomp Breadboard
Multicomp Soldering Iron

Questions:

What was the first thing you learned in engineering school that stuck with you throughout your career?
What is missing from this list?

Terms:

List of Items:

The Basics

Basic Tools

As an EE student, you'll want to have your own basic set of tools to make your life easier. These are some of tools that every EE needs, no matter what their specialty:

Needle-nose Pliers -

Electronic components are tiny and wiring up those tiny connectors is something our hands are just not built for. Needle-nose pliers are essential for any kind of circuit building.

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Stripper

Wire Strippers

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Loupes or magnifying glasses are incredibly helpful when soldering or working with a breadboard.

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Tweezers

I don't envy anyone who has to modify a circuit made up of surface mount components, but for those types of jobs, eagle eyes, steady hands, patience, and a good set of tweezers are required.

Tweezers Six Pack

Breadboard

Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard

DC Power Supply

Circuits need a power source and for classroom projects, 5-12V should be sufficient.

Tenma Bench Power Supply

Soldering

Every EE should keep their soldering tools handy. Whether it's building cables or modifying/repairing equipment, soldering tools get a lot of use on the workbench.

Soldering Iron -

Beginner Soldering Iron

Helping Hand -

Helping Hands

Circuit board holder -

Circuit Board Holder

Wicks and Desoldering Pumps -

Sometimes things won't go right, and you'll find that you accidentally shorted two pins on an IC. Use a wick or a desoldering pump (or both) to remove that extra solder after you've heated it up.

Solder Wick

Desoldering pump

Soldering Iron cleaner -

Soldering irons quickly get oxidized. To keep them clean, brass shavings are more effective than a wet sponge (although a wet sponge does make that cool sizzling sound).

Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner

Solder - Of course, don't forget the solder!

Solder

Test Equipment

Testing is tricky with complex circuits. In order to make sure the different parts of the circuit are doing what you want them to, you need tools to measure the signal at each point.

Multimeter -

Digital Multimeter

Oscilloscope - Oscilloscopes measure electrical signals mapped against time, useful for viewing the outputs of capacitors and inductors, distortion and noise, and clocked digital signals.

PC USB Oscilloscope -

USB Oscilloscope

Software

A big part of electrical engineering in the modern world is software. Most designs can be modeled and optimized before the first resistor even gets plugged into the breadboard.

PSpice - a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) circuit simulator that lets you design and simulate circuits built from a library of almost every component and IC available.

https://www.pspice.com

https://www.mathworks.com

Simulink - Simulink is a GUI add-on for MATLAB from Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. It lets you combine graphical and textual programming, making MATLAB easier to use.

https://www.mathworks.com

Labview

https://www.power.com/piexpert/

3D Printer

Ender 3 PRO 3D Printer

Microcontrollers and Single Board Computers

Arduino

Arduino Nano 33 IoT

Raspberry Pi 4 2GB

Scientific Calculator

Last but not least, a good scientific calculator is mandatory for any EE student.

Mine was the legendary Hewlett Packard 28S (https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp28c.htm).

This $235 beast did everything, graphing, unit conversions, and it was the first Reverse Polish Lisp (RPL) (https://www.hpmuseum.org/rpl.htm) calculator.

Tags: what should i buy?, students, stem, electrical engineering, wishlist

Electrical Engineering Students Wishlist and Giveaway!

Matt — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 09:30:59 GMT

Revision 2 posted to Documents by Matt on 3/2/2022 9:30:59 AM

What should Electrical Engineering students buy for their first semester?

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to set you up for a life in Electrical Engineering.

Electrical Engineering Wishlist Giveaway

STEM Giveaway Prize

Tenma DC Powersupply
Multicomp Breadboard
Multicomp Soldering Iron

Questions:

What was the first thing you learned in engineering school that stuck with you throughout your career?
What is missing from this list?

Terms:

List of Items:

The Basics

Basic Tools

As an EE student, you'll want to have your own basic set of tools to make your life easier. These are some of tools that every EE needs, no matter what their specialty:

Needle-nose Pliers -

Electronic components are tiny and wiring up those tiny connectors is something our hands are just not built for. Needle-nose pliers are essential for any kind of circuit building.

Needle Nose Pliers

Wire Stripper

Wire Strippers

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Loupes or magnifying glasses are incredibly helpful when soldering or working with a breadboard.

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Tweezers

I don't envy anyone who has to modify a circuit made up of surface mount components, but for those types of jobs, eagle eyes, steady hands, patience, and a good set of tweezers are required.

Tweezers Six Pack

Breadboard

Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard

DC Power Supply

Circuits need a power source and for classroom projects, 5-12V should be sufficient.

Tenma Bench Power Supply

Soldering

Every EE should keep their soldering tools handy. Whether it's building cables or modifying/repairing equipment, soldering tools get a lot of use on the workbench.

Soldering Iron -

Beginner Soldering Iron

Helping Hand -

Helping Hands

Circuit board holder -

Circuit Board Holder

Wicks and Desoldering Pumps -

Sometimes things won't go right, and you'll find that you accidentally shorted two pins on an IC. Use a wick or a desoldering pump (or both) to remove that extra solder after you've heated it up.

Solder Wick

Desoldering pump

Soldering Iron cleaner -

Soldering irons quickly get oxidized. To keep them clean, brass shavings are more effective than a wet sponge (although a wet sponge does make that cool sizzling sound).

Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner

Solder - Of course, don't forget the solder!

Solder

Test Equipment

Testing is tricky with complex circuits. In order to make sure the different parts of the circuit are doing what you want them to, you need tools to measure the signal at each point.

Multimeter -

Digital Multimeter

Oscilloscope - Oscilloscopes measure electrical signals mapped against time, useful for viewing the outputs of capacitors and inductors, distortion and noise, and clocked digital signals.

Handheld Oscilloscope

PC USB Oscilloscope -

USB Oscilloscope

Logic Analyzer - If you're debugging a digital circuit, a logic analyzer is incredibly useful. Logic analyzers take signals from multiple points in the circuit and show you if they're 1 or 0. This shows you how every component is interacting, which makes chasing down a bug in a complex digital circuit much easier.

Logic Analyser

Software

A big part of electrical engineering in the modern world is software. Most designs can be modeled and optimized before the first resistor even gets plugged into the breadboard.

PSpice - a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) circuit simulator that lets you design and simulate circuits built from a library of almost every component and IC available.

https://www.pspice.com

https://www.mathworks.com

Simulink - Simulink is a GUI add-on for MATLAB from Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. It lets you combine graphical and textual programming, making MATLAB easier to use.

https://www.mathworks.com

Labview

https://www.power.com/piexpert/

3D Printer

Ender 3 PRO 3D Printer

Microcontrollers and Single Board Computers

Arduino

Arduino Nano 33 IoT

Raspberry Pi 4 2GB

Scientific Calculator

Last but not least, a good scientific calculator is mandatory for any EE student.

Mine was the legendary Hewlett Packard 28S (https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp28c.htm).

This $235 beast did everything, graphing, unit conversions, and it was the first Reverse Polish Lisp (RPL) (https://www.hpmuseum.org/rpl.htm) calculator.

Tags: what should i buy?, students, stem, electrical engineering, wishlist

What Do I Need to Teach STEM? STEM Educator and Wishlist Giveaway

Matt — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 09:30:51 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by Matt on 3/2/2022 9:30:51 AM

What Do I Need to Teach STEM?

Summer is wrapping up in the northern hemisphere, and students are heading back to school. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2019–29 employment projections show that occupations in the STEM field are expected to grow 8 percent by 2029, compared with 3.7 percent for all other occupations.

Clearly STEM is an important and in-demand field of expertise, so get your students started in the world of engineering by introducing them to the tools and building blocks that are used to design the devices that we use every day.

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to help you educate the next generation.

STEM Giveaway

STEM Giveaway Prize

Duratool Digital Multimeter
BBC micro:bit Club Box set with 10x micro:bits

Questions:

1) Engineers, tell us about your favorite teacher, and why they were your favorite
2) What item are we missing from this list?

Terms:

Post your answer as a comment below between 3rd September 2021 and 15th October 2021.
The best answers will be chosen by the element14 community team, and you will be shipped your prize (or local equivalent) free of charge.

List of Items:

The Basics

Computational Thinking

BBC micro:bit

Teaching logic and computational thinking is the first step for many children into a life of engineering of any kind. The BBC micro:bit comes with educational lesson plans and is a great teaching tool for any level.

We also have our own BBC micro:bit v2 resources in the dedicated micro:bit space.

Single BBC micro:Bit

BBC micro:bit GO

10 x Club STEAM Set

10 x BBC micro:bit set

Measurement and Power

Multimeter – An electrical engineer’s best friend. A multimeter reads voltage, current, and resistance, basic measurements that are important in any circuit.

Bench -

Multicomp Pro 3.7" Bench Multimeter

Handheld -

Duratool Handheld Digital Multimeter

Oscilloscope – Electrical measurements aren’t always fixed; some of them change with time! An oscilloscope maps electrical signals against time. Pair it with a function generator to see the difference between a sine wave and a square wave, or plug a capacitor in there and watch those square waves turn into shark fins!

Digital Oscilloscope -

Multicomp Pro Digital Oscilloscope

Handheld Oscilloscope -

Handheld Oscilloscope

Function Generator – A function generator creates different waveforms at different voltages. Function generators generally allow you to specify voltage, frequency, and the type of waveform. Very useful in learning about AC power, audio, clocking, RF, and more.

Function Generator -

Bk Precision Function Generator

Bench Power Supply – A digital circuit might require 5V, while an analog audio circuit might require +/-15V. A bench power supply makes it convenient to jump from project to project, even when the voltages are different.

Bench Power Supply

Multicomp Pro Bench Power Supply

Building Circuits – The Basics

Breadboard – Breadboards let you quickly wire up a circuit without having to solder wires. Simply plug wires into the right holes and they’re connected. Breadboards also have rails for power and are compatible with ICs (integrated circuits).

Breadboard -

Multicomp Breadboard

Jumper wire – Don’t skimp on wire; you’ll need a lot of it! Make sure you have a variety of colors, because no one like to debug a circuit when all the wires are the same color and can't be easily told apart.

Jumper Wire Kit -

Multicomp Jumper Wire Kit

Components

Passive Components

Passive components are components that change the power flowing through a circuit, but do not require power themselves. Passive components include resistors, capacitors, inductors, and more.

Semiconductors – Discrete

Semiconductors come in two varieties: discrete and integrated circuit. A discrete component is a component with just one circuit element. Passive components like resistors and capacitors are discrete components; however, there are also active ones, like transistors and diodes. These serve multiple purposes, from switching to amplifying and more.

Semiconductors – IC

Integrated circuits are chips containing multiple components. ICs are incredibly advanced, with analog and digital chips designed for a wide variety of purposes. Examples of analog chips include audio op-amps, filters, and amplifiers, while digital chips can run the gamut from a simple NAND logic gate to the most advanced FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Simple logic gates are ideal for teaching the fundamentals of digital circuits.

Op Amp – an op amp is a high gain electronic voltage amplifier. They are used in many devices, ranging from consumer to industrial. An MC1458 is a commonly used dual op amp.

Op Amp

Quad NAND Gate – a NAND gate is an example of a digital logic gate. A NAND gate returns a 0 only if both of its inputs are 1.

Nexperia Quad NAND Gate

OR Gate – an OR gate is another type of logic gate. An OR returns a 1 if either input is 1. If both are 0, it returns a 0.

Logic OR Gate

555 Timer – A 555 timer generates a pulse that is useful for many applications, but for simple digital circuits, it works wonderfully as a clock to keep everything running.

555 Timer

Interfacing with the Outside World

Now that you’ve got the pieces to build a circuit, you’ll need some components that let the circuit do something, whether it be turning on a bulb, reproducing audio, or running a motor.

Switches – these turn things on and off, whether it be power, an LED, or turbo mode on your robotic vehicle.

Rocker Switch -

E-Switch Red Rocker Switch

Toggle Switch -

Eaton Toggle Switch

Potentiometers Overview – a variable resistor that lets the user adjust the level of a signal, for example audio volume or the intensity of a light bulb.

Wirewound -

Bourns Wire Wound Rotary Potentiometer

Slider -

Bournes Slider Potentiometer

LED – Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs are a great way to display what’s happening in a circuit. They come in different colors, and you can get them to blink.

LED Overview

LEDs -

Red LED Set

LED Array -

LED Array

Piezo buzzer – A piezo buzzer beeps when it gets voltage. They’re a great audio notification; remember the classic board game Operation?

PUI Audio Buzzer

Stepper motor – Motors are very versatile tools, and building a circuit to control one is a great learning tool. Whether the motor is attached to wheels or spooling an excess cable, motors let users immediately see what the circuit is doing.

Stepper Motor -

Stepper Motor

Sensors (inc Transducers) – sensors detect changes in the environment around them, and come in a tremendous variety of types, making pretty much any interactive circuit possible. Photo, magnetic, and vibration sensors make for great learning tools in the lab.

Photo sensor -

TT Electronics Optical Sensor

IR detector -

Sharpe Light Detector

Magnetic sensor -

Honeywell Magnetic Field Sensor

Vibration sensor -

Vibration Sensor

STEM Giveaway

As mentioned above, if you want to be in the running to win the giveaway mentioned earlier in this document, just answer these questions in the comments below:

Questions:

1) Engineers, tell us about your favorite teacher, and why they were your favorite
2) What item are we missing from this list?

Terms:

Post your answer below between 3rd September 2021 and 15th October 2021.
The best answers will be chosen by the element14 community team, and you will be shipped your prize (or local equivalent) free of charge.

Tags: competition, stem, microbit, introduction to electronics, giveaway

What Do I Need to Teach STEM? STEM Educator and Wishlist Giveaway

e14phil — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 09:16:39 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Documents by e14phil on 10/12/2021 9:16:39 AM

What Do I Need to Teach STEM?

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to help you educate the next generation.

STEM Giveaway

STEM Giveaway Prize

Duratool Digital Multimeter
BBC micro:bit Club Box set with 10x micro:bits

Questions:

1) Engineers, tell us about your favorite teacher, and why they were your favorite
2) What item are we missing from this list?

Terms:

List of Items:

The Basics

Computational Thinking

BBC micro:bit

We also have our own BBC micro:bit v2 resources in the dedicated micro:bit space.

Single BBC micro:Bit

BBC micro:bit GO BBC micro:bit GO

10 x Club STEAM Set

10 x BBC micro:bit set10 x BBC micro:bit set

Measurement and Power

Multimeter – An electrical engineer’s best friend. A multimeter reads voltage, current, and resistance, basic measurements that are important in any circuit.

Bench -

Multicomp Pro 3.7" Bench MultimeterMulticomp Pro 3.7" Bench Multimeter

Handheld -

Duratool Handheld Digital MultimeterDuratool Handheld Digital Multimeter

Digital Oscilloscope -

Multicomp Pro Digital OscilloscopeMulticomp Pro Digital Oscilloscope

Handheld Oscilloscope -

Handheld OscilloscopeHandheld Oscilloscope

Function Generator -

Bk Precision Function GeneratorBk Precision Function Generator

Bench Power Supply

Multicomp Pro Bench Power SupplyMulticomp Pro Bench Power Supply

Building Circuits – The Basics

Breadboard -

Multicomp BreadboardMulticomp Breadboard

Jumper Wire Kit -

Multicomp Jumper Wire KitMulticomp Jumper Wire Kit

Components

Passive Components

Passive components are components that change the power flowing through a circuit, but do not require power themselves. Passive components include resistors, capacitors, inductors, and more.

Semiconductors – Discrete

Semiconductors – IC

Op Amp – an op amp is a high gain electronic voltage amplifier. They are used in many devices, ranging from consumer to industrial. An MC1458 is a commonly used dual op amp.

Op AmpOp Amp

Quad NAND Gate – a NAND gate is an example of a digital logic gate. A NAND gate returns a 0 only if both of its inputs are 1.

Nexperia Quad NAND GateNexperia Quad NAND Gate

OR Gate – an OR gate is another type of logic gate. An OR returns a 1 if either input is 1. If both are 0, it returns a 0.

Logic OR GateLogic OR Gate

555 Timer – A 555 timer generates a pulse that is useful for many applications, but for simple digital circuits, it works wonderfully as a clock to keep everything running.

555 Timer555 Timer

Interfacing with the Outside World

Now that you’ve got the pieces to build a circuit, you’ll need some components that let the circuit do something, whether it be turning on a bulb, reproducing audio, or running a motor.

Switches – these turn things on and off, whether it be power, an LED, or turbo mode on your robotic vehicle.

Rocker Switch -

E-Switch Red Rocker SwitchE-Switch Red Rocker Switch

Toggle Switch -

Eaton Toggle SwitchEaton Toggle Switch

Potentiometers Overview – a variable resistor that lets the user adjust the level of a signal, for example audio volume or the intensity of a light bulb.

Wirewound -

Bourns Wire Wound Rotary PotentiometerBourns Wire Wound Rotary Potentiometer

Slider -

Bournes Slider Potentiometer Bournes Slider Potentiometer

LED – Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs are a great way to display what’s happening in a circuit. They come in different colors, and you can get them to blink.

LED Overview

LEDs -

Red LED SetRed LED Set

LED Array -

LED ArrayLED Array

Piezo buzzer – A piezo buzzer beeps when it gets voltage. They’re a great audio notification; remember the classic board game Operation?

PUI Audio BuzzerPUI Audio Buzzer

Stepper Motor -

Stepper MotorStepper Motor

Photo sensor -

TT Electronics Optical SensorTT Electronics Optical Sensor

IR detector -

Sharpe Light DetectorSharpe Light Detector

Magnetic sensor -

Honeywell Magnetic Field SensorHoneywell Magnetic Field Sensor

Vibration sensor -

Vibration SensorVibration Sensor

STEM Giveaway

As mentioned above, if you want to be in the running to win the giveaway mentioned earlier in this document, just answer these questions in the comments below:

Questions:

1) Engineers, tell us about your favorite teacher, and why they were your favorite
2) What item are we missing from this list?

Terms:

Tags: competition, stem, microbit, introduction to electronics, giveaway

MicroMemories : A BBC Micro Retrospective - Part 1

Former Member — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:30:06 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by Former Member on 10/8/2021 8:30:06 AM

With the unveiling of the BBC micro:bit, the BBC is putting its name behind a new piece of electronics. But this is not the BBC's first such foray: over thirty years ago, at a time when few people had ever set eyes on such a thing, the BBC commissioned the development of a new personal computer. This is part one of a retrospective on that venerable icon of British technology, the BBC Micro.

BBC Micros were often found in large swarms

[Photo: Flickr user Rain Rabbit, cc-by-nc]

A tale of two machines

The early eighties were interesting years for home computing in the UK. The BBC Micro was released in late 1981, the ZX Spectrum a few months later, and the Commodore 64 made it across the pond by 1983, having been released in the US the previous August.

The Spectrum, the successor to the minimalist ZX81, retailed for £125 (with 16K of RAM) or £175 (with 48K). Less than half the cost of the £399 BBC model B, many corners were cut to reach that price point, such as the much-loathed rubber keyboard. (The men behind the Spectrum, Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers, went on to create an even more minimalist machine, the Jupiter Ace. In a market eager for bigger and better, it sank without a trace.)

Instead the Beeb, as the BBC-branded machine was affectionately known, went head-to-head with the similarly-priced Commodore 64. They had much in common: they both consisted of a single unit with a full-travel keyboard, they both had an 8-bit 6502 CPU at their core, they both came with BASIC in ROM, they both plugged into a TV set (if you couldn't afford a monitor) and loaded programs from audio cassette (if you couldn't afford a disc drive), they were both widely used for games, and they both sold by the million.

But the difference in philosophy between the two machines was substantial, due in no small part to their respective manufacturers.

Commodore owned the chip fabrication company MOS, makers of the 6502. They designed a custom 6502 variant, the 6510, along with custom video and sound chips for their new machine, initially intended to be a games console. Acorn had no such resources: they had whatever they could buy off-the-shelf, and ingenuity.¹ Instead their real expertise was software: they already had several years' experience writing code for the 6502, including a BASIC interpreter, the idiosyncratic Atom BASIC.

So Acorn's strategy in designing the BBC Micro was clear. Step 1: make the CPU run as fast as possible. Step 2: write good code.

Step 1 was achieved by the inclusion of newly-emerging 4MHz DRAM chips (Sophie Wilson relates how Acorn got their hands on the fewer-than-half-a-dozen chips that existed in the UK at the time). With memory clocked at 4MHz the CPU could run at 2MHz, accessing RAM every other cycle, while the video subsystem soaked up the remaining cycles. This allowed the Beeb to offer a full 80-column bitmapped screen—640×256 individually-addressable pixels—while running the CPU at full speed, a feat the much-more-expensive IBM PC achieved only by having a separate 16K of video RAM.² For comparison, the Commodore 64 clocked its processor at just under 1MHz, and even at that speed some cycles were stolen for video.

Step 2 was just a Small Matter Of Programming. (“A lot of work... but we're used to that” —Sophie Wilson again.) Not so much a machine as a platform, the BBC Micro was the first microcomputer with a vision. An early step in a far-reaching design, abstraction was key: BASIC was logically distinct from the operating system, which offered an enormous API for programmers in all languages.

“The floppy drive weighs more than 3 laptops”

[Photo: Flickr user Scott Simpson, cc-by-nc-nd]

Arguably the Commodore 64 was the more capable machine, certainly for games, but the Beeb was vastly more useful out-of-the-box. While the C64 had powerful custom graphics and sound chips, they were largely invisible to new users. Its BASIC, licensed from Microsoft, was text only: it lacked any graphics commands, and was incapable of drawing even text when in anything other than the default character-based video mode. As for sound, it couldn't so much as beep without the user poking hardware registers.

The Beeb, on the other hand, offered a high-resolution graphics package in ROM, which included an exceptionally useful “filled triangle” operation. Triangles were useful on the Beeb for much the same reasons that they remain useful today as the hardware primitive for almost all 3D graphics. A documentary from 1983 shows some of the possibilities, as well as an example of the kind of television programmes the BBC produced having commissioned the machine.

Sound was equally well catered for, and in general the operating system exploited the hardware to the hilt. Combined with an excellent BASIC implementation, and befitting the niche it found in education, the Beeb was a computer for getting things done.

[1] The Beeb, like the Spectrum, had a custom video ULA (an early factory-programmable precursor to modern FPGAs). But it was essentially just a fast look-up table—what would now be called a RAMDAC—and nowhere near the complexity of Commodore's full custom ASIC designs.

[2] Sadly for PC users, the video RAM was slow to write to and wasn't dual-ported, leading to the infamous “CGA snow” effect.

Tags: micro:bit, micro_bit, microbit, micro_memories, retro, micromemories, acorn, bbc_micro, stem space

2015 Calendar - Wheel of Resistance

Robert Peter Oakes — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 08:01:18 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by Robert Peter Oakes on 10/8/2021 8:01:18 AM

Hi Everyone, I was sent a link to a rather special PDF that will be of interest to you, compliments of Vishay Foil Resistors

check out the new “2015 Wheel of Resistance”, special edition for Black Friday

I was given permission to link it at E14 for everyone here to share so here it is

http://www.vishaypg.com/docs/63523/63523.pdf

download and Print to what ever size suits your needs, Compliments of Vishay Foil Resistors, a VPG brand.

Many thanks to Yuval Hernik

Enjoy

Peter

Tags: vishay, calandar, stem space

Raspberry Pi Education Survey Prize Draw Terms & Conditions

lbittner — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 07:59:10 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by lbittner on 10/8/2021 7:59:10 AM

1. This prize draw is run by Premier Farnell plc (Premier Farnell or we (including our or us) on the following terms and conditions. Anyone who enters this prize draw is referred to in these terms and conditions as entrant or you.

2. In entering this prize draw you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions applicable to this prize draw at any time (the T&Cs). Please note that this includes agreeing to your name and town and country of residence being disclosed as winner if requested by any other entrant in accordance with 6 below

3. Premier Farnell reserves the right to change these T&Cs from time to time and amended T&Cs will be posted to Raspberry Pi Education Survey Prize Draw T&Cs. Please refer to this page for the T&Cs in effect at any time.

4. This prize draw will be run during the period from October 2014 to 31 December 2014 (unless Premier Farnell decides to bring the prize draw to an end before this date).

5. This prize draw is not open to: a. Anyone below the age of 18 years b. Anyone who is a public sector employee c. Any person who is a resident of a Restricted Country (see 9 below} d. Anyone who is an employee of Premier Farnell, any company in the Premier Farnell group of companies or any agency representing Premier Farnell.

6. To enter the prize draw, entrants must complete in full the online survey available at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/computingcurriculum in its entirety (including the provision of contact information requested in that survey) by not later than 23:59 BST on 31 December 2014. Only one entry will be accepted per person, regardless of the number of surveys completed.No purchase is necessary to enter this prize draw.

7. The potential winner will be selected at random using an online random number generator from all qualifying entries on 1 January 2015 and will be notified by phone or email of his or her win within one week. Premier Farnell reserves the right to withdraw any unclaimed Prize at its discretion and to select a replacement winner if it sees fit. Details of the winner may be obtained by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Raspberry Pi education Survey Drawing, attention Louise Andrews, EML Wildfire, The Albany Boathouse, Lower Ham Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, UK, KT2 5BB after 1 January 2015.

8. The winner will win (1) Raspberry Pi Starter Kit (with an approximate retail value of £34.99) (non-discounted)) (the Prize). The Prize is non-negotiable and non-refundable and no cash alternative will be offered. Premier Farnell reserves the right to replace the Prize with other goods of similar or greater value as Premier Farnell sees fit in its sole discretion. There is no right to any refund in respect of any Prize returned.

9. The Prize will be sent by Premier Farnell’s usual delivery methods. Premier Farnell is not liable if the Prize is lost or damaged in transit.

10. This prize draw is not open to residents of Australia;Belgium;Denmark;Israel,Italy;New Zealand;The Netherlands;Norway;Poland;Portugal;Russia;Spain;Sweden; Switzerland who are ineligible to participate in this prize draw due to local requirements. Each of these countries is referred to as a Restricted Country.

11. No responsibility will be accepted for entries which are not received for any reason, including technical error. Premier Farnell is not responsible for hardware or software failures of any kind; lost or unavailable network connections; failed, incomplete or garbled computer or telephone transmissions; typographical or systems errors; problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers or computer equipment; or technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or any combination thereof.

12.Premier Farnell is not responsible for any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from this prize draw or other telecommunications malfunctions, which may limit an entrant's ability to participate. Premier Farnell reserves the right to verify the eligibility of any winner before a Prize is sent and may require proof of identification and age. If Premier Farnell suspects fraud or misconduct, (including without limitation any attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the prize draw by cheating, hacking, deception, or other unfair practices or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrants or our representatives) or a winner or potential winner does not meet the eligibility requirements, his or her Prize may be withheld or withdrawn and another potential winner selected. The eligibility requirements include the requirements of 15 below.

13.We reserve the right to withdraw or amend the prize draw or extend the period of participation in our sole discretion. Premier Farnell will not be liable for any such withdrawal or change to the prize draw. If, for any reason, this prize draw is not capable of running as planned due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or any other causes beyond our control, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the prize draw, we reserve the right at our sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the prize draw.

14. Entrants and winners are responsible for all applicable taxes, duties or other charges payable in relation to this prize draw or any

15. You may not enter the prize draw if, by doing so, you may cause Premier Farnell and/or you to be in breach of any agreement (including but not limited to any contract of employment) to which you are a party or in breach of any duty, law, regulation or rule having the force of law to which you or Premier Farnell may be subject. Premier Farnell reserves the right to disqualify any entry made in breach of this condition.

16. Premier Farnell respects the policies of employers which forbid entry to and/or the acceptance of prizes by their employees. If requested to do so by Premier Farnell, a winner must obtain signed authorisation from duly authorised senior employee of his or her employer confirming the winner’s permission to accept the Prize.

17. The Prize is not supplied with the benefit of any warranties from Premier Farnell and is only supplied with the benefit of any warranty which may be provided by the manufacturer of the relevant item. All further warranties or representations are hereby expressly excluded to the fullest extent permitted at law. Without limiting the generality of this exclusion, Premier Farnell hereby excludes all and any liability arising out of the prize draw or the acceptance, use, quality condition, suitability or performance of the Prize, even where arising from Premier Farnell’s negligence.

18. Premier Farnell does not exclude liability for death, personal injury arising or damage to property from its negligence, or for breach of Part II of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, for fraud or for any matter in relation to which it would be illegal for Premier Farnell to exclude or attempt to exclude our liability.

19. Any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales and you irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with this prize draw.

20. Please address any queries relating to this prize draw to jpatterson@premierfarnell.com.

Tags: education services sub space, stem space

How the BBC micro:bit became a ‘game changer’ for Singapore’s schools

e14phil — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 22:21:13 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14phil on 10/6/2021 10:21:13 PM

How the BBC micro:bit became a ‘game changer’ for Singapore’s schools

“Combining an excellent product with strong project management delivered results”

Background

In 2017, Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched the Digital Maker Programme (DMP). The programme aims to nurture a new generation of digital natives who are empowered to create with technology, in order to cultivate real-world problem solving, encourage digital creativity and innovation, as well as foster collaboration and co-creation with fellow digital makers.

The objective was to introduce basic block-based computer coding into schools and communities in a way that was enjoyable, interesting and engaging. Rather than users simply learning coding, the IMDA wanted them to understand how to make a microcontroller or computer perform a task, how to communicate with a physical object, and to grasp the benefits of using such technology.

Two years before the DMP project began, most teachers and head-teachers in Singapore schools would not be able to explain the role of microcontrollers within the Internet of Things or how the IoT would impact people on an everyday basis. Today, more than 800 educators know something about the subject and have coded a micro:bit using Microsoft MakeCode.

Adrian Lim, Director of the IMDA’s Digital Literacy and Participation Division, says: “It is important to remember that our project was never about the technology only, it was always about the people who use it – the students, the teachers and the community. We did not want to give them a device then leave them alone to try it without proper support and scaffolding. Successful outcomes could only be achieved by combining an excellent product with sound project implementation, planning and execution.”

Introducing the micro:bit has been seen as a “game-changer” for Singapore and has been so successful due to genuine buy-in and ownership from schools, particularly from teachers of non-technical and computing subjects such as Art, Geography, Mathematics, English and even Physical Education. IMDA worked with the Ministry of Education to have schools opt-in for the DMP rather than implementing it as a top-down initiative. A comprehensive professional development plan for teachers was critical to the success of the project. IMDA ran tailor-made training workshops working with its local Microsoft partner to support teachers on the ground.

Choosing the micro:bit

Mass participation was vital so, through a highly co-ordinated national movement, the DMP chose to introduce the micro:bit coding device to schools and communities in 2017. Two years on, there are now 100,000 micro:bits in use, with 220 out of the country’s 356 schools (60%) taking part in the project to improve digital and media literacy for more than 50,000 pupils aged from six to 18. Although initially uncertain about how the micro:bit could fit into the curriculum, more than 800 teachers have now undergone training schemes where three companies took different approaches over three half-day sessions to enable teachers to understand the capabilities and opportunities that the devices offer pupils. Since they brought their new-found knowledge back to the schools, teachers are creating lesson plans using the micro:bit across a wide range of subjects.

The micro:bit was chosen as the tool for building a community of maker educators for a variety of reasons. It provided an easy introduction to computing that would “appeal to the masses” and not just those with technical knowledge. It also had the ability to be connected to sensors and a range of peripherals so that users could affect the environment around them with ease while familiarising themselves with the world of IoT-based technology.

Adrian Lim says: “The micro:bit can be as simple or as complex as the user wants it to be. In this way, it is far more flexible and offers itself as a good entry level tool for coding and maker education in schools and the community.”

Measuring success

The true measure of success of the DMP project can be seen in the enthusiasm shown by teachers across the country who never hesitate to show visitors or parents the creative and innovative projects that have been put together using the micro:bit.

Overall, success has been due to two main factors – the micro:bit’s ease of use and versatility and the IMDA’s commitment to supporting schools and communities by understanding how the technology can be of benefit while being in tune with teachers’ requirements. Finally, Farnell played a key role, not only in supplying micro:bits to schools and the community, but also in supporting the IMDA’s continuing efforts to increase digital and media literacy through future deliveries and ongoing support.

Photos courtesy of the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore

How the BBC micro:bit hand-held computer has enabled the development of critical skills in Canada

e14phil — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 22:21:13 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14phil on 10/6/2021 10:21:13 PM

How the BBC micro:bit hand-held computer has enabled the development of critical skills in Canada

Students learn vital problem-solving skills at School District No.43 in Coquitlam

Background

For several years, School District No.43 in Coquitlam, Canada – the third largest in British Columbia with around 32,000 students – has focused on how to encourage innovation in schools and use technology to transform the overall learning experience for students. A key part of that strategy involves developing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programmes that instil in pupils the core capacity to solve problems using technology.

From elementary school through middle school (11 to 13 years) to secondary school (14 to 18 years), all pupils are given the opportunity to develop critical skills such as problem solving, which they can apply in their later years in sciences and other areas of the curriculum. Whatever specialist courses they take at senior level, the programme arms them with the competency of being able to solve real-world problems through technology.

Patricia Gartland, Superintendent at School District No.43 says, “The Coquitlam School District is committed to ensuring success for the class of 2030 and beyond. This dictates that students are actively engaged with technology to innovate and solve problems. Coding and STEM activities are a critical component of ensuring students are prepared for the exciting opportunities the future holds.”

Choosing the micro:bit

Stephen Whiffin, Director of Instruction and CIO at School District No.43 explains, “The micro:bit coding device from Farnell was chosen as the enabling tool to achieve these design thinking goals in schools. The micro:bit was the only product of its kind that combined a ‘low floor’, easy-to-use entry point for students with a ‘high ceiling’, where the only limitations would be the pupils’ imaginations and the accessories they use.”

To date, Farnell has supplied the school district with 2,000 micro:bits. A key factor in its selection was that while the micro:bit facilitates practical coding experiences using Microsoft MakeCode, its process-control nature also makes it possible to merge digital and physical aspects in a way that helps students make sense of the world around them through computational thinking.

Within just a few minutes of using a micro:bit, pupils are able to make connections between its functionality and an increasingly automated environment, whether this is relating the technology to smart homes, heat sensors, automatic doors or something else. The micro:bit gives students the ability to imitate those levels of functionality in the classroom and replicate the way technology works in their physical world. Moreover, through this design thinking approach, pupils are given the tools to improve the functionality or adapt it for use in other applications.

Giving confidence to educators

No matter what the subject area, teachers in School District No.43 must demonstrate that pupils are capable of the core competency of critical thinking. Rather than simply having the knowledge in a stand-alone subject, students must be able to apply problem-solving strategies in a whole range of different domains. James Gill, Elementary Teacher, School District No.43 says, “One of the things my students enjoyed about micro:bit was that it wasn't just another way to teach coding. It presented the opportunity to make something they would use in the real world.”

Stephen Whiffin and his colleague Dave Sands, Principal of Technology Implementation, continually work hard to persuade teachers across the board, such as those teaching grade nine science, to design experiments for the classroom that are dependent on process-control systems - in the full knowledge that pupils will already have the skills to carry out the task. This was simply not possible before the micro:bit programme.

For some teachers, building the concepts of coding and computational thinking into the curriculum was daunting and only early adopters responded to the availability of the technology. However, having an easy entry point made it possible for them to overcome their initial doubts and engage with the micro:bit. Teachers came to understand that while some learning tools might have a novelty element to them that will interest pupils in the short-term, they are usually built around pre-determined functions which cannot be altered. By contrast, the micro:bit offers flexibility and enables children to engage and integrate creativity with logic, using their imagination to create their own unique solutions.

Today, teachers see that while very young children appreciate the low floor element of the device, older pupils can use it to design complex environments such as smart cities or build robots that the micro:bit can control. All pupils are able to engage in the design process in a natural and legitimate way and there is now an obvious pathway to full-scale design thinking – while they can do simple tasks in grade five, they can construct complex science experiments when they reach grade 11.

Dave Sands says, “The authentic skillsets that students are developing using the micro:bit are unlike anything we’ve seen from any of the other products that we’ve encountered. Where else can you use the same device to monitor traffic light sensors and build smart cities? The pedagogical outcomes with other tools are extremely limited.” Elementary School Teacher, James Gill added, “My students found the Micro:bit tutorials on MakeCode to be easy to follow. Some of my more advanced students then started "hacking" the existing code in different tutorials to make something new.”

The future

In 2019, School District No.43 supplied all grade nine science classes with 3D printers so that students could build components for the micro:bit to control in science experiments. This represents a major step forward because it enables students to pull together a range of design skills they’ve learnt across many subjects, including STEM. Now they will be able to learn science in a far more effective way because the experiments they do with the micro:bit represent genuine real-world problem solving applying the principles of science and mathematics.

Stephen Whiffin concludes: “We are now focusing on the higher grade levels while leveraging the capacity we’ve been building at the younger levels, so pupils are now able to achieve really amazing goals that are transformative not in terms of coding but in terms of changing the way that science is taught in our schools.”

Getting the Netherlands’ next generation of problem solvers ready for a digital world

e14phil — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 22:21:00 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14phil on 10/6/2021 10:21:00 PM

Getting the Netherlands’ next generation of problem solvers ready for a digital world

How IT Randsteden used the BBC micro:bit from Farnell to integrate technology into education and challenge young people to improve their world

Formed in Amersfoort, Holland in 2011, IT Randsteden originally specialised only in training businesses and organisations how to use Microsoft Office. However, knowledge of a new coding device and an interest in improving IT learning in schools were to change the course of the business and have a significant impact on education in Holland.

From one school to many

In 2016, IT Randsteden co-founder Richard Meijer identified that teachers at his daughter’s school lacked confidence in many kinds of digital-based technology, including computers, and decided to use his experience to improve the situation. Richard was familiar with the recently launched BBC micro:bit coding device and made a presentation to teachers at the school to illustrate how easily pupils as young as eight years old could get involved in physical computing. Richard showed just how easy it was to introduce children to digital technology using use the micro:bit, Minecraft, and other software enabling them to make a digital newspaper, produce videos and more.

Richard says: “The main attraction of the micro:bit is its ease of use and its robustness. A person who doesn’t know how to code can learn to do so in just two minutes, which is not possible with alternatives on the market. The micro:bit can be used by pupils from eight to 18 with no limit to what they can achieve. It’s ideal for people who are not technically minded, with entry-level novices able to create a program and develop a solution within very short timescales. This holds their interest and makes them realise that they too can acquire the kind of skills that are essential in the modern world.”

The teachers were excited and interested in the new technology. However, they remained uncertain as to whether they could practically integrate it into the curriculum or what the benefits would be.

Richard ran a trial with the school and after just one day’s training with the micro:bit, using Microsoft’s MakeCode code editor, teachers who previously had zero knowledge of coding and programming were able to work with the technology confidently in the classroom. Richard used this experience to convince other primary and secondary schools to fund teacher training programmes and IT Randsteden began working with Farnell, the sole manufacturer and distributor of the micro:bit, to deliver the equipment and provide support to schools across Holland.

A half-day training course was developed consisting of 10 tailor-made sessions. As part of the paid course, teachers also received a ‘Club’ pack of 10 micro:bits and NeoPixels to bring colour to lessons. Teachers engaged with the technology and reported back on how they had used their learning and the equipment to make a difference in the classroom.

The programme was so successful that the original plan to train 100 teachers grew in just two years into a training programme encompassing more than 2,000 teachers.

Broadening reach through libraries

But this was just the beginning. Many children in the Netherlands, particularly if Dutch is not their first language, have low levels of IT literacy so IT Randsteden worked with local authorities and libraries in various villages to fund the gift of a micro:bit on a child’s 10^th birthday. Children were also offered lessons and workshops that encouraged them, and their families, to return to the library regularly.

Around 1,200 children currently benefit from this programme. The micro:bit boosts their confidence and introduces them to the concept of computational thinking. Meijer says: “In digital literacy, they are all equal.”

Opening opportunities up to all through the STEAM Cup

Having made a real impact on the teaching and learning of coding and computation skills in the Netherlands, IT Randsteden sought to broaden awareness of the micro:bit and technology still further through the introduction of the STEAM Cup, a competition in which students aged 13+ were able to showcase the skills they’d learnt through using the micro:bit.

STEAM is a learning system that uses science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics to develop critical thinking in students. The aim was to move the micro:bit beyond its traditional place in IT lessons and into the wider world of learning, allowing students to apply their learning with the micro:bit to broader real-word challenges. IT Randsteden’s approach enabled students to develop solutions for the competition based on a theme – the first one being sustainability. Students were tasked with identifying a problem and creating a prototype solution using the micro:bit. One participant from Bertrand Russell College said: “We had real meetings in which programmers, prototype builders and presenters were keeping each other up to date.”

Teams presented their problem-solving abilities through detailed research, reports, photos and videos to a panel of judges and an audience of 250 people at Amsterdam’s National Science Museum. This competition took coding into the real world and rather than being judged on just their coding and programming skills, entrants were rewarded for ‘out of the box’ thinking, their ability to solve genuine problems and their presentation skills.

Notable at the STEAM Cup, says Richard Meijer, was the proportion of girls involved, with just as many girls as boys participating in the teams, and the opportunity for those previously labelled ‘nerds’ to become the heroes of the class. A participant from Montessori College commented: “I am a nerd but I see it as something positive. Nerds want to learn, are focused on innovation and come up with cool solutions – just look at Bill Gates!”

The future

A major part of ensuring this journey continues will be persuading the national government in the Netherlands to put coding on the curriculum. Growing numbers of authorities are waking up to the changing skill demands that today’s children will have to respond to when they leave school, as well as the role that the micro:bit can play in this area. Learning coding and using the micro:bit in lessons is not about teaching computing for the sake of it. Coding is a way for young people to develop computational thinking skills. Participating in physical computing with the micro:bit is about developing the ability to come up with viable solutions to real-world problems and something for all to be part of.

IT Randsteden has now become one of the largest resellers of the micro:bit in the Netherlands, with more than 20,000 micro:bits in use through their programmes and training. Educating the educators has been key to success to date and the company is planning to expand its teacher training programme considerably to encourage a much broader take-up of the micro:bit, especially in primary schools.

Tags: stem, microbit

Hey "Educators" Who Live in the USA!

kellyhensen — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 21:15:56 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by kellyhensen on 10/6/2021 9:15:56 PM

If you're interested in finding ways to incorporate Pi in your classroom (or in any other setting where you want to introduce kids to making and tech), then you might be interested in the Raspberry Pi Foundation's PiAcademy. These courses are offered for free at these locations over the coming months of 2017:

Providence, RI
Irvine, CA
Ann Arbor, MI
Boise, ID

From their site:

Over the course of two days, educators get hands-on with digital making, and discover the many ways that maker-friendly technology such as Raspberry Pi can be used in the classroom.

Learn more

Take Part in the element14 Global Arcade

spannerspencer — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 20:48:43 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by spannerspencer on 10/6/2021 8:48:43 PM

The Raspberry Pi 3 is currently flying off the shelves around the world, and we've had a terrific response to our unique PIK3A retro gaming table hack. It even made it onto the front page of Lifehacker!

And now it's officially Pi Day, it's your turn. We want to spread the good word about retro gaming on the Raspberry Pi to the world of STEM, and we want all the teachers and educators out there to help us do it by joining in with the element14 Global Arcade.

The Global Arcade

The facts are these.

Just like video games, the element14 Global Arcade is intended to bring students together in the spirit of fun, electronics, and killing pixelated aliens. We're putting together 10 arcade kits that we'll send out to educators and their students with the best ideas for a retro gaming project. We might expand that number, depending on how good the project ideas are, but 10 kits will kick things off.

You don't have to recreate the PIK3A table, or build a traditional arcade cabinet. The Global Arcade kit will just provide the foundations for your classroom's project, but we don't want to dictate what to make or to cramp your imagination's style.

Go crazy. Reinterpret the arcades and games of yesteryear in any way you want. Maybe it'll be a GPS-driven game of Pac-Man that's played on the streets of your city, or an online game of Space Invaders with each of the 55 attacking aliens controlled by your school's Twitter followers. Maybe it'll be a perfect recreation of a Gauntlet cabinet hewn from solid granite. It's entirely up to you and your students.

A Shared Experience

Gaming didn't used to be a solitary activity, and there are massive educational benefits to joining in with a collaborative project like this. Arcades were busy, lively, communal places. So we want you to work in a team of like minded students, and that you're willing to share your gaming creation with the world in a Global Arcade STEM open day.

This will be a great way for schools, colleges, universities and educational groups to get some excellent promotion (which we'll be pushing out worldwide) and recruit new members, while also having a lot of fun.

To Take Part:

- Find your team members.
- Make sure each individual member of the team has registered here at element14.
- Create a blog post (or posts) telling the world who your team is, what the team's called, and what you intend to make. Tag your blog post with Global Arcade so we can track it.
- If you're one of the lucky 10, we'll send your team the Global Arcade kit.
- Get to work on your project, blogging the build on here as you go.
- Invite the gaming public to come an play your Global Arcade project on 1st May while all the other Global Arcade teams do the same.

We can create your teams in the Community gamification system, which we'll do once you're all registered. You can then add all your team mates to it, and win some group badges as you build your project.

But the element14 Global Arcade isn't about winning. It's about playing, and that includes putting your project together. We want to remind the world that hacking and making is fun, and that gaming can be a powerful, creative, educational drive.

We'll be announcing the teams that get the Global Arcade kits at the beginning of April, so you can start bringing your students together right away, and formulate your awesome retro gaming project ideas .

The Global Arcade Kit

The 10 teams will each receive the following if their team and project is chosen:

The Brains: A Raspberry Pi 3
The Controls: Two classic ball-top joysticks
The Buttons: Fifteen 28mm arcade buttons (that's six per player, player one start, player two start, and coin -- although that's not an obligatory setup).
The Interface: Two Arduino Leonardos
The Display: A 19" LCD monitor
The Sound: A set of 2.1 active computer speakers
The Bits and Pieces: A couple of USB cables, an SD card, wire kit

You don't have to use all these parts, or use them in the way they were originally intended, but we'd like the Raspberry Pi 3 to work as the brains of your game. And feel free to add anything else needed to make your retro gaming vision into a reality.

Let's play!

Tags: stem, global_arcade, retro gaming, retro, pi3, raspberry pi, gaming

Electrical Engineering Students Wishlist and Giveaway!

e14phil — Mon, 04 Oct 2021 15:26:44 GMT

Revision 1 posted to Documents by e14phil on 10/4/2021 3:26:44 PM

What should Electrical Engineering students buy for their first semester?

We've put together a wish list with all the fundamental items needed to set you up for a life in Electrical Engineering.

Electrical Engineering Wishlist Giveaway

STEM Giveaway Prize

Tenma DC Powersupply
Multicomp Breadboard
Multicomp Soldering Iron

Questions:

What was the first thing you learned in engineering school that stuck with you throughout your career?
What is missing from this list?

Terms:

List of Items:

The Basics

Basic Tools

As an EE student, you'll want to have your own basic set of tools to make your life easier. These are some of tools that every EE needs, no matter what their specialty:

Needle-nose Pliers -

Electronic components are tiny and wiring up those tiny connectors is something our hands are just not built for. Needle-nose pliers are essential for any kind of circuit building.

Needle Nose PliersNeedle Nose Pliers

Wire Stripper

Wire StrippersWire Strippers

Loupe or Magnifying Glass

Loupes or magnifying glasses are incredibly helpful when soldering or working with a breadboard.

Loupe or Magnifying GlassLoupe or Magnifying Glass

Tweezers

I don't envy anyone who has to modify a circuit made up of surface mount components, but for those types of jobs, eagle eyes, steady hands, patience, and a good set of tweezers are required.

Tweezers Six PackTweezers Six Pack

Breadboard

Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard Multicomp 1mm ABS Breadboard

DC Power Supply

Circuits need a power source and for classroom projects, 5-12V should be sufficient.

Tenma Bench Power SupplyTenma Bench Power Supply

Soldering

Every EE should keep their soldering tools handy. Whether it's building cables or modifying/repairing equipment, soldering tools get a lot of use on the workbench.

Soldering Iron -

Beginner Soldering IronBeginner Soldering Iron

Helping Hand -

Helping HandsHelping Hands

Circuit board holder -

Circuit Board HolderCircuit Board Holder

Wicks and Desoldering Pumps -

Sometimes things won't go right, and you'll find that you accidentally shorted two pins on an IC. Use a wick or a desoldering pump (or both) to remove that extra solder after you've heated it up.

Solder Wick

Solder WickSolder Wick

Desoldering pump

Desoldering pumpDesoldering pump

Soldering Iron cleaner -

Soldering irons quickly get oxidized. To keep them clean, brass shavings are more effective than a wet sponge (although a wet sponge does make that cool sizzling sound).

Soldering Iron Tip CleanerSoldering Iron Tip Cleaner

Solder - Of course, don't forget the solder!

SolderSolder

Test Equipment

Testing is tricky with complex circuits. In order to make sure the different parts of the circuit are doing what you want them to, you need tools to measure the signal at each point.

Multimeter -

Digital MultimeterDigital Multimeter

Oscilloscope - Oscilloscopes measure electrical signals mapped against time, useful for viewing the outputs of capacitors and inductors, distortion and noise, and clocked digital signals.

Handheld OscilloscopeHandheld Oscilloscope

PC USB Oscilloscope -

USB OscilloscopeUSB Oscilloscope

Logic AnalyserLogic Analyser

Software

A big part of electrical engineering in the modern world is software. Most designs can be modeled and optimized before the first resistor even gets plugged into the breadboard.

PSpice - a SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) circuit simulator that lets you design and simulate circuits built from a library of almost every component and IC available.

https://www.pspice.com

https://www.mathworks.com

Simulink - Simulink is a GUI add-on for MATLAB from Mathworks, the maker of MATLAB. It lets you combine graphical and textual programming, making MATLAB easier to use.

https://www.mathworks.com

LabviewLabview

https://www.power.com/piexpert/

3D Printer

Ender 3 PRO 3D PrinterEnder 3 PRO 3D Printer

Microcontrollers and Single Board Computers

Arduino

Arduino Nano 33 IoTArduino Nano 33 IoT

Raspberry Pi 4 2GBRaspberry Pi 4 2GB

Scientific Calculator

Last but not least, a good scientific calculator is mandatory for any EE student.

Mine was the legendary Hewlett Packard 28S (https://www.hpmuseum.org/hp28c.htm).

This $235 beast did everything, graphing, unit conversions, and it was the first Reverse Polish Lisp (RPL) (https://www.hpmuseum.org/rpl.htm) calculator.

Tags: what should i buy?, students, stem, electrical engineering, wishlist

Documents

migration.user — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 18:04:26 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by migration.user on 10/1/2021 6:04:26 PM

BBC Doctor Who - HiFive Inventor Coding Kit

e14phil — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 12:54:03 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14phil on 7/13/2021 12:54:03 PM

As a fan of Doctor Who its quite exciting to get hold of the HiFive! Check it out!

The BBC Doctor Who HiFive Inventor (“HiFive”) is a pocket-sized Internet of Things (IoT) computer, designed for makers, students, and educators who want to learn computer programming, a vital 21st century skill that uses artificial intelligence, robotics, and more! Featuring the voice and star of the Thirteenth Doctor, Jodie Whittaker, the HiFive Inventor is a powerful Internet of Things programmable computer designed to teach kids to code. .

What can I do with a HiFive?

What comes in the box?

Included in the Inventor coding Kit

HiFive Inventor mini-computer
Doctor Who and Tynker coding lessons
Thousands of activities and challenges
External speaker
Light up USB LED cable
External battery pack
Alligator clips

What's under the glove?

Now for all the parents and engineers!

SiFive RISC-V Processor

The SiFive RISC-V FE310-G003 processor handles the basic computing needs of the HiFive. This is the component on the HiFive that stores and runs your code, as well as powering its input and output devices. The FE310-G003 is a RV32IMAC processor meaning it has instructions for integer, multiplication, division, atomic operations and some compressed instructions. The CPU clock runs up to 150MHz and has plenty of on-chip memory. 8kB of one time programmable (OTP) memory, 16kB Instruction Cache, 64kB Data SRAM and the HiFive is populated with 512kB of QSPI flash memory. There are 3 independent pulse width modulation (PWM) controllers, a serial peripheral interface (SPI) controller, an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) controller, 2 universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) controllers and JTAG for debugging.

SEGGER J-Link OB Interface Chip
6x8 RGB LED Display

Sensors:
Accelerometer

Magnetometer

Thermometer

HiFive Power

The HiFive can be powered by the micro USB port or the included battery pack (3 AA batteries)

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Connectivity

The HiFive has a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity co-processor. The co-processor is responsible for running the software stacks that enable wireless connectivity and integrates with the processor over a command and response communication channel and is programmable by the Tynker Blocks or Micropython APIs. The hardware supports Bluetooth v4.2 BR/EDR (including Bluetooth Low Energy) and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (up to 150Mbps).

Tags: hifive, doctorwho, hi-five

STEM School: Transistors

kellyhensen — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 13:59:33 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by kellyhensen on 7/1/2021 1:59:33 PM

STEM School rounds up the best educational content on the element14 Community.

This time we are talking Transistors.

Do you have an educational post to add? Then please post it below.

How Transistors Work

Rather than using a physical, mechanical switch, a transistor can act as an electronic switch, using signals to turn it on or off. In this episode of The Learning Circuit, Karen explains Bipololar junction transistors (BJT), NPN transistors, PNP transistors, and darlington transistors.

The Learning Circuit 27: How Transistors Work

The above video link talks about how transistors work – in this video, Karen demonstrates how to use transistors to build a simple project that proves these concepts:
The Learning Circuit 28: Make Your Own Candy Thief Alarm

micro:bit Home Learning During Covid-19

e14phil — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 16:20:41 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by e14phil on 4/2/2020 4:20:41 PM

Home with the kids? Need something educational to keep those tiny hands busy?

micro:bit have your back with their free home learning.

Many of us are adjusting to supporting learning at home, as well as juggling our own work and caring commitments. Families are discovering that digital skills have never been more important, and will be even more so in the future. You don't even need a physical micro:bit for many projects, but if you do have one you can get very creative with household items like tin foil, cardboard, elastic bands and glue.

https://microbit.org/get-started/home-learning/

Beginner Projects

Introducing your Kids (or your self) to the micro:bit platform.

These are Quick and Easy Starter Projects. Help your kids build an LED scrolling badge, a Step Counter or a radio treasure hunt.

https://microbit.org/get-started/home-learning/

Have a go with code:

When teaching computational thought and coding on micro:bit, you don't even need to have a micro:bit in front of you.

On the Home Learning website you can access the MakeCode editor which has a built in Micro:Bit Simulator you can use for free.

https://microbit.org/get-started/home-learning/

Want to learn Micro:Bit with element14 presents Videos?

Join Karen in her micro:bit tutorial videos. This series is a personal hands on set of videos with one of our favorite element14 presents team.

micro:bit tutorial videos

Tags: coding kids, micro:bit, home tutoring, free coding lessons, microbit, microbit lessons, coding girls, isolation, teaching coding, stem at home, cvid-health