Well, the new deadline is here... we have some videos and photos, but haven't managed to edit and upload them yet - we expect to do it this weekend, I promise :c)
Let's talk about our project: the Eduino. When discussing about how to address math education issues in Brazil, one of our members (Mauro) came the idea of an electronics abacus: an interactive platform where children can learn arithmetics without learning tables by heart, in a more physical way. In a way they can see and feel the numbers...
How to do it? It happens we had an Arduinome board lying around and decided to use it as basis for our project. For those who aren't familiarized, Arduinome is an arduino-based version of Monome, a MIDI controler based on a matrix of illuminated buttons:
The buttons may represent pieces, with may sum up, multiply, divide... but without bothering with strange symbols and notations. The details of how each operation will be done are being discussed with educators and next week we intend to make some usability tests with childrens (more on that in the next post). In general lines, it will have an approach similar to Montessori's, but mind you - this is not a Montessori toy. Or, it is not ONLY a Montessori toy,
Beyond that, we want to put some games on the platform... actually, we are creating an open platform, with an Arduino-based library, so teachers and students can make their own versions and applications, even if they are not skilled programmers. Of course, to make this happen, the Arduinome firmware is just a reference - we are now writing a new firmware more adequate to our purposes - we expect to have some pics and videos to show you this Sunday, so, hold on!