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Ann:$25 PCB to help novices/protect Arduino. Schools. Parents?

Former Member

I hope it is okay that I marked this as a question? It IS an announcement... but also a question in that feedback on the item described is my main reason for posting! If experts find problems if they are kind enough to review the page offered below,their thoughts will be very welcome.

 

This is NOT "crowd sourced" vaporware! The boards exist. They work. But I am inviting Mr Murphy to the party, AND involving kids... I am not so egotistical to believe that there is nothing that could be improved. Before I put a lot more time into this, I want to be sure there are no fundamental flaws at the heart of the work to date!

 

I now have six copies of a PCB which, along with it's components, cost about $25 each.

 

NoviceGuard, as I call it, is an attempt to make an Arduino Pro Mini "novice friendly", and also novice SAFE... i.e., the user can't damage the Arduino, if just one basic rule is kept.

 

I hope it will make the Arduino something that can be used in schools with children as young as 10.

 

I have a general page about it, but also a page for teachers/ parents, and one written to tell "experts" what I've tried to do. I hope experts will look at their page, and write to me if they can see things that I've overlooked... is there a way to damage the board that I've overlooked?

 

Experts' page: Call for review: for experts, a plea for input: NoviceGuard (PCB261) ModGeeInt.htm

 

Parents', teachers' page: Introduction for teachers, parents: NoviceGuard (PCB261) ModTeaInt.htm

 

(There are links to the general page from both.)

 

I am looking for suitable people to LOAN a prototype to, for comment. Details in both pages.

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  • 0

    THANK YOU for feedback above!

     

    ===================================

    Forgive me, if I am just saying the same things again. I'm trying not to, or at least to say them differently. I don't mean to repeat myself, but "what are you trying to achieve" seems to come up a lot.

     

    ----

     

    Let me start with what isn't, I would quess, exactly what people were asking, but it is, I hope, relevant, and as other things I'd tried to explain didn't get across, maybe this didn't, either.

     

    *** I'm trying to find people who try to help novices get started, people who would be interested in trying something I've made, see if it does what I hope it does.

     

    -----

    Turning to what I think was meant by the "What are you trying to do. (And to answer the "What are the two design goals?" question....

     

    *** What I hope NoviceGuard does:

     

    ** 1) Make using an Arduino easier for a beginner

    ** 2) Protect the Arduino from some of the mistakes beginners make which damage Arduinos.

     

    (And both of those without much expense, so people aren't excluded simply because of costs. (About $25 on top of an Arduino Pro and the stuff you'd always need to use one of them.))

     

    -- Why I think NoviceGuard Makes Using Easier...

     

    The beginner has NO "hooking up" to do for a long time. There is LOTS you can do with "just"... a NoviceGuard, an Arduino Pro Mini, a programming cable, and a "big" PC (Windows or Mac or Linux.)

     

    The "second stage" beginner can do lots more, just by plugging in inexpensive "daughter boards".

     

    -- Why I think NoviceGuard protects the Arduino...

     

    The novice isn't connecting things... with the danger of MIS-connecting things.

    The novice has enough useful inputs and outputs to learn a lot, without the responsibility of knowing all that a more advanced user needs to know to keep the Arduino "alive".

    Caveat: The product is not "idiot (or malefactor) proof". There is a small "rule" that should be easy enough to explain and obey that users must be made aware of. (Explained elsewhere)

     

    -- Why I like my answer over some others that are out there...

     

    i) It is the cheapest I've seen that saves users having to do breadboard hookups. $5 saved for a home user isn't a big deal. $5 per station in an educational setting is a bigger consideration.

     

    ii) It doesn't entirely "tie down" what you can do with the Arduino. There are more robust protective schemes available... but for the extra protection, extra restictions have to be accepted.

     

    iii) It provides a multi-stage learning environment. Users can start very limited, but very safe, and with "stuff" entirely taken care of. From there, they can do more, and more... when they are ready for more and more "things" to contend with in order to open those new possibilities. Ultimately, they can discard the NoviceGuard entirely, use a "naked" Arduino Pro Mini and 100% of what an Arduino Pro Mini can do. With 0% of the help and protection NoviceGuard provides during different stages of the learner's progress. But using NoviceGuard does not, ultimately, impose any limits.

     

    ===================================

    Ah well. To every question there is a simple answer. And it is wrong.

     

    Hope the above was helpful, not just me "going on" again.

     

    Will try to address some of the other helpful points in a separate reply another time.

  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    A few more thoughts:

     

    I had a quick look on Alibaba - I can buy Arduino Pro Mini clones for £0.972 each (lot of 10, free shipping to UK) - so if I were teaching  a class (Health Warning: I'm not  a teacher but an electronic design engineer) I'm not that sure that there would be enough benefit in saving the Arduinos from accidents.

    The way I would see value in your board is if you were to support it with lot's of good quality tutorial stuff and that would be a lot of work, with no guarantee that people won't just use it without buying boards.

    It saves users from soldering (assuming it arrives built) and breadboards which might be appealing in school type environments.

     

     

     

    MK

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  • 0 in reply to Former Member

    A few more thoughts:

     

    I had a quick look on Alibaba - I can buy Arduino Pro Mini clones for £0.972 each (lot of 10, free shipping to UK) - so if I were teaching  a class (Health Warning: I'm not  a teacher but an electronic design engineer) I'm not that sure that there would be enough benefit in saving the Arduinos from accidents.

    The way I would see value in your board is if you were to support it with lot's of good quality tutorial stuff and that would be a lot of work, with no guarantee that people won't just use it without buying boards.

    It saves users from soldering (assuming it arrives built) and breadboards which might be appealing in school type environments.

     

     

     

    MK

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