Makerspaces and Arduino Retrospective

What was the build that you are most proud of and why?

The Arduino build that was the most challenging and rewarding for me was the Dice random generator.  It was very challenging to figure out how to cause randomization in my code, but it was the most rewarding and I thought the most cool.  The following week where I did the very simple buzzer that played Christmas carols, was also very rewarding because it was the first time that I completely understood 100% of what I was doing and how to extend and challenge myself.

·         Go back to your first week and read each week's submission with an eye for personal growth. Where were you when you started and where did you end up?

I  was worried about the coding in the beginning but that actually made the most sense to me, even though I still have to occasionally look up how to do new functions.  What surprisingly was the most challenging for me was the circuits themselves.  I was amazed and frustrated at how something as simple as not correcting a wire all the way in the board caused the whole project not to work.  I definitely learned more in seven weeks than I thought I would.

What did you learn that you didn't know before?

I learned basic principals of coding including functions, loops, as well as codes that were specific to Arduino such as pinModes.  I also learned a lot more about electrical engineering and circuit building, which was more challenging, but also sparked my interest to learn more about how common things (such as my own electrical wires in my house and car actually work).

·    How did you actually come to learn this new knowledge?

Trial and error was the ultimate path to enlightenment, but I also really appreciate all the people that posted their Arduino projects onto the internet, as well as the various Youtubers who explained their experiences with Arduino.  It definitely helped me when I felt like giving up, to get a hint or "boost" by reading another person's project that they had uploaded to the Arduino site, or watching a Youtube video.  The diagrams, in particular, were the most helpful of all, (since building complicated circuits correctly is challenging to me for some reason).

·         What did you learn about yourself? 

I learned that I am better at engineering and technology than I give myself credit for.  I had very little opportunity and experience in high school and college to work with something like Arduino, and I am encouraged to keep trying.

·         Look at your words for each week and see how they might read if one of your students turned in that submission. What were you telling yourself about yourself?

I think that if I was reading my blog as a third party, I need to go back and relearn some basic concepts that I did not properly grasp compared to some of my peers.  The fast pace of the class (and my own procrastination on some projects) caused me to move on when I only had a shaky grasp on why things worked.  And I would like to go back and make sure I have a thorough understanding of each project before going on.

·         Where did you say your challenges were?

My challenges definitely had to do with my Arduino board itself, getting everything to connect, and understanding how the circuit flowed and what the purpose of each component was in relation to the circuit.  

·         Did these challenges change over the time of the class?

Yes,  I think for a lot of the other students this knowledge and understanding of the circuits was intuitive, but for me I had to do a lot of googling and research on the purpose of each new component and the effect it had on the circuit.

·         As you entered the world of the maker, what do you see as your next adventure in the world of making? Is it to expand your abilities to work with microprocessor and move from prototype to the production of something fun and useful? Is it to see what you can learn about the world of 3D design and printing? Is it to see what aspects of making can be used with the younger children? It is to see what you need to do to bring your vision of a maker space to life in the real world? It can be anything.

I would like for my next adventure to be more work with coding and the practical applications with coding.  I am definitely inspired and more confident after taking the class (although I did get very frustrated and feel like giving up in certain parts).

·         What are your next steps?

My next step is to create a summer Arduino camp (this would be a fifth grade camp) if I can get the funding which I think I can.  I would have students work in groups of 2 or 3 and need about 8 Arduino boards.  I would also like to get a grant for some new circuit boards and show my third grade students some of my projects and teach them fundamentals of circuit building.