@littleBits Are Not Stopped By Language Barriers

One of the things I was able to share with educators while I was in Iceland was the awesomeness of littleBits. With a Code kit and the workshop kit, I was able to open up a world of bits to teachers without the worry of language barriers. While the teachers can speak and read English well, that was not needed as they were able to just grab bits and connect them together. Here are some photos of them working. 

These educators had so much fun exploring each bit and what they could do with other bits. The code kit opened up another world for them because block based coding was new to many of them and it was a great way to take the coding I had just covered in my workshop and connect it with physical items. The teachers had a great time and planned on getting their own littleBits for their classrooms to help students explore the engineering side of making. 

When I look at this for students, it is a big deal because there are plenty of students that struggle with language every day and littleBits is a great tool to allow those students the freedom to create and express themselves even if they have limited language skills. These could be ESL students or others still learning to read. The color coded bits and the easy to use bits make littleBits amazing to have in the classroom because it is welcoming to all students, no matter where they are on their educational journey. 

Check out @littleBits Droid Inventor Kit Right Now #MakerEd

Stop everything you are doing and watch this video from littleBits about the Droid Inventor Kit.

I have not played with this kit and only found out about it 30 minutes ago, but this video really got to me for some reason. 

The music, the feeling that there was something special going on and the young girl was on an adventure to see what it was about, and the community of inventors working together to create these droids was just very cool to me. It just felt awesome to see. 

My new role as a Makerspace Director has me thinking about what I'm trying to accomplish and the atmosphere in the room at the end is what I want to see in the Makerspace. Lots of movement and collaboration. Lots of support and smiles. 

I've been drawn to littleBits over the past few years because they are committed to supporting young inventors. They want everyone to have an opportunity to make and break. I love that mission and it makes me smile when I can see parts of my childhood be reborn like littleBits has done. 

I will be waking up early to make sure I can order my own kit or two when they are available. 

Thanks littleBits!

Hugs and High Fives,

Nick

Going Wireless with @littleBits Gadgets and Gizmos 2nd Edition #EdTech

I'm just going to write it. I freaking love the 2nd Edition of the Gadgets and Gizmos set by littleBits. Simply put, they have outdone themselves by creating a Bluetooth bit that allows your to wirelessly control your creation. Here are some of the standouts.

The Invention Guide is sleek and easy to use. It's also free! Take a look at it here. I have always been a fan of their graphics and layouts. Their real world analogies even help me wrap my brain around a concept at times. It has all of the inventions one could need to get started with the kit.

The big changes in the the GGK is the addition of the Bluetooth bits. This bit works through the littleBits app (available for free on iOS and Android) and uses your phone to connect to the bit and tell it to do what you want it to do. You simply hold your phone up to the bit and the phone will recognize it and the fun begins. Here is a video that shows how it connects.

The app is updated and runs smoothly. I never had an issue connecting the bits to my phone. I brought it neat and it grabbed the bit right away. I was using the Beta of the app and is was great!

I've never been one to dive into directions and see how things are supposed to be used, so I started playing with the bits and seeing what I could come up with. It wasn't long before I had created my own Bluetooth enabled vehicle. After a little bit of trial and error, I was able to get both Bluetooth bits in the correct spot, set up my ball caster on the baseboard, connect my wheels and my 2 DC motors together for a fun gadget and gizmo adventure using Bluetooth.

I was flying around the room in no time and having a blast. Leo was a huge fan of the bits and loved the idea that you can control things from the phone. He had an idea to create something for Halloween that would scare people coming to the door for candy. I love that kid. All kidding aside, the logistics of Leo's idea is now a possibility because of the Bluetooth bit. Almost anything you want to do is possible with the Bluetooth bit.

The downside of playing with the kit connected to my phone was that I was not able to take pictures or video of my vehicle in action because the app was connected to my phone. I will have to use the iPad to take pictures of Leo driving it around and I'll post them to Instagram this week.

If you are looking to dive deeper into littleBits and see how much fun your students or children can have with them, I strongly encourage you to pick up the Gizmos and Gadgets Kit 2nd Edition. You will not be disappointed. 

littleBits did send me a review kit for the purpose of this post, but that does not make it any less awesome for me and for all of you. Seriously, go out and get it!

The Rule You Room Kit from @littleBits Is Amazing

The Rule Your Room Kit from littleBits is the perfect entry into the world of making with littleBits. At $99, this kit is a fun way for kids to get engaged with very interesting bits. The best part of this kit is that it comes with a Makey Makey bit, so there are so many possibilities with this kit. I dove into the kit with my 5 year old son Leo and he was ready to Make.

The first thing we wanted to do was create our own sound activated scary eyes. This is straight from the littleBits Rule Your Room guide.

The kit provides you with all of the bits needed and the creepy eyes. Leo and I added some color to the eyes by coloring some paper and taping it on the inside. After adjusting the sound sensor's sensitivity, Leo tried to creep into his room. 

A video posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Aug 9, 2016 at 2:06pm PDT

After this project, Leo wanted to make sure that his piggy bank would be safe from any robbers that might come into the house looking for a collection of loose change. Luckily, there was a great guide on how to keep the piggy bank safe.

A photo posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Aug 8, 2016 at 9:51am PDT

Here is how I tested out the project with Leo as the cameraman. He has a great eye with that phone.

A video posted by Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) on Aug 8, 2016 at 9:55am PDT

There are other projects that can be found in the littleBits guide and online. The Rule Your Room kit is a fun entry to the world of littleBits and can inspire the young and old makers around the world. You can order yours today!

littleBits sent me a kit for the purpose of a review, but that doesn't mean it is not as awesome as I said.

Making with @littleBits Arduino Kit #MakerEd

I've been having some fun with the littleBits Arduino Kit the past couple of days. I've had some experience using Arduino for smaller projects, but I had never used it with littleBits before. I wasn't sure how this would all go together, but I'm pretty pumped with what I was able to come up with after I got the hang of the code.

The first project I wanted to create was a random number generator to select students in class. The concept was pretty straightforward, but I could not get the code working.

With this setup, I wanted to click the button and have the code run and give me a random number. It makes sense in my head, but it did not make sense to the bits. The button placed here controlled the power. A quick push only gave a quick dose of power. My project was never going to work. I had to make one simple switch to solve this problem. 

It was not my code, it was the button. Ugh. Now I can press the button and have a random number appear on the number bit. The number bit is not part of the standard Arduino Kit from littlebits, so you would need to get this bit from another kit or purchase it separate. You can find the entire project on the littleBits site.

My next project uses only the bits in the Arduino Kit and I think it is a fun way to show whether or not you are in the office or if a kid has left the room with a pass.

The code for this one was very simple. It was just using the Button Code found on littleBits. The servo turned on its own and the light is powered by the button. You can find the entire project here. 

It has been nice to sit down and start making with something fun. It has been a crazy few weeks where I have travelled and talked to other educators about the importance of Making, but I have not had much time to make. Sitting down and working on these two projects caused a little stress, but I was filled with such happiness when I figured them out and could share them with others. 

I hope others will get out there and make some fun things with littleBits or anything you can get your hands on. 

Hugs and High Fives!

Nick