Starting with PICs April 2005
Feedback/discussion from Part 1 of the course
Having been introduced to the cyberpet project during the first part of the course, teachers took away a class set of cyberpet kits for pupils to construct before returning to part 2 of the course. For some teachers, this was the first time they had assembled a pcb. During part 2 of the course, teachers discussed their experiences and reflected on the cyberpet activity.
| ¡ | Pupils were really motivated by the Cyberpet assembly activity. |
| ¡ | Year 6 really enjoyed it (including the teacher). Pupils very proud of their work and felt privileged to be allowed to do it. |
| ¡ | The activity injected extra motivation into year 7 graphics – it was an extra dimension. |
| ¡ | Pupils were motivated using modern up-to-date technology. |
| ¡ | Approaching the activity without prefacing it with theory was welcome. (In fact, a relief to be given permission to leave out the theory and just enjoy the practical). Straight into project without theory = no boredom! |
| ¡ | Being able to take away a class sets of kits facilitated and motivated both teachers and pupils. |
| ¡ | Making a set of soldering irons available enabled a primary school to offer the activity. |
To incorporate activities like the cyberpet project into lessons, teachers also identified problems and hurdles that need to be overcome.
| ¡ | There were problems installing the picaxe programmer on the school network. |
| ¡ | In many schools computer access is limited so that whole classes cannot be accommodated in one go. (Makes teaching picaxe to a class very difficult). |
| ¡ | Vocabulary is difficult for the novice. Can make some teachers insecure. |
| ¡ | Ordering parts is very time consuming - can be a real problem. |
| ¡ | There is a set up cost (soldering irons, hand tools) |
| ¡ | Sharing enthusiasm/knowledge/experience with other staff is important but can be problematic. |
| ¡ | There are hazards with electronics activities. Lessons need to be risk assessed. |
| ¡ | Troubleshooting, repairing and removing parts can be time consuming. |
| ¡ | Modern laptop computers do not have serial ports. Need to provide and install usb to serial converters. |
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