Science Electronics and Arduino

In the April 30, 2018 issue of Digital Maestro Magazine I cover the use of Circuits in TinkerCAD to teach basic electronics. Students construct and code basic circuits with microcontrollers.

Teaching science with electronics can be difficult for many teachers. Few school teachers have experience working with the fundamentals of electronics and circuits. Most teachers are following the guides set forth in a text book. This doesn’t mean we can’t teach the science of electronics. It means that we are often limited to the resources at hand and the time available to use those resources.

We often teach science concepts in isolation. This isn’t always by choice. Schools have limited resources and a limited amount of time. Labs are great when we take the time to prepare and time is often at a premium. Labs often require a full time person to manage resources and scheduling of classes.

In this issue I want to help teachers use basic inexpensive and free tools to teach electronics. I will take things one step further and show how we can include coding. Coding adds greater utility to circuits.

At one time I taught electronics out of a text book and with videos. I don’t think this ever really conveyed to my students all that they should understand about electronics. I did use mini lightbulbs and batteries at one time. The batteries quickly drained leaving us with very dim bulbs. My students did learn about energy conservation. They also learned about the limitations of batteries as a power source.

Maker spaces are very popular today. A Maker Space is a designated location in a school. Students have hands on experience with high tech and low tech materials. Some of these materials include 3D printers, computers, robotics, woodworking, and legos. I promote the inclusion of electronics and coding when working with campuses.

Maker Spaces can easily include electronics and coding. The materials are easy to get and are very cheap. I am able to purchase all the basic materials to teach students about electricity for less than $130.00. This includes a box of resistors, LEDs, capacitors, breadboards, and batteries. We can include transistors and switches for just a little more.

Working with students on projects takes good classroom management. Be prepared; students get very excited. Yes, they still get excited in the 21st century. They are still amazed when they create something from scratch. Students don’t get the chance to work with their hands much anymore. They are often lost and not sure how to work with things. I still encounter students that don’t know how to use a screwdriver.

Purchasing materials is not always possible for schools so I often demonstrate an online electronics simulator. The simulator is free. We connect images of batteries, LEDs and switches to simulate a closed circuit. The simulator works much like the real world circuit but at no cost.

I like the online simulator for a variety of reasons. The simulator is free and it provides teacher management features. Using the teacher features we can collect student circuits and provide feedback on their product. I would love to include coding with my physical kit but the micro controller is a little out of my price range. Yes, I purchase my own materials like most teachers.

The online simulator include a micro controller simulator. We use the micro controller to code our electric circuits. Coding electronic circuits adds depth and complexity. A basic LED circuit without coding includes a battery, resistor, LED, and button. We press the button to turn the LED on and release to turn it off. A micro-controller and code changes this simple circuit into a blinking light.

We replace the button with the micro controller and code to turn the light ON and OFF at regular intervals. The code is simple to use and with it we can develop elaborate products with a basic circuit design. We can code an LED to blink at regular or random intervals. We can also code it to dim or brighten. The micro controller acts as a valve to control the flow of current to circuits. The maximum voltage we can pass through a micro controller is 5 volts. We can pass more current to circuits using transistors.

The Simulator provides a safe place for students to learn about electronics. Too much current going through and LED can damage it. In a simulator The LED can still be damaged. The damage is just simulated so all we need to do is change the current going through the circuit and the LED will work correctly again.

Working with components like and LED that require a specific amount of current is a great way to introduce and reinforce the concept of resistors. A resistor is often required when using an LED. The resister prevents too much current from damaging the LED. Most of the time in a real world situation, The resister will burn out before the LED.

Students learn about basic circuits using simple components like the battery resister LED and switch. With the simulator students will learn about temporary switches and permanent switches. Students learn how these switches are replaced by microcontrollers that provide a smarter way of controlling the flow of current two components like an LED.

One of the lesson includes the use of capacitors. Capacitors are used to store and release electric current. In the experiment we setup a circuit with one button to charge the capacitor and other to discharge the capacitor into an LED. Students learn to code the micro controller so it automates the process of charging and discharging the capacitor.

I find it useful to use the simulator along with the actual physical components. The simulator allows us to sketch out the circuit which can then but constructed with the real components. It gives teachers and students a blueprint to follow.