Thanks to the enormous generosity of our friends at littleBits, all registrants for the pre-CMK Introduction to Learning with Electronics workshop will receive a the brand new littleBits Code Kit for free! ($299 SRP value) Use the magnetic littleBits elements, including a new display, to design, build, test, and program your own interactive games and other cool projects. Programming is done via the easy-to-use a version of the Blockly programming language which is quite similar to Scratch.

Last year, CMK added the pre-institute workshop for CMK participants who wished to brush up on their understanding of simple electronic circuitry and microcontroller programming. This year’s pre-CMK workshop will begin with the exciting new littleBits Code Kit to help participating educators become comfortable with making and programming working machines before exploring other microcontroller platforms including Arduino and the Trinket.

The Monday July 9th workshop, led by members of the CMK 2017 faculty, will provide participants with guided experiences in connecting an Arduino microcontroller to a computer, troubleshooting the communications between the computer and external device, breadboarding, engineering, and programming simple, but exciting interactive projects. The workshop will also explore the differences, benefits, and tradeoffs between Arduino, Hummingbird Robotics, shields, Raspberry Pi, and some of the other materials available for use during the Constructing Modern Knowledge institute. You may register for this optional workshop along with your CMK registration here. Space is limited!

In order to be eligible for the free littleBits kit, educators must register for Constructing Modern Knowledge 2017 and the pre-institute Introduction to Learning with Electronics workshop. Those already registered for CMK may add the pre-institute workshop to their registration by clicking here.

Brian C. Smith & Tracy Rudzitis teaching during the CMK 2016 Introduction to Learning with Electronics workshop