creating littleBits circuits

I spent some time on Friday in the grades 5 & 6 class at Garden City. This term, the students have been studying electricity as their science topic and their teacher Paula Zack (who is in for Liz Nasu who is on mat leave) thought it would be interesting to see what connections they made to what they learned about electricity as they investigated littleBits.

The students also discovered that the order of the littleBits did matter. At first they weren't sure and this group was convinced that there button wasn't working, until they changed the order of the littleBits. They explained that the information that needs to make something happen needs to come first (the button before the buzzer).

"The button doesn't work if it comes after the buster, it has to come before the buzzer. Electricity doesn't flow backwards."

As students investigated and tested things out with the littleBits, I recorded several of the observations and comments the students made, revealing their developing understanding of electricity:

-there are metal prongs so when you snap littlebits together it completes the circuit

-the electrons flow from the battery

-the green ones all do something

-the power switch controls the flow of electrons 

-we found out the slide dimmer changes the sound of the buzzer

-the magnets only go in a certain way otherwise they won't connect

-I close the circuit when I turn off the power switch

Some of the groups were very interested in the three-pronged fork bit and played around with changing the variables and bits attached to see how these changes affected different bits. They noticed that some bits were louder, brighter or moved more quickly when less bits were attached to the fork.

"Because they need more energy."

"Servo goes faster when you take other bits off."

And after some experimentation, some students were still confounded by the purpose of the orange wires:
"I still don't know what this does!"

and then they realized they could use them to reach further with their circuit when they create things.

The circuits got more and more complicated as the session moved on...

One session with the littleBits was not enough and I could tell that the students's synapses were firing in their brains with ideas of what they could create. Hopefully, the class will be able to book the district kit some time during third term.

Here's a short Animoto video overview of this class' first littleBits session:


I'm sure the students have lots of ideas for what they might create with the littleBits now that they know what they can do!
~Janice

little bits pilot inquiry project: day five

For the final day working with littlebits, the students refined one of their projects and documented their design and project using the district iPads. The students were asked to record the materials for their project and how the steps in putting the project together. The students set up "photo shoots" and used the iPad to take photos. They were reminded to show enough detail so that others could replicate their projects.

The students could choose from a variety of apps to document their littlebits projects. Some students used Skitch to create labeled diagrams.

Some students used Haiku Deck to create a slideshow on the iPad.

Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad  Others used screencasting apps such as ShowMe to use photos and record their voices.

 And here is the fluttery butterfly in action:




 Rick asked the students to write a short reflection on their week working with littlebits. Overall, the students really enjoyed the experience. One student said it all seemed kind of "bad" at the beginning because he wasn't sure what the littlebits were able to do but realized their potential as the week went on and mentioned how "fun" school had been. Another student commented how she really liked how the littlebits forced her to think and be creative.

The littlebits will be going to our District Resource Centre now to be processed as a district kit so that teachers around our district can request it and use it in their classrooms. We have been using two Deluxe Kits this week and I will be recommending investing in more power bit packs (power bit, battery and cable) and a few individual bits from other kits (like the fan and pressure sensor and long wired LED lights) to extend the possibilities of the Deluxe Kits.

I loved watching the students' confidence with the bits grow as the week went on and seeing their imaginations open up to the creative possibilities with the littlebits. So much creative and innovative use of technology!
~Janice

little bits pilot inquiry project: day four

Today the grades 4 and 5 students at Diefenbaker had another day to create their own projects using the littlebits components. Today I brought in my son's littlebits kit so the students could try out a few different bits like a fan, long led lights and a pressure sensor.

It was interesting to watch how different groups of students went through the process of designing and testing a project. Rick noticed that some groups started with the bits and tinkered around with them until they came up with an idea while others clearly had an idea in mind and figured out what bits they needed to make it happen. Some groups were focused more on the aesthetics of the project while others were focused on the circuitry. Some students were determined to use a particular bit that was interesting to them and designed their projects around that. All the processes got to a final project of some sort and all tapped into the students' creativity in different ways.

Some projects that were made and tested today included a campfire

a disco Miga

a rocket

disco Miga under a disco ball

 a spinning disc

a lamp

and an LED flashlight

As students worked away this afternoon, the energy in the classroom had settled a bit from yesterday and the students were settled into working on their projects, focused on reaching success. There were so many important habits of mind demonstrated today...perseverance, curiosity, stick with-it-ness, thinking flexibly, problem-solving, taking risks and being open to  new ideas.

The inquiry cycle was in full swing today as well. Students began with a plan or question, investigated it and during this process, new questions were often overheard that took the students off on new avenues of inquiry.

I wonder what will happen if we...
Will it only work if we do this...
How can we make it beep louder...
What if we changed the order...
If we added this, would it still...
Do you think there is a better way to do this...

Students adapted and investigated their new questions during the process and in most cases, felt they improved their projects by doing so. 

The following short animoto video shows some of today's projects, many that ended up not quite how they were originally planned:



Tomorrow the students will be using the iPads to document their experiences with  littlebits. It has been a great project full of innovation, creating and imagining.
~Janice

little bits pilot inquiry project: day three

Rick showed his class the blog posts about their littlebits project this morning and the students enjoyed watching the animoto video, looking for their hands or backs of their heads! Diefenbaker's Principal posted a link to the blog posts on the school's website so parents can see what's going on during this project.

Today, many students brought materials from home for their projects including lego, craft materials, a stuffed animal and a pair of sunglasses. Some students already had definite ideas about the type of project they wanted to create. We asked the students to take part in a design challenge...where they had to design their own project, list the materials and instructions (including pictures and words) and include a picture of the final project. The idea is that other students should be able to follow the instructions to replicate the project.

Some of the projects included a birthday candle that lit up

neon glasses

 some sticks of dynamite

a disco telescope

and a watch.

Today, there was a lot of planning, testing and improvising and adapting -all part of the process. Although some students completed a project today, we will be continuing with more project work tomorrow and an opportunity for students to work with bits they haven't worked with yet.
~Janice

littlebits pilot inquiry project: day two

Based on the questions many of the students asked yesterday, we began with a reading of short introduction to littlebits, taken from the booklet in the deluxe kit. It helped students understand the different "jobs" of the components (power, input, output and wires/linking) and the importance of the order the bits are sequenced in. Although they read this information, the students really needed to just tinker away and play around with the bits to see the effects of putting them in different orders.

We then provided the students with a set of circuit maps and asked them to create the circuits as shown and then test them with the power bit and battery. This gave students practice in following directions and having success with a series of bits. Having only two kits means only two power/battery combinations and the students have been great about sharing the components.

We then watched an overview video of the components of the deluxe kit so that the students had some understanding of the possibilities for the different components. The students were then asked to create one of two structured projects from the kit guide  - either the tickle machine or the wave greeter. This projects provided the students with practice adding new found materials to their projects, such as a feather or a cut out object that they could make move.

Again, students recorded their observations, questions and findings. They also began to think about their own projects and what they might like to create with littlebits.

The following is a short animoto video of today's investigations:


~Janice

littlebits pilot inquiry project: day one

This week I am spending my afternoons at Diefenbaker Elementary in Rick Hikida's grades 4 and 5 classroom. We are piloting a set of littlebits electronic components with his students. I explained that this would be a STEAM-based project (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics) project and the students were on board before they even handled the littlebits.

We handed out plates of components to small groups of students and asked them to investigate the pieces and record what they noticed along with their questions. Rick noticed that some students began drawing and labelling the pieces on paper while others couldn't help but start manipulating and tinkering with the bits.

 It wasn't long before the students discovered that the pieces snapped together and most students figured out that there was a magnetic pull involved so they inferred the bits were magnetized. They also noticed that the bits were different colours and had words and numbers on them.

The students began connecting bits together but were a bit puzzled that they couldn't get the bits to do what they wanted them to do, especially the ones labeled "buzzer" and "lights".

One group of students then really looked closely at the power bit that they had and noticed there was an on and off switch but wondered where the power came from. One student asked if we needed to plug it in or get a battery. I went over to the kit and got the 9V battery and cable and then something magical happened in the classroom. Once the students realized that the power bit was truly powerful, they all swarmed around each group of students as they tested their circuits to see what would happen.

The students recorded what they noticed about their littlebits, what they wondered about and what they discovered.

More information about littlebits and the short intro video we watched can be found HERE.

~Janice