iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

I love bringing physical computing into my classrooms:

Physical computing means building interactive physical systems by the use of software and hardware that can sense and respond to the analog world. Physical computing is a creative framework for understanding human beings’ relationship to the digital world. In practical use, the term most often describes handmade art, design or DIY hobby projects that use sensors and microcontrollers to translate analog input to a software system, and/or control electro-mechanical devices such as motors, servos, lighting or other hardware (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_computing).

. . . but as with all use of educational technologies, I believe that it should be used intentionally to assist learners in developing and expanding their content knowledge and life skills.

Colleen Graves, Co-author and Maker extraordinaire chats about Makey Makey, Scratch and how to quickly add maker projects into your school and library spaces.

A teacher in Virginia uses a micro-controller to connect a computer to a keyboard, allowing kindergarten students to play musical notes that are triggered when they high-five their classmates.

In Colorado, a teacher asks 7th graders to code a random number generator that teaches them programming skills by playing rock, paper, scissors.

These are just two examples of teachers using so-called "physical computing," an emerging instructional strategy that tries to teach students about computer science and computational thinking through physical tools and hands-on activity.

Physical computing has established a presence in a small number of schools around the country. In many cases, there's just one teacher or administrator who's trying it, but supporters of the concept believe its role will grow. At the same time, they acknowledge that there are obstacles to implementing these types of programs, including concerns about the cost of applying it in classrooms, and the training educators need to make it happen.