Sections
Maker Projects utilizing Makey-Makey
Linked below are two “Scratches” that interface with the Makey-Makey kit. The Makey-Makey kit is an accessible way to get started with physical computing and exploring how one can control hardware with software.
1 minute
Maker Projects Utilizing Scratch
Linked below are a selection of four of the “scratches” I developed in EDTECH 538. Although they are basic, they touch on the building blocks of all computer programming and computational thinking: Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction, and Algorithms.
1 minute
Pages
August 2023
This scratch is a remix on the Line Follower Scratch from the text.
Project Link: Line Follower Project Code: I spent a lot of time on this scratch experimenting with different ways to achieve my goals. The first thing I wanted to do was to accurately track the lap time of the cat as they ran around the track. The second thing I wanted to do was figure out a way to have the cat stop if they fell off the track. Both of those things were implemented using color sensing but I am sure there is more than one way to skin a cat.
1 minute
This is one of my first scratches and utilizes simple animation.
Project Link: Pacing Lion Project Code: This simple project utilizes animation and sounds to create an immersive scene. Click on the lion and see what happens!
1 minute
This scratch utilizes variables.
Project Link: Pressure Under Water Project Code: This project was a little tricky because the supplied formula didn’t calculate pressure correctly becausedue to the fact that it did not correct for the absolute value of the y position. Once that was corrected for the fish correctly reported the pressure as they swam around.
1 minute
This scratch calculates the resistance of multiple resistors in series or parallel.
Project Link: Resistor Calculator Project Code: This project was a lot of fun and also very annoying. It was fun because I was able to do something useful with scratch and enjoyed setting up a custom background while working with multiple variables. It was challenging becuase it is quite difficult to do complex calculations with the drag and drop interface of Scratch. I really wish we could just type things in!
1 minute
This project builds a simple series circuit.
Project Link: Twinkle Twinkle LED Project Gallery: The scratch is very simple without the Makey-Makey kit attached. Whenever you press the space bar the wizard makes a star briefly appear with a flourish. But with the Makey-Makey kit connected and the circuit constructed correctly, it also lights up the LED. It is important to note that the makey makey kit is really just an input device as far as I can tell so far.
2 minutes
This project builds a parallel circuit.
Project Link: Twinkle Twinkle LEDs Project Gallery: The second mini-project I developed is the logical extension of the simple series circuit project. In this mini-project, I used multiple LEDs to create a parallel circuit. This mini-project builds on the simple circuits challenges #6 and #7 on the Makey Makey blog. In this project, the maker can explore using multiple colors of LEDs and different resistors to examine how the changes affect the brightness of the LEDs.
2 minutes