We have written a set of course based on Arduino Starter Kit and Arduino Advanced Kit. This set of course not only tells basic knowledge of Arduino and sensor, but also provides conception, course edit suggestions, and course implementation advice, etc. If you are a DIY teacher, you can start your teaching with this course very quickly; if you are a student, you can learn knowledge of Arduino and sensor systematically.

DIY Maker “Sensor World” Course mainly teaches us how to use sensor to obtain life information so that to broaden our cognitive range. This course can be called Sensor Series Course. While getting to know our life better, we can do some practical projects to enrich our life. Focused on the idea of “Technology serves life better.” it enables you to practice your study and create something while playing and help teachers to explore the road of DIY teaching.

Sensor is a kind of detection components which can sense the tested signals and transform it into electric signals or other form of signals according to a certain regulation. It can help us to rediscover our surroundings. For example, air temperature and humidity, brightness of light, volume of voice, etc. We can use it as our organs like eyes, ears, nose, and hands and so on and broaden our cognitive range with these information.

Arduino UNO is a connect board based on open source USB Simple I/O port. It has IDE integrated development environment, tool scratch of pattern form interface programming and others. Through Arduino platform, students can get to know and master the basic knowledge and skills of sensor, including working principles of sensor, trigger mode etc. It help students to form good information attainment and ability of creation and practice.

Course Features and Conception

Features of Course

Small DIY Maker “Sensor World” Course help students learn knowledge of sensor by using Arduino tools for practice operation. It abides by the conception of integration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art). When using Arduino platform to do development and creation, students can combine the knowledge they learned with engineering and art and turn knowledge into an actual and touchable goods. In this vivid and funny study environment, students gradually learn what is team work, how to discover and solve the problems they met, and improve their abilities of practice and creation.

This course is a comprehensive course based on multiple subjects. The subjects related are mathematics, physics, biology, multimedia and computer technology, etc.. These subjects integrate with each other, which brings the source of practical and attainable interests.

2. Practical

It is very practical. Participation is the funny point of this course. And do it by students themselves makes the class not boring anymore and the study becomes animated.

3. Comprehensive

The course interweaves a lot of other knowledge. During the process of creation, it will refer to some basic knowledge of physics, biology, structure, etc. The whole creative study requires students to integrate knowledge of multiple subjects. And it will test the actual knowledge acquired by students during practice.

4. Creative

This course is mainly focused on the cultivation of students’ creativity. With the acquired knowledge and art as well as the operation of Arduino platform, students can create their own entity of awareness related to the real life, thus solve the actual problems they met in life.

Conception of Course

1. To know, feel and create life.

   Technology serves life and centers on people. For our ideal life, we have to know it, feel it and create it.

2. With conception of STEAM to develop students’ comprehensive abilities.

   It forms a new base of integration combining STEAM teaching and other disciplines. The combination of traditional teaching and STEAM helps to improve students’ learning status for appropriate relaxation of spirits and persistent creative study brings students better abilities of design, cooperation, problem-solving and practice and innovation.

Case design is a series of projects according to the clue of the main knowledge body. “Different form with same characteristic.” the internal relationship, is the feature which passes through the whole course from simple to difficult. Based on the mode of project study, Case design is a series of courses with a core of integration of disciplines’ contents and regards creation ability development as its guideline. The appropriate complication and

Simplicity, vividness and flexibility is a feature of this course. It can greatly improve the effectiveness of study.

Course Contents

In the field of basic education, book knowledge is our present existed basic information. A lot of information related to our lives in our surroundings is waiting to be discovered and used by us. The course we provided has used all kinds of sensor to get life information and create some small artworks or automatic tools. The actual teaching projects referred are “Small Leading Car”, “Small Sensor Lamp”, “Crazy Bull”, etc. The chapters are:

Chapter One: Get to Know and Use Tools

It mainly includes the introduction of Arduino UNO development board and EFBlock programming tool.

Chapter Two: Get to Know and Use Sensor

It mainly includes the working principle and application of sensor as well as Arduino Starter Kit series of course.

Chapter Three: Simple Practice Cases

It mainly includes the actual project design of comprehensive teaching.

Chapter Four: Senior Sensor Usage

Arduino Advanced Kit, mainly contains Arduino IDE, combines Arduino platform with senior sensors like gyro, accelerator and mobile and computer to do comprehensive project design.

Course Edit Suggestion

Small DIY Maker “Sensor World” Course is a course with a core of practice. The development and edit of course shall be based on our course generalization, carefully implement and practice the basic conception and purpose of basic education course reform, and make effects on helping students develop comprehensive abilities. You can refer to your actual situation of your local place and directly make guidelines to implement course teaching. You shall abide by the following suggestions:

1.To mater your course goals

The courses of sensor series have involved a wide knowledge area. However, the core value lies in cultivation of students’ creative thinking and ability of practice. Therefore, the course edit shall be based on the knowledge and technique, focus on procedures and methods and build students’ emotional attitude and values in practice.

The courses of sensor series have rich contents. Except for all kinds of basic sensor knowledge, you can choose cases closing to students real life and contents following up the present society development. You can dig out the unique value of the course carefully. At the same time, as an extended discipline of information technology, you shall follow and refer to courses of information technology, general technology( labor and technique) course and basic conception, contents, requirements of comprehensive practical course. As a discipline with strong character of practice, the edit of sensor course shall pay attention to form the good habit and operation behavior of students. You shall focus on cultivating students’ pursuit for truth, kindness and beauty and help them set up the correct world outlook, life outlook and values.

Course Implement Advice

Teaching Advice

Teachers shall surpass presuppose of teaching design, activate the vitality and animation of class. Before class, teachers should do teaching designs carefully. Only if teachers make good preparation before class, teachers can use it flexibly and make class active and funny. In the aspect of teaching design, teachers should take the following points into consideration:

1. Teaching contents shall be enriched according to students’ cognitive level .

   When doing teaching design, teachers shall fully consider students’ present knowledge level. Courses of Sensor Series is at the premise of students’ original knowledge of fundamental course. So it is very important to check students’ original knowledge level. Teaching content design is based on the consideration of students’ original knowledge level too. Teaching contents have to pay more attention to the close relationship of time and life while considering students’ knowledge level. Therefore, the contents has actual meaning and can activate students’ interests of learning.

2. Teaching idea shall be clear enough according to students’ cognitive regulations.

   Teaching contents have ranks and orders. Teachers shall have a clear teaching clue in their mind. Teachers have to know in order to create a series of sensor courses problem-solving practice, which knowledge shall be used as basic support knowledge and which shall be provided a frame by themselves.

3. Teaching strategies and methods shall activate students’ interests and dig out their creation abilities.

   For sensor series courses teaching, teachers have to think questions like what kind of teaching methods will not make students feel boring, how to help students use their advantages and creation in a very practical creation, how to activate students’ learning interests, and what kind of teaching method that ca n retain a good class order and make sure the lesson go smoothly, etc..

4. To forecast and adjust the emergency of the class.

   On the basis of mastering sensor series courses, teachers shall adapt their teaching strategies flexibly and change teaching mode. They should transfer the emergency of the actual teaching practice into a fluent, animated teaching method. This is a great art of teaching. And it requires teachers deep further into it and keep exercise.

5. Conclude the experience and lessons in time and communicate with people in the same industry often.

   In daily teaching work, teachers shall pay more attention to accumulate teaching related resources and form a good habit to write teaching diaries. At the same time, teachers have to communicate with their colleagues or people in the same industry often. Sensor Series Courses in China is comparatively rare. However, only if we search for more resources carefully, we can find there are still a lot of people in the same industry favoring creation teaching study. Besides, as with the popularity of DIY maker education, i believe there will be more teachers to research and dig out the value of creation teaching.

   Evaluation &Suggestions

   According to the character of course, evaluation shall emphasize on participation, procedure, rationality of evaluation standard, diversity of subjects, methods and forms of evaluation. Therefore, teachers shall pay attention to the principles below:

6. Participation.

   Teachers have to care about the activeness of students’ participation and cooperation and provide a relative evaluation form in time to note down the activity students’ took part in.

7. Comprehension.

   Contents of evaluation can not be partial. It have to consider students’

   knowledge base of every discipline, the basic sensor knowledge study as well as their ability to solve practical problems with comprehensive knowledge.

8. Encouragement.

   As for middle school students, knowledge of Arduino and sensor is new. After the freshness of learning, they will encounter series of problems. At this time, teachers have to use encourage words to keep students’ curiosity fresh.Besides, teachers shall encourage students to use their advantages and try it bravely to create a satisfied artwork.

   The design tasks of Sensor Series Courses are mainly focused on practical operation. Course evaluation is based on artwork evaluation. And the artwork can be a completed product or a semi-completed product. It depends on the actual situation of students. However, students must hand in their designs. And the final results are given according to the format of ” homework(30%) + final artwork(40%)+ attendance(30%). The evaluation elements of homework and final artwork are listed below:

   Name			Staff
   Index	Rank					Score
   	A	B		C
   Sensor Knowledge and Technique(15 points)	Know basic sensor conception, working method and usage. (0-9 points)	Familiar with basic sensor conception, working method and usage. (9-12 points???/span>		Master basic sensor conception, working method and usage. (12-15 points)
   Interdisciplinary Knowledge (15 ponits)	Know sensor related interdisciplinary knowledge.(0-9 points)	Familiar with sensor related interdisciplinary knowledge. (9-12 points???/span>		Master sensor related interdisciplinary knowledge. (12-15 points)
   Creation Ability(20 points)	Do as task assigned only. (0-9)	Design an artwork with comparatively better creation. (12-16 points)		Design and realize a very creative artwork. (16-20 points)
   Program Design(15 points)	Write simple program according to the case provided.(0-9)	Can write and debug program(9-12 points)		Can write , debug and optimize program. (12-15 points)
   Practice Ability(20 points)	Loose and messy cable connection(0-12 points)	Firm, in order cable connection and accomplished partial task (12-16 points)		Firm, in order cable connection and the whole combined well and accomplished all tasks. (16-20 points)
   Usefulness(15 points)	Not show practical use (0-9 points)	With certain use (9-12 points)		Highly useful (12-15 points)
   Total Score