Paul Gardiner talks about the various electronic kits and resources available at the West Midlands Digital D&T centre. The centre provides :
- Support for teachers in the form of twilight meetings at a variety of locations in the West Midlands.
- CPD Courses in electronics and CAD/CAM
- email suport
- Bureau facilites for 3D printing
- Online resources
- Supply of project PCBs. These include rapid prototyping projects for KS3 and 4 and Electricity/electronics for nopn-specialist teachers of GCSE physics.
Paul talks about the free Picaxe flowcharting program used to program these Open Hardware PCB (Printed Circuit Boad) kits.
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He also discusses the use of the DaisyPic. A range of PCBs suitable for stitching onto fabric for projects in e-textiles.
DaisyPIC is inspired by the creative and innovative work of Leah Buechley. Leah is an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab where she directs the High-Low Tech research group. The High-Low Tech group explores the integration of high and low technology from cultural, material, and practical perspectives, with the goal of engaging diverse groups of people in developing their own technologies. Leah is a well-known expert in the field of electronic textiles (e-textiles), and her work in this area includes developing a method for creating cloth printed circuit boards (fabric PCBs) and designing the commercially available LilyPad Arduino toolkit. Especially the Arduino Lilly Pad.
He also talks about the marrying of Textiles and Electronics and the scientific possibilities of the combination of these two areas and also about the dye-sublimation process and the use of SpeedStep combined electronics or e-textiles. An exciting area but under some pressure at the moment because with the new KS3 orders for technology textiles has now become optional whereas systems and controi; has now become an entitlement so e-textiles is a way to keep that curricular area vital and alive.
It's interesting to see this sudden interest in e-textiles as Arduino kits and maker fayres are beginner to emerge generally as a social hub for families and other films in this series will touch on activities outside of schools.
