ELECTRIC LEGO® BRICKS!

Please Explore!

We try to teach "electronics" at the school....unfortunately the principles of electricity are somewhat abstract. We have done "atomic plays" with kids passing "electron tennis balls" from one to another. I have purchased several "Radio Shack," Heathkit and Kelvin Electronic trainers. Yet still my students are puzzled by the most profound laws. The spirit is there ( what student does not want to build a "robot" or creatively blow something up? ) just not the capacity to appreciate what cannot be manipulated in a very intuitive way.

I had a chat with one of my students ( who now finishing his degree at MIT ) about teaching electronics. He told me that he owned several electronic trainers and faithfully built every project...and at MIT the first time he had to ACTUALLY diagram which way the electrons flowed he was lost. There has to be a better way!

At first I taught about the characteristics of individual electronic elements. This involved gross oversimplification, but students could identify the pieces and parts. In addition the learning event became "hands-on," to be preferred over lengthy lectures. It was easier to teach about electricity if students could handle the pieces...

( This is different than utilizing "trainer kits," most of which have the parts hard-wired into the board and the activities center around connecting one "spring connecter" to another. Inevitably, the activity centered around insuring the right springs were connected...number 53 to number 89 for example...and the individual electrical pieces ceased to have any meaning for the student ).

SO I jumped into electronics with a breadboard, a crate of donated parts, an excellent HP multimeter and a variable power supply.

Yet I sought to make this a fun exercise for even younger students. I decided I had to keep trying to make electronics part of the student's world...something they could intuitively manipulate.

( Is that Papert out there chuckling? )

With the aid of an exacto and a hot glue gun, I transformed a group of mere blocks into "Electric Lego® bricks!" First, I put a series of resistors into the bricks, clearly labeling each. Then after a brief talk about series and parallel resistor circuits, I would challenge students to hit a set number on the multimeter using alligator clips.

The bricks ( in this instance ) have little to do with the electronics being discussed...rather they afford the student some familiarity with the thing they are holding. I have found students willing to risk more and experiment more than previously...they may be unwilling to explore electronic items for fear of breaking something or doing it "wrong," but they knew these square things. It became easier to work with younger students in this manner!

A PICTURE OF THE RESISTOR BRICKS

ANOTHER PICTURE OF RESISTOR BRICKS

A SHOT OF A CAPACITOR BRICK

A PICTURE OF A TRANSISTOR BRICK!

A SHOT OF A SWITCH BRICK!

This is not a new concept...( those goofy MIT guys have been doing it for years ), but you do not see it among the younger or nonivory tower population!

Okay WebLanders, I challenge you to come up with your own interesting "Electric Bricks."

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