Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mr. Hogan.

I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

We are going to have such a great time learning about physical computing.

I'll be supporting you with our learning during these lessons.

I'm so pleased you've decided to complete your learning with me today, we are going to do brilliantly.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit physical computing using the micro:bit.

This lesson is called Reflecting on a Physical Computing Project.

I'm really looking forward to learning with you today and hopefully we can consider how we reflect on a physical computing project.

There's two keywords in the lesson today, prototype.

This is an early model of a programme or digital system.

The other keyword today is device.

This is a physical machine that can perform computations and process information electronically.

So whenever you see these two keywords, make sure you understand what they mean.

Remember, you can always pause the video and come back to this slide.

This lesson is split into two.

The first part is to finalise and document your project, and then the second part of the lesson is to explore other physical computing devices.

So let's start with finishing our project off and documenting it.

I'm really looking forward to doing this lesson with you.

It would be really good to get everything together and to see everything working.

In this step, you'll put the finishing touches to your prototype.

You'll also document and reflect on what you've built.

So we've come to the last step in our three steps when we build a physical computing prototype.

Before finishing your project, make sure everything is working perfectly to finalise the project.

So check the hardware.

Are all the wires and components connected securely? Functionality testing.

Does your project do what it's supposed to do? Can you do any code refinement? So take one last look at your code.

Can you make it neater or more efficient? Are there any bugs to fix still? And finishing touches.

So add any final details to your physical design.

So these are all the things that should be checked when you finalise a project.

Lucas is asking, wow, we finally finished our project, but how are we going to remember all the steps we took and the code we wrote? Izzy's replied, what if we want to share our project with someone else? How will they know how to use it or understand how it works? So they're right.

It's a good idea to create a guide to document a physical computing project.

This guide will explain what your project does and how it works.

It can include tips for solving common problems or challenges.

It can provide instructions on how to build or use the project and allows others to learn from your project and maybe even build their own version.

This is an example of a guide from a Raspberry Pi project.

It documents how to troubleshoot pairing issues between a micro:bit and a computer.

So you can see there the heading, my device won't pair and it suggests things like unplugging and plugging it back in.

Sounds obvious, doesn't it? But quite often that will solve some issues.

And then it says about using a download button to download your programme as what we call a hex file.

And then move the programme to your micro using your file system and then it goes into different operating systems. So if you're using Windows, check that you can see the micro:bit under this PC on the left hand side when you're looking at your files and your folders.

And then on the Mac OS, it does the same thing.

But instead of using the file explorer, it uses finder and check that the micro:bit is appearing in finder to see if it is connected.

Let's have a check.

What would you include when creating a guide to document a physical computing project? A, common problems? B, detailed reasons for choosing your project? C, your thoughts and feelings throughout the project? Remember you can pause this video at any time or go back to some previous slides to find the answer.

Should we take a look at the answer? It's A, common problems. Yeah, so we should put the common problems into our guide when we're documenting the physical computing project.

Example documentation may look like this.

So an introduction for the beating heart project.

So we're going to use a micro:bit to control an LED.

The LED is placed inside the paper heart.

A programme then controls the flashing of the heart stored on the micro:bit.

Common problems in your documentation.

So for example, code is not working.

So use the emulator step through your code.

The LED is not flashing.

Make sure your positive leg of the LED is connected to the right pin on the micro:bit and the negative leg is connected to the ground pin.

I cannot transfer any code to the micro:bit.

So make sure your micro:bit is connected to your computer with the USB cable.

So we've got three common problems there that you may have come across and how to solve those problems. So how you created the physical computing project.

So you could put an outline of what you actually did, planned the project, decomposed the task, built the project, refined and improved the project and then finalised and documented the project.

Lucas is asking, what is an evaluation? What's the point? An evaluation is really important actually.

It helps us to reflect on what we did well and what we can improve.

It helps us see if our project really solves the problem we were trying to solve.

Part of the documentation in your guide could be about your reflection on your actual learning journey.

So you could answer questions like, what did you learn? What challenges did you overcome? What would you do differently next time? Let's have a quick check for understanding.

What is a suitable reason for reflecting on your project? Is it A, to identify what went well and what could be improved? B, to explain your project to someone who has never seen it before? Or C, to show off how good your project is? Remember you can pause this video at any time or go back to previous slides.

Shall we have a look at the answer? It's A, to identify what went well and what could be improved.

So task A, one, it's over to you.

Create a guide to document your physical computing project.

Cover the following when writing it.

A, introduction, B, common problems, and C, how to create a physical computing project.

This example taken from a Raspberry PI website provides an introduction to the micro:bit for a similar project.

So we've got what will I create? So it goes on to explain that they're going to be using the sensors, the buttons, and all the different things on the micro:bit.

What you need to know.

So the path is ideal for beginners for the micro:bit and then what it requires.

So it goes to say about requiring things like you need a laptop or a desktop computer or a Raspberry Pi computer, access to the MakeCode environment and have a MakeCode account to save your work.

So this is another example.

You can add any of these things in as well.

So it's your turn now to document your own physical computing project and complete those three things.

Remember you can pause the video at any time.

You can go back and look at the slides where we've explained what to put in the introduction and the common problems and the section about how to create a physical computing project.

So a possible answer to create a guide.

So the introduction, this project shows you how to create your own electronic firefly using a micro:bit and an LED.

You'll learn how to make the LED blink just like a real firefly.

So that's a good introduction, isn't it? Yeah, it shows the reader what they're going to create and what they're going to use.

A micro:bit, an LED and then actually how to make the LED blink.

B, common problems for the firefly project.

The LED isn't lighting up.

The longer leg of the LED should be connected to the zero pin on the micro:bit and the shorter leg should be connected to the GND, the ground pin.

The code's not working.

Make sure your code is correctly entered into the MakeCode editor and test it using the emulator.

So yeah, those could be the common problems, can't they? C, how to create a physical computing project? So I just listed here possible steps that were taken when we were creating the firefly project.

So plan, decompose, gather materials, connect everything together in the circuit, write the code, download and test it on the micro:bit.

And then we did do improvement and refinement.

Task A2.

If you haven't completed the project, think about what it may have been like.

Reflect on what you have learnt.

So answer these questions.

A, what did you learn? B, what challenges did you overcome? What problems or difficulties might arise? How could you solve them? C, what would you do differently next time? So if you had unlimited time or resources, what changes would you make? So this is quite a long answer.

You may want to pause the video and go back and look at some slides.

Have a think about these questions and see if you can answer them.

Possible answers for two.

So what did you learn? So it could be that you learnt how to connect an LED to the micro:bit using wires.

How to make sure I connected the long positive to pin zero and the short leg negative to the GND, the ground pin.

I learned how to use the show LEDs block in MakeCode to turn the LED on and off.

I also learned how to use the pause block to make the light blink at different speeds.

So hopefully you've got your answers.

They could be very similar to this or they could be completely different.

Well done.

B, what challenges did you overcome? At first, my LED wasn't lighting up.

I realised I'd connected it the wrong way round.

I swapped the wires and then it worked.

I also had some trouble getting the blinking pattern right.

I had to experiment with different pause times.

So again, your answers could be completely different, but you may have challenges similar to this that you overcame and make sure you say how you overcame them.

C, what would you do differently next time? I would try using different coloured LEDs to make the firefly more colourful.

I would try adding a button to my project so I could control the blinking pattern with the press of a button.

I would try to make my firefly more realistic by adding more LEDs and making them blink in a more random pattern.

Yeah, all really good things that you could do next time.

So if you think you could add some more to your answers, feel free to do that.

These are just suggested answers, but it may relate somehow to your own physical computing project.

Well done.

You have finished the first part of the lesson, which is where we've refined and documented the project.

So well done.

I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

We're going to move on to the second part of the lesson now, which is exploring other physical computing devices.

So we're gonna look at other devices that can be used for physical computing projects.

Lucas is saying the micro:bit was great to work with.

I wanted to use more GPIO pins to add a motor.

Izzy's saying, me too.

I wanted to make a robot buggy that doesn't bump into things and can follow lines in a maze.

What great ideas they are.

There are lots of other physical computing devices.

You may use these if you want to attempt more advanced projects, need more GPIO pins, need improved processing power or need to use wifi or Bluetooth.

Each device has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The best choice depends on your project goals and your experience level.

So you need to consider factors like cost, ease of use, the device's processing power, and available resources when choosing a device.

This is a physical computing device that we can look at.

So the Raspberry PI is a credit card sized computer.

You can connect a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse to make it a full desktop computer.

It's great for projects like robots, weather stations, or even creating your own video games.

The Raspberry Pi is a step up for bigger, more advanced physical computing project ideas.

Another device is the Arduino Uno.

It's a small computer called a microcontroller.

It's used to build electronic projects like robots, weather stations, and smart devices.

It doesn't come with built-in LEDs, buttons or sensors.

You add everything to it.

There's also the Pico 2W.

This is a tiny microcontroller board made for physical computing projects.

It's very low cost, but it has a fast processor for a micro controller, so it makes it ideal for advanced projects.

It has 26 GPIO pins, allowing you to connect multiple components.

It also has built-in wifi to connect to the internet.

Let's have a quick check.

Which physical computing device is designed to be the easiest for beginners? Is it A micro:bit? B, the Ardunio Uno? C, Raspberry Pi? Have a think, pause the video anytime, or rewind the video and go back to previous slides.

Shall we have a look at the answer? It is A, the micro:bit.

Yeah, it is specifically designed for beginners, so limiting the amount of GPIO pins, so it does have some and it's got all those inbuilt sensors as well.

So it's really easy to use so you don't have to attach anything to it to learn the basics of physical computing.

Let's have another check.

If you wanted to create a game with lots of graphics and complex interactions, which of these devices would be best? A, a micro:bit? B, Raspberry Pi? C, Pico 2W? Pause the video at any time to have a think about the answer.

The answer is B, Raspberry Pi.

Yeah, the Raspberry Pi will be able to cope with lots of graphics and complex interactions with the user.

Let's look at this practise.

One, research the micro:bit, the Pico 2W and the Arduino Uno.

Complete this table comparing features including cost, connectivity, wifi, Bluetooth, processing power, and ease of for beginners.

You can see that we've completed the micro:bit column for you, so you can just check that column and then complete the Pico 2W column and the Arduino Uno column.

Remember, you can pause the video at any time or rewind it if you want to.

This may take a bit of time, so don't worry about it.

You've done really, really well to get this far in the lesson and hopefully you'll find the answers quite quickly and put them into the table.

Well done.

Let's have a look at the answer.

So when we look at the cost feature, we can see that the Pico 2W only costs between five and 10 pounds.

So that's the cheapest out of our physical computing devices.

The Arduino Uno costs between 20 to 25 pound.

The connectivity.

So the Pico 2W can connect using wifi.

The Arduino Uno doesn't have anything.

You've got to attach things to it to do that.

And we can see the micro:bit that we completed in the first place has Bluetooth.

When we look at the processing power feature, both the Pico 2W and the Arduino Uno have very similar processing power.

So moderate processing power.

If we look at the micro:bit though, it's low, it has a lower processing power than the Pico 2W or the Arduino Uno.

When we look at ease of use, the Pico 2W is easy to use.

The Arduino Uno is moderate, so it's slightly harder because probably because you've got to attach all those peripherals to it.

And the micro:bit, which I did for you, the answer, it's very easy.

It's specifically designed to be easy to use.

So you've got a good comparison there of other physical computing devices and hopefully you've explored them really well.

Well done.

You've reached the end of the lesson.

Hopefully you've had a lot of fun.

I know I have.

So in summary, to help others understand and use your physical computing project, it's important to document it and reflect on what worked well and what could be improved.

Also, physical computing devices have different features, so choosing the right one depends on your project needs.

I hope you had fun again during this lesson.

I really did.

Well done.