Organizing Classes and Workshops
The following ideas were developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, which has organized many classes and workshops using PicoCrickets.
Our goal is to engage participants in exploring, experimenting,
designing and creating. We organize the room in the spirit
of an artist's studio or inventor's workshop, with art
supplies, LEGO bricks, glue sticks, and other craft materials.
We choose a theme that provides participants with a common
focus, but also inspires a wide diversity of projects.
As participants work on projects, they shift back and forth
between building, programming, and sharing ideas with one
another.
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Ages
PicoCrickets are designed for ages 8 and up, though younger children can make PicoCricket creations, too, with additional support from parents or teachers.
Working in Groups
We find it works best when participants work in groups of 2 or 3, ensuring everyone gets a chance to become actively engaged in designing and programming.
Equipment
PicoCrickets:
We typically provide one PicoCricket kit for each working group.
Computers:
Ideally, we provide a computer for each group. But two groups can share one computer, with one group designing and building while another is programming. Laptops are especially convenient, since it is easy to move them right next to PicoCricket creations.
Projector: We often set up an LCD projector so that we can demonstrate how to program PicoCrickets.
Materials
Before the workshop starts, we set up a table
with a wide variety of materials. Examples include: construction
paper, popsicle sticks, beads, aluminum foil, straws,
and natural materials (like leaves). We also provide ways
to connect materials together, such as masking tape, rubber
bands, pipe cleaners, cable ties, and glue sticks or glue
guns. (It may be helpful to think about both "skeletons" and "skins" --
some materials for building structures and mechanisms,
other materials for covering and decorating.)
Space
Participants will need plenty of table space (or floor space) for building their projects. We make sure to leave enough tabletop space next to each computer so that participants have room for their projects when programming. We set up a materials table in a convenient place so people can gather materials as needed.
Time
We have run some workshops that last just an hour, others that run for many hours over several days. For the best experience, it is important that participants have time to test and revise their projects over several iterations.
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