Programmable Battery (PB: Programmable Battery) is a tool that can connect motors, LEDs, various switches, etc., and record and play back on/off patterns of motors, etc., by simply operating buttons on the main unit, without using a computer or tablet.
Ten buttons are used to set the timing for turning on motors and other devices.
The Programmable Battery was born from the idea of being able to program the battery at the touch of a button.
We have had many people, from preschoolers and elementary school students to university students and adults, experience our workshops.
No matter what the age, this is a tool to enjoy a little bit of making things with computers that can utilize the ideas and knowledge of each person.
Concept
Programming education in elementary schools has become compulsory from the P2020 school year. Programming education in elementary schools was popular in the 1980s, when computers were first introduced to schools, but it has not been a continuous effort since then. In the case of Logo and Basic, which were used at that time, programs were written in text, so it was necessary to be very careful not to make grammatical mistakes, and in the case of Logo, only so-called turtle graphics were used, which biased the children’s interest. In the case of Logo, only so-called turtle graphics were used, and this biased the children’s interests, which is thought to be one of the reasons why the system was not used continuously (Resnick et al. 2009). This is also thought to be one of the reasons why teachers did not actively expand their use of the system in the classroom, as their methods of use were also limited. More than 30 years later, elementary school programming education in the 2020s aims to develop human resources who can flexibly respond to new technologies such as AI and IoT that will support the future social infrastructure, as well as to foster new thinking skills such as programming thinking and computational thinking. The program also aims to nurture new thinking skills such as programming and computational thinking.
On the other hand, a research group led by the MIT Media Lab, including Papert, the developer of Logo, has summarized learning through manufacturing, including programming, as constructionism as follows (Kafai & Resnick 1996).
Learners are more likely to create new knowledge when they are actively involved in creating external artifacts that they can reflect on and share with others. It could be a robot, a poem, a sandcastle, a computer program
In other words, programming is a means to an end, and it is most important to be involved in making artifacts as Personally Meaningful Artifacts.
Debugging is the most powerful means of linking programming and learning (Papert 1980), and a means of fostering programming and computational thinking. Learning from what went wrong, finding the causes, fixing it to make it the way you want it, and understanding what went wrong is learning how to learn (also described by MIT researchers as Learning Learning). Programming on a computer is an excellent environment in which to correct mistakes under very limited conditions. However, in the broad sense of the word, we have been correcting our mistakes, or trial and error, as well as debugging, since we were very young.
The Programmable Battery was developed to allow anyone, anywhere, anytime to enjoy digital manufacturing with materials that interest them. Even if you are not familiar with computer operation or programming, you can easily create works using a computer. It is also our hope that many people, including young children, will experience how a little bit of technology can lead to big ideas and learning.