Wow - an active forum! Sometimes, being new, ya never know but I'm happily surprised by the feedback.
Mega-thanks!
My goals for Wednesday
1 --> Introduction, show them some simple stuff that I can do, ask for their input, without boring them (these days, some adolescents tend to have millisecond attention spans - ha).
2 --> Ask them to search the Internet and find how microcontrollers are being used to solve problems, express creativity with art projects, have fun and blah, blah, blah. Briefly, I will emphasize the power - and fun - of enhancing their problem solving skills using the Arduino.
3 --> Encourage them to participate by purchasing a Uno and a kit and bring it to class next time we meet.
As you can imagine, it would probably be most helpful if everyone started out with the same hardware. Initially, and because I am very new to this, I was going to opt for the kit I purchased (link below) but I'm very open to any suggestions.
ALSO --> and this may be a big hurdle, the IT department WILL NOT allow me to install software on the student machines. Besides asking students to bring in laptops for this endeavor, does anyone have an idea how I can overcome this obstacle and get my students the software they need for this ongoing adventure? We have 28 student computers, each has 6GB RAM, good processors, and blah, blah, blah.
Thanks again,
millis