NEIT+2013+OpenSpace+1D

=MaKey MaKey Board= toc Open Space 1 Jan. 30, 2013 - 5:30-6:30 Rock Room

Facilitators
Francesca Zammarano - United Nations International School Jim Tiffin Jr - The Harley School

Description
"The MaKey MaKey is an Invention Kit for Everyone!" In as simple an explanation as possible, the board lets you turn almost anything into a key on your computer. You can turn a lump of tin foil into a spacebar... a plum into an UP arrow... your little brother into a CLICK of the mouse. Here's the promo video:

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Operation
The board is ready to use right out of the box. It connects to the computer via USB, which provides both power and communication.

The device uses alligator clips to connect to certain contacts on the board itself. There is nothing special about the alligator clips and the MaKey MaKey... the clips just simply hold onto the board better. When you form a complete circuit connecting the Earth contacts with one of the other contacts, the board sends a signal to the computer which then acts out that command.

Technical
Essentially, the device is a super powerful resistor that uses switching to close and open contacts. The main contacts are on the front of the board, but the back of the board has contacts for additional keys and mouse directional controls. Additionally, the MaKey MaKey runs on Arduino. Running the board in "Ardunio mode" would all for the controlling of motors, lights, LEDs, or anything else that can be connected to an Arduino.

Online Resources
MaKey MaKey Homepage - the main home for all things Makey Kickstarter Funding - The page where the idea got started... money-wise MaKey MaKey Forum - community of users sharing ideas, problems, and solutions MaKey MaKey Videos - link to the results page of a Google search SparkFun Standard Kit - one particular vendor of the MaKey MaKey kit SparkFun Deluxe Kit - this kit has a few extra parts included to help encourage new possibilities

Ideas
(the guerrillacoop hastag was recently started by Andrew Carle. The teacher is member of the [|Maker Education Initiative]. If you want to hear about super cool things that students can do in regards to building and creating things, then you __must__ follow him. Another great place to get ideas along these lines is at the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer conference.)
 * Create a new interface for Scratch
 * Interact with other game-like websites
 * Use as part of a science unit on circuits
 * Teamwork building activities - each person is assigned a key, and then team must work together to accomplish some keyboarding task
 * Building unique interfaces to assess learning - like the old light up boards
 * Building unique interfaces in order to play a game - also known as a #guerrillacoop

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