Where To Start: This where I'll put links to any sites, like key Blog pages, a Google Site, a Google Class room for this project, and maybe GitHub sources site...
Also, If you would like to contact me, email at TopClown@STEAMClown.org
Project Sites and Documentation repositories:
Keep Learning... Keep Pushing... I want to live on Mars some day... So, Teach, Invent, or Build something to help us get there...
Tuesday, January 1, 2092
Monday, May 27, 2019
Style Guides for Technical Documentation
While I don't want to get bogged down as we start this project, I would like to figure out what is the best practices for technical documentation... so as we start, lets just write... but I also want to explore some style guides and eventually settle on a style guide for the docs we use in this project... and make sure we stick to a "voice" and tone that is good for our High School and College learners.
Here are a few links I'm going to be looking at:
What style guides have you used? What is your preferred "voice"?
For general text and instruction I like to try to keep the language in a directive or command form. "Add the LED to the circuit, connecting the Anode (+) to pin 3 of the 555 timer and the cathode (-) to ground", rather than "You can now add the LED to the circuit...."
I tend to favor more informal voice for "Note:" or "Pro Tips", where you use language and descriptions like "You will be more successful in this step if you...."
I would like to get your comments on what you have found to be successful, and if you have examples, please link them in the comments.
Here are a few links I'm going to be looking at:
- Style Guides - https://www.writethedocs.org/guide/writing/style-guides/
- Style Guides for Technical Writers - https://medium.com/technical-writing-is-easy/style-guides-for-technical-writers-72b011f84c4b
- Developing a Departmental Style Guide - https://techwhirl.com/developing-a-departmental-style-guide/
What style guides have you used? What is your preferred "voice"?
For general text and instruction I like to try to keep the language in a directive or command form. "Add the LED to the circuit, connecting the Anode (+) to pin 3 of the 555 timer and the cathode (-) to ground", rather than "You can now add the LED to the circuit...."
I tend to favor more informal voice for "Note:" or "Pro Tips", where you use language and descriptions like "You will be more successful in this step if you...."
I would like to get your comments on what you have found to be successful, and if you have examples, please link them in the comments.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Docs and supporting collateral for each of Ben's videos
Woot... Summer is here.... Time to get to work...
I finished the year by going to 3 concerts in a row... Wed May 22: Teenage Bottle Rockets, Thu May 23: Neon Trees, and May 24: Against Me! Crazy fun, but I would not recommend staing up till 2:00 AM 3 nights in a row for the last 3days of school...:-)
OK, I'm going to note down my thoughts about some structural documents I'm planning to hae for all the Ben Eater videos. Some of tese heading could all be in one doc... or multiple, I'm open to suggestions, but I think if we can limit the number of separate docs, it will be easier for your students to navigate and find the information.
For Each Video:
I finished the year by going to 3 concerts in a row... Wed May 22: Teenage Bottle Rockets, Thu May 23: Neon Trees, and May 24: Against Me! Crazy fun, but I would not recommend staing up till 2:00 AM 3 nights in a row for the last 3days of school...:-)
OK, I'm going to note down my thoughts about some structural documents I'm planning to hae for all the Ben Eater videos. Some of tese heading could all be in one doc... or multiple, I'm open to suggestions, but I think if we can limit the number of separate docs, it will be easier for your students to navigate and find the information.
For Each Video:
- Video Time Line break out Doc - This will take each video and high light the moments where key information is being presented. The goal is not to just point to answers for any quizes we may have, but rather be a reference / Table of Content for what is in the video.
- "As You Watch" question prompt Doc - This doc will have questions hat the student should read and keep present when they are watching the video. The goal is that if they are thinking about a few key questions, they will retain more. I think this doc should ask the student to be able to, in 3-4 sentences describe the key purpose of the video, and be able to answer 3-4 key questions, and then have a list of 10-20 additional questions that could show up on a unit quiz.
- with this, we should create some quizes, as Goggle quiz and hand out formats
- Detailed Build Guide Doc - this is a step by step, with close up pictures of the build. The goal of this is that while you might have student who can work ahead self paced, you will have other that you need to walk through detailed step by step. This doc's primary purpose is to make sure students don't miss key build steps, and can be successful completing the section build.
- Tips and Tricks - Maybe something to cover additional tips and tricks... Though, realistically this probably should be in the Detailed Guide.
- Unit/Module slide presentation - This would be a separate doc (google slides) that could be used to introduce or support a module, and would typically be presented by the teacher. Each slide set should eventually have complete speaker notes, so they can stand on their own, and also so that a new teacher has all the information and background to present the lecture. While I have seen some great presentations, if they don't have the speaker notes, it's hard to reteach it later.
- Teaching Guide - A how to on teaching this section , including a lesson plan
Monday, May 6, 2019
Turning Ben Eater's 8 Bit Computer Into A Class
And... The Great Experiment Begins... Turning Ben Eater's 8 Bit Computer into a class... This year I and my now friend, Randy, had my students start building Ben Eater's 8 Bit Computer. I teach a high school Mechatronics Engineering class to 11 and 12 grade students here in San Jose CA. It's a super cool public Career Technical Education (CTE) school where I get the students for 3 hours every day... So we can really dig into stuff
It was kinda a quick, "Why Not", teaching experiment, to teach digital logic this year. I had a short set of lesson plans for digital logic, but building this 8 bit computer is really a great way to teach many deep digital logic concepts.... so when my superintendent said, "Hey, I have some grant money left, could you come up with a project to spend it on?"... I said yes. We used the grant $$ to buy some "Build an 8 bit computer from scratch" kits... I'm building the lessons and curriculum for free... ha ha... welcome to teaching...
So next year (2019-2020) I'm going to build a high school semester worth of lesson plans. My plan is to build a unit of 50 - 60 hours of curriculum and lesson plans. This will be about 1/3 - 1/2 of my 2nd semester curriculum... If you teach 1 hours a day, this might be 50% or more of you semester...
As soon as school ends this year (May 24... WooHooo), I'm going to start to build a complete kit, and document all the points where students will need background and supplementary material. I'll also create more support lessons and labs to fill in the gaps students with little or no electronics will have... like "What's and LED" and "How does a bread board work?"
My goal is to create supplemental material that will support Ben Eater's already AWESOME project videos... It's great stuff, but it's meant for a Hobbyist... and that is way different than a high school or college student in a class room setting.
Randy and I have started putting together some tips and tricks to teach this... and plan to continue this over the summer, to be ready to teach this again next year. I plan on teaching this starting Jan 2020, so we have some time to tune it.
My additional plan is to make this all Open Source and distributed under a creative commons license... More about my philosophy on Open Source later...
Do you want to teach Ben Eater's 8 Bit Computer project too? DO YOU WANT TO HELP? Come Joint the project... It will be an AWESOME ride, and I think if we get a few of us teachers poking at this, it will be great.
OK.. Here we go... I have 3 weeks of school left... Between now and then, I'll get a google site setup, and maybe a google class room. I'll post the links and start letting you know what I'm doing... and how you can help. To Join the project or find out more drop me an email at TopClown@STEAMClown.org
Keep Learning... Keep Pushing... I want to live on Mars some day... Invent or build something to help us get there...
It was kinda a quick, "Why Not", teaching experiment, to teach digital logic this year. I had a short set of lesson plans for digital logic, but building this 8 bit computer is really a great way to teach many deep digital logic concepts.... so when my superintendent said, "Hey, I have some grant money left, could you come up with a project to spend it on?"... I said yes. We used the grant $$ to buy some "Build an 8 bit computer from scratch" kits... I'm building the lessons and curriculum for free... ha ha... welcome to teaching...
So next year (2019-2020) I'm going to build a high school semester worth of lesson plans. My plan is to build a unit of 50 - 60 hours of curriculum and lesson plans. This will be about 1/3 - 1/2 of my 2nd semester curriculum... If you teach 1 hours a day, this might be 50% or more of you semester...
As soon as school ends this year (May 24... WooHooo), I'm going to start to build a complete kit, and document all the points where students will need background and supplementary material. I'll also create more support lessons and labs to fill in the gaps students with little or no electronics will have... like "What's and LED" and "How does a bread board work?"
My goal is to create supplemental material that will support Ben Eater's already AWESOME project videos... It's great stuff, but it's meant for a Hobbyist... and that is way different than a high school or college student in a class room setting.
Randy and I have started putting together some tips and tricks to teach this... and plan to continue this over the summer, to be ready to teach this again next year. I plan on teaching this starting Jan 2020, so we have some time to tune it.
My additional plan is to make this all Open Source and distributed under a creative commons license... More about my philosophy on Open Source later...
Do you want to teach Ben Eater's 8 Bit Computer project too? DO YOU WANT TO HELP? Come Joint the project... It will be an AWESOME ride, and I think if we get a few of us teachers poking at this, it will be great.
OK.. Here we go... I have 3 weeks of school left... Between now and then, I'll get a google site setup, and maybe a google class room. I'll post the links and start letting you know what I'm doing... and how you can help. To Join the project or find out more drop me an email at TopClown@STEAMClown.org
Keep Learning... Keep Pushing... I want to live on Mars some day... Invent or build something to help us get there...
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