Play is a fundamental part of our human experience, particularly as we grow up. It helps to shape our identities, build confidence, and establish critical peer negotiation and problem-solving skills. The current era of social isolation has deprived many children of these formative experiences and has led to an overreliance on screen-based interaction to facilitate social connection and virtual play. 

This studio will give students the opportunity to reimagine gaming and virtual play experiences through the lens of IoT technology. Using Wi-Fi enabled devices and basic electronic components, students will design, fabricate, manipulate, and subvert, rule based and open ended games. These games could be cooperative, where each player works towards a common goal while overcoming obstacles along the way. 

Welcome to Arduino!

The first step in learning Arduino is to download the software.  This can be found at arduino.cc.  There are the step by step instructions in the images above.  

It is recommended to make sure that the install has worked by opening the arduino app on your computer.  In our next tutorial, we will go through how to use this interface and connect it to your physical Arduino device.

NOTE

If you have a chromebook, you will not be able to use this method and instead will need to create an account on Arduino Create to gain access to the web editor version.

Creating Your Studio Setup

For this activity, you will be creating a space where you can work on your robot over the next two weeks. There are two parts to this activity:

Part 1: Space 

1. To start off, you will need to find a space where you will be able to work, and to clear it off completely. Perhaps you have a desk or table that you can use, or maybe prefer to work on the floor. 
2. Once you have staked your claim and cleared it off, you may want to clean it as well (either wipe it down, brush it off, etc.)
3. Take a picture of your work surface to share with the studio 

Part 2: Materials

1. In addition to the materials we have sent you, collect any other tools you may have or think that you might need.
2. Organize those materials in your space, for how to organize, you can check out this video on Knolling
3. Photograph the materials you have knolled to share with the studio

Deliverable

Once you complete this activity, be sure to take at least  (2) photos of your work surface and knolled materials. We will go over how to post documentations into the Response tab when we meet as a studio.