3. Field Activity 03¶

My students and I worked on designing and building an interative night lamp using MDF particle board and an Adafruit microcontroller.

Collaboration: Reflect on how you worked with colleagues or FLA participants during the Field Activity. What steps did you take to involve collaborators? How did this collaboration influence the outcome of your final lesson plan?¶

I didn’t collaborate with other FLA participants or colleagues for this activity—my focus was on working directly with my students. Their engagement and feedback played a huge role in shaping the lesson. I was able to adjust the project in real time based on their interests, skill levels, and any challenges they faced. While collaborating with other educators could have added an interdisciplinary aspect, I found that working closely with my students allowed me to fine-tune the lesson to better suit their needs.

Instructional Challenges: What challenges did you encounter or anticipate while teaching this lesson? How did you address or plan to address them? Were there, or do you anticipate, specific areas where students might struggle with the technology or content?¶

Diversity: How will you accommodate and support students with diverse learning levels, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds in this lesson?¶

Teacher Growth: How has this experience influenced your approach to integrating technology, such as digital fabrication, into your teaching? What new skills or strategies have you developed as a result?¶

AI Usage: If you used AI, reflect on how it can be leveraged to enhance your teaching. How does collaborating with AI compare to collaborating with a colleague?¶

Code Example¶

Use the three backticks to separate code.

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
  // initialize digital pin LED_BUILTIN as an output.
  pinMode(LED_BUILTIN, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
}