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Week 3

This week we built a Smart City, where students designed and built a model of a futuristic city that uses technology to solve real-world problems. We worked with Adafruit microcontrollers to add interactive elements. Throughout, students combined skills in engineering, coding, and digital fabrication to feature structures using different materials and program to simulate smart technology. I worked on getting used to this documentation process. Optional Simplified Alternative: Smart Homes If constructing a city feels too big, students can instead explore smart home technologies like automatic lights, voice assistants, security systems.

Objectives

  • Students will research at least two smart technologies used in Miami or other metropolitan cities.
  • Students will identify one smart technology to simulate in their physical model.
  • Students will collaboratively design, build, and present a working prototype of a smart technology.
  • Students will code a simple interaction using MakeCode and Adafruit board.
  • Students will use the engineering design process to troubleshoot a physical computing project.
  • Students will practice presentation skills and explain the purpose, function, and social impact of their smart system.
  • Students will reflect on the ethical and civic dimensions of smart technologies.

Materials

  • Adafruit Circuit Playground Express
  • USB cables
  • Alligator clips
  • Cardboard/foamboard
  • 3D Printer
  • Hot glue guns
  • Rulers
  • Tinkercad
  • MakeCode

Process

  1. In small groups, students research at least two smart technologies currently used in Miami or other urban areas.
  2. Pick one smart tech to replicate (automated traffic lights, noise detectors, earthquake alarm) and discuss which sensors could help simulate its function (temperature, motion, light, sound, button press, etc)
  3. Begin constructing buildings, roads, parks, out of cardboard or 3D participants. Groups 3D print or build structures out of cardboard and plan out a city or a neighborhood block. (Cut access points for wires, sensors, or buttons)
  4. Code for interactivity by utilizing MakeCode to integrate the Adafruit as part of the model and simulate the behavior.
  5. Mount Adafruit board onto the your base and wire sensors or switches so that they respond physically inside buildings or on street posts (push a button, shake, dim lights).
  6. Support with glue gun

Where are the learners struggling?

Students tended to struggle most when it came to the coding and technical integration aspect (as do I). For many students, this was their first experience writing code or connecting circuits so this presented a challenge. Additionally, some of them realized how ambitious their plans were and needed to scale back their ideas into more achievable steps.

How is the timing of your activities/ lesson?

The timing of the activities for this lesson was challenging between balancing the coding, 3D printing, and physically building the structures. Students needed more time than expected when it came to the coding and troubleshooting phases, even when working with the Adafruit boards.

How does the activity support learners with differing needs/ ZPDs?

This activity supports learners with differing needs because it paired students of varying levels to collaborate and help each other. This allowed more students to learn from one another, and stronger coders helped their groupmates troubleshoot and construct models. Others focused more on building and designing the physical structures but in all, this offered multiple opportunities to learn and offered flexible ways to engage with the project.

Does the lesson plan teach or reinforce the learning objectives developed for the lesson plan? (your assessment)

What improvements can be made?

Improvements that can be made is having various “checkpoints” so that the group can stay organized and review some of their technical or design issues rather than doing it at the end during assembly. Introducing some basic electronic or coding lessons prior to this one would have helped students build upon their skills more gradually and ensure they enter the project with a more solid foundation.

What surprised you or your learners?

One thing that surprised me was how the students came up with very innovative smart city features to implement (unfortunately, not all were included in the project). This all happened once the students gained confidence and took ownership of the technology to find problems and the solutions to solve them.

sample photo

Collaboration: Reflect on how you worked with colleagues or FLA participants during the Field Activity. At what stages of development and testing did the collaborator contribute? Please be detailed in your description. How did your collaborator’s perspective change the way you developed the lesson?

Instructional Challenges: What challenges did you encounter while teaching this lesson? How did you address or plan to address them? How are diverse learners’ needs being met in the lesson plan facilitation?

Integrating Disciplines: Where does your lesson plan fall on the continuum and why? How might you move the lesson plan along the continuum to the next level?

  • Multidisciplinary
  • Interdisciplinary
  • Transdisciplinary

This “Smart CIty” lesson plan falls within the interdisciplinary level of the continuum as students are integrating various different subject areas such as engineering, design, computer science to solve a problem. While they are connected, are addressed somewhat separately.

To move the lesson plan to the next level, I could have the students dive deeper into topics like urban planning or environmental science to address real human environmental needs rather than be structured by individual subjects. This would make it more about the whole rather than the sum of its parts.

AI Usage: If you used AI, describe how it was used and in which steps of the Field Activity.

I used AI to help me write the assessment rubric. Once I explained the lesson plan, along with the objectives, materials I have available, and process I was able to dictate the criteria I wanted ChatGPT to measure and create the rubric.

Reflect on the course in general:

  • How has your teaching changed as a result of this course?
  • What are some concepts that you would like to learn more about?
  • How can you support other teachers in your practice to use digital fabrication with their students?

My teaching has become much more intentional. When I first started I was very limited not only in my comprehension of the equipment and lessons, but in my understanding of what it took to teach effectively. As I grew, I became more focused on guiding students through problem-solving processes rather than just disseminating information. I was so fixated on time constraints that I let it become a determining factor in how I teach and have since learned that incorporating more hands-on activities through PBL lessons have become more engaging and meaningful to students even if it required additional classes to complete.

There are several concepts I would still like to learn more about. Microcontrollers and coding are very much still a weakness and new to me, and I know that developing more skills in this discipline can really expand on the creativity of any project I work on. I would also like to deepen my skills in modeling, especially since my CNC machine isn’t currently working. This would not only benefit CNC projects but enhance the quality of my 3D printing. Additionally, I would like to move beyond just Tinkercad and utilize more advanced programs like Blender. Lastly, while I’m not too interested in vinyl cutting I do see a lot of potentional for its application in both educational and creative projects.

I can support other teachers in my practice by offering training and workshops that introduce them to the basics of digital fabrication. Just as we had many fantastic speakers throughout the program, I can fit that role for someone who is just getting started and as I grow more proficient and comfortable with the equipment. I would also create easy templates or lesson plans that align with their disciplines or subject areas to naturally fit their curriculum. Providing ongoing support and sharing examples of our students’ work can also make it easier to display what is possible.

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
}

** OR ** using HTML

sample photo
Example image with caption

Example video

From Vimeo

Sound Waves from George Gally (Radarboy) on Vimeo.

From Youtube

Smart City Project Rubric

Category 4 - Excellent 3 - Good 2 - Developing 1 - Beginning
City Design & Creativity City design is highly creative, detailed, and realistic. Strong evidence of planning and innovation. City design is creative and mostly detailed. Some evidence of planning. TitCity design is basic with limited details. Planning appears minimal. le City design is incomplete or lacks creativity and planning.
Technical Integration Electronics and code work seamlessly within the model with two or more smart features working successfully. Electronics and code work well with minor issues; at least one smart feature integrated. Electronics or code are partially working; limited smart feature integration. Electronics and code are missing, incomplete, or not functioning.
Team Collaboration Group worked extremely well together; roles clearly defined; all members contributed equally. Group worked well together with minor collaboration issues. Some group members participated more than others; collaboration was uneven. Little to no collaboration; most work done by one or two individuals.
Presentation Skills Presentation is clear, engaging, and demonstrates deep understanding of project design and technology. Presentation is clear and demonstrates good understanding, with minor gaps. Presentation is somewhat unclear or missing key explanations. Presentation is unclear, disorganized, or incomplete.
Reflection & Problem-Solving Reflection is thoughtful and shows strong understanding of challenges and how they were overcome. Reflection identifies some challenges and solutions with basic insight. Reflection is superficial with limited discussion of challenges or learning. Reflection is incomplete or missing; little evidence of learning.
Scoring Guide Grade
18–20 points Outstanding
15–17 points Proficient
11–14 points Basic
Below 11 points Needs Improvement