Ideas for a Makeblock workshop for ~15 people

#1

Hello Makeblock community!

What would be your recommendation for a beginner workshop (build and a bit of coding) for a group of 12-16 people and a budget of 1000 USD for parts? I’m wondering what sort of project/object would be a good and fun introduction to Makeblock at a basic/beginner level?

I’m also not sure whether it would be better to divide the group into teams of 3-4 people working on the same smaller project or a whole group making parts of a single large project? What’s your recommendation and experience?

In terms of more smaller kits vs one larger kit, my thinking is:

  • Larger kit would allow me to make more advanced projects in the future.
  • Buying more smaller kits would mean many duplicate parts but possibly better for a beginner group?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, links and general advice!

Alex

#2

You don’t mention the age of the students or the duration of the workshop which would be helpful.

I use the mBot STEM robot because I’m primarily focused on teaching the programming first. This kit comes with two motors, several sensors, and can be programmed with mBlock (Scratch) or the Arduino IDE (C/C++).

I’ve taught the course as a week-long all-day activity for middle and high school students. I have compiled those materials into an ebook I published a couple of years ago (link) so that might be helpful (or not. Your mileage may vary). The book starts with a very simple activity and culminates in the creation of a program to allow the robot to solve a maze.

Regards,

Chuck

#3

Hello ALx,

I have a lot of Makeblock product and I love it. However, without the information, if you have computers or tablets, or how old is your project, here is my recommendation for your budget. The HaloCode seems like a good product to start. It is not very expensive, you could easily have 16 and even more. The possibilities are good. On the forum, there is the user: Gungorhilal who makes a very good project. The sensor is multiple and fun.

Otherwise, the mBot remains correct and there is a lot of documentation but your budget will be limited.

Codey and neuron blocks will be too expensive. However, there are projects that can be done without a computer with the Neuron blocks, but they are quite simple. Otherwise, with a computer, the Neurons are very good.

For the motionblock, I do not have … not enough money;)

That’s it … if you have any other questions … do not hesitate.

PS : Sorry for english, google is my friend because my english is horrible

#4

Thanks!

The workshop is aimed at 16-24 year olds that haven’t got much or anything to do with building* and coding.

As for the time, it’s just a day, so a few hours.

That’s why I wanted to have a simple fun build with minimal coding. Something that will show them it’s easy to have something relatively quickly. I think for this age group I don’t want a toy-like product (motionblock, codey rocky) but something more adult (“Lego Technic +”) that’s why the blue Makeblock maker parts are my choice.

The question is what build would you recommend? I was thinking of a ball launcher or a simple sense-this-do-that project each to be built by 2-3 people group. But it would be even better if each group made a different part of a larger “thing” that would be put together at the end but am unsure if such project exists (for 15 people in total).

*building as in stepper motors, belts nad sensors.

#5

I understand.

I found that but there is no programming.
ball thrower

For your budget and ours, you will have to be creative.
I hope there will be another suggestion.

#6

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.