Piper Make Kit
The Piper Make Kit includes:
20 Piper Make Starter Kits, each containing:
Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller
830 Hole Breadboard
Jumper Wires
Resistors
Tactile Buttons
LEDs
Micro-USD to USB-A cable, 1 meter
Laser Cut, Laser Etched Wood Base
1 Spare Parts Kit
Nine Missions in Basic Circuits and Coding
The estimated time for each mission is 1 hour. Understanding that you may only have a couple of hours a week to devote to the Piper Make Curriculum, we generally check out the kit to you for a period of 2-3 weeks.
Mission 1 Getting Started: Intro to the Raspberry Pi Pico, the Piper Make microcontroller and how it connects to Mission Control.
Mission 2 Blink: Building a circuit with an LED and code it to blink.
Mission 3 Traffic Light: Build a series of LEDs and program them to light up in specified ways.
Mission 4 Reaction Game: Build and code an LED to light up at a random time and measure who is able to press their button faster.
Mission 5 Silly Stories: Piper's take on the classic MadLibs game. Students will fill in the spaces of storylines they create themselves.
Mission 6 Tally: Build a counter with a variable. The counter records how many times a button is pressed.
Mission 7 Guess my Number: Create a random number generator and learn to do comparisons after a number is given.
Mission 8 Bouncy Numbers: Create bouncing numbers to illustrate the Collatz Conjecture.
Mission 9 Speak Like a Machine: Explore binary code, a foundational part of computing.
Disconnecting and Ejecting
In order to prevent corrupted files or unreadable media, there are a few steps you should take before unplugging your Raspberry Pi Pico from the Chromebook.
Step 1: Click the "disconnect" button in the lower left corner of your Piper Make interface.
Step 2: Open the "files" on your Chromebook via the launcher (bottom left of Chromebook screen).
Step 3: Click the "eject" button next to the removable device and then unplug the Raspberry Pi Pico.
Creative Mode
In addition to the 9 missions in the Starter Kit Expedition, you can create your own custom projects! After you switch to Creative Mode, click the new project icon to open a blank new project. Try one of these Maker's Challenges from the Getting Started Guide (a paper booklet included in your Starter Kit):
Blink to the Beat: Can you create a light that flashes in time to some music? It could be for your favorite song.
Best of Three: Can you change your program from the Reaction Game mission to add a point for each of three rounds and then declare a winner?
Button Flash: Can you add an LED to your circuit from the Tally mission and make it flash every time the button is pressed?
Decimal to Binary: Can you alter your program from the Speak Like a Machine mission so that it converts decimal numbers into binary?
... or, make whatever you can imagine!
Google Integrations
Google SSO
From the make.playpiper.com homepage, click "Sign In" at the top right and sign in with your Google Classroom educator account, then click on Allow for all the permissions required by Piper.
Other Google Tools
In addition to Google Single-Sign On, some of the key tools are built into each mission tile. You can access educator guides, download code, and share tutorials.
Supporting Readers
Since the tutorials in Piper Make have a lot of text, some of your students may need help reading. Read&Write is a Chrome extension that will read aloud the text on a website. Follow the instructions below to add the extension.
Add the Read&Write Extension
Go to chromewebstore.google.com and search for the Read&Write Extension. Here is a link you can post in Google Classroom for students to find the extension. Click "Add Extension" to add Read&Write to your Chrome browser. Once added, you can find it in the extensions menu. Click on the puzzle piece icon to see a list of your extensions. Click the push pin icon to pin any extension to your Chrome toolbar for easy access.
