Day 9

The Makey Makey Wire Game

Twenty first century learning requires students to create, collaborate and think critically. Progress "STEM's" directly from immediate feedback and a personalized learning platform. Coding forces students to problem solve, make mistakes and overcome barriers because programs can only run if written correctly.

In this activity, we will construct a Makey Makey wire game that tests your hand eye coordination, STEM skills and creativity!

Big Ideas:

Geometry: Plotting x and y positions on a grid

Algebra: Creating, incrementing and manipulating variables

Number Sense: Counting and addition

ISTE Standards:

Empowered Learner, Knowledge Constructor, Innovative Designer, Computational Thinker

Supplies:

Stiff wire, cardboard, tape, two washers

Task:

The first step is to construct a track (structure) as simple or as difficult as you would like. In my example I use lead free electrical soldier as it is pliable and a great conductor. The goal of our game is to traverse the track using your wand in the shortest amount of time. In my example, two second penalties are added to the final score for each touch of the track (think water hazard in golf).

The instructions for this game can be found on the Makey Makey site here.

Brian Aspinall is an educator and best selling author and is considered one of the brightest STEM innovators in Canadian education. His book, Code Breaker – 15+ Ways to Get Started With Coding, continues to top the charts in STEM Education with a focus on rethinking assessment and evaluation. Recently he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence for his work with coding and computational thinking. His enthusiasm, thought leadership, and approach to building capacity within STEM education has made him a sought after speaker throughout North America and has earned him the honour of being selected as Canada’s first Minecraft, Micro:BiT, and Makey Makey Ambassadors!