SparkFun Education Blog | Derek Runberg (2)

Derek Runberg

Four Ways to Extend the Capabilities of your micro:bit

BY Derek Runberg 5/17/18 7:00 AM

We've seen a lot of traction over the past year around the micro:bit in K-12 education. It is easy to program, Chromebook compatible and has a number of bells and whistles on it that make it really ... Continue reading

Free your radio functionality on the micro:bit

BY Derek Runberg 3/29/18 6:00 AM

micro:bit programming computer science STEM

The micro:bit has made a huge impact on getting "quicker to awesome" in the classroom. From third grade to high school and beyond, it has proved itself to be a platform that is easy to learn and ... Continue reading

A Car in Space? Let Students Ponder Why.

BY Derek Runberg 2/15/18 6:36 AM

Events

On the morning of February 7th I was sitting on my couch drinking my morning coffee with my wife and watching the “Today” show when a segment came up about SpaceX and their groundbreaking launch of ... Continue reading

Building a weather station with micro:bit and App Inventor

BY Derek Runberg 10/26/17 8:32 AM

Maker Education micro:bit programming computer science STEM weather

Recently, I did an hourlong webinar on the idea of combining the micro:bit with MIT App Inventor where we leveraged Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and a tool called BlockyTalkyBLE to build apps that ... Continue reading

Citizen Science With the micro:bit

BY Derek Runberg 8/22/17 6:30 AM

micro:bit weather

My greatest frustration with science class when I was in school was during labs. For some reason I saw them for what they were…rule-following exercises. Think about it for a second. The lab stations ... Continue reading

Arduino Inventor's Guide: The Book

BY Derek Runberg 6/27/17 6:48 AM

Arduino teaching tools announcement Maker Education student projects getting started programming microcontroller

Over the past year and a half, SparkFun has been working with No Starch Press to release our second book. We're so excited to announce that we just got our first copies from the press! The SparkFun ... Continue reading

A Guide to Development Boards for Educators: Microprocessors vs. Microcontrollers

BY Derek Runberg 6/22/17 6:29 AM

Arduino teaching tools Maker Education getting started microcontroller helpful information What is a

The world of development boards in the hobbyist and educational market is exploding; every year there are new boards with new chips — cheaper, faster and with more bells and whistles. Some of the ... Continue reading

A Teacher’s Guide to Experiencing a Maker Faire

BY Derek Runberg 5/30/17 6:56 AM

Professional Development Events getting started

I have been to a few Maker Faires — most of them while working for SparkFun, which usually amounts to manning a booth, meeting with other makers and checking out all of the new technology and ... Continue reading

Taking the First Steps Into the World of IoT With the Arduino 101

BY Derek Runberg 4/27/17 6:53 AM

Arduino Maker Education Internet of Things getting started

For many teachers the idea of approaching Arduino in the classroom seems daunting, and they feel like they need to know everything before they dive into embedded electronics with their students. In ... Continue reading

Where to Start With This Arduino Thing?

BY Derek Runberg 3/28/17 6:39 AM

Arduino Processing getting started

The number one question I get from classroom teachers after “Where do I start?” is “What language should I teach?”...and then “Well, then does X platform or board support that?” These questions are ... Continue reading