--- title: SparkFun Education Blog (6) description: Maker Education Blog (6) --- [![Sparkfun](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/img/logo.png)](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/index.html) - [SparkFun Webstore](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com) - [Higher Ed](https://sparkfuneducation.com/higher-ed/index.html) - [Contact Us](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/contact-us.html) - [Follow Us](https://twitter.com/SparkFunEDU) - [Home](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com) - [Blog](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com) - [Curriculum](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/curriculum.html) - [PD/Events](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/professional-dev.html) - [KITS/Materials](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/materials.html) - [Educator Stories](https://www.sparkfuneducation.com/educator-stories.html) - [Activities](https://activities.sparkfuneducation.com) [Blog Home](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/) / SparkFun Education Blog [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/EDU/BLOG%20Images/April%2019/cropped-RockCSLogo-5.png)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/calling-all-colorado-educators-dont-miss-rock-cs-rocky-mountain-computer-science-conference-for-p-12-educators) ## [Calling all Colorado educators - Don’t miss Rock CS! Rocky Mountain Computer Science Conference for P-12 Educators](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/calling-all-colorado-educators-dont-miss-rock-cs-rocky-mountain-computer-science-conference-for-p-12-educators) BY [Shelby Landsman](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/shelby-landsman) 4/9/19 6:37 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/calling-all-colorado-educators-dont-miss-rock-cs-rocky-mountain-computer-science-conference-for-p-12-educators#comments-listing) [Events](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/events) [computer science](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/computer-science) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) There’s an exciting new computer science conference coming to Colorado this summer, Rock CS. Created by Adams 12 Five Star Schools and St. Vrain Valley School District, Rock CS is funded by the ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/calling-all-colorado-educators-dont-miss-rock-cs-rocky-mountain-computer-science-conference-for-p-12-educators) [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/EDU/BLOG%20Images/April%2019/51968eb0ce395f352c000000.jpg)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/what-is-a-capacitor) ## [What is a Capacitor?](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/what-is-a-capacitor) BY [Megan Hemmings](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/megan-hemmings) 4/2/19 6:24 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/what-is-a-capacitor#comments-listing) [helpful information](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) [What is a](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/what-is-a) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Capacitors are used to store energy. But they aren’t batteries. So what are they used for and how do they work?... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/what-is-a-capacitor) [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/EDU/BLOG%20Images/March%2019/Micro4Ed%20Class-06.jpg)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/sparkfun-summer-2019-professional-development) ## [SparkFun Summer 2019 Professional Development](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/sparkfun-summer-2019-professional-development) BY [Megan Hemmings](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/megan-hemmings) 3/26/19 9:07 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/sparkfun-summer-2019-professional-development#comments-listing) [Professional Development](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/professional-development) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Each summer, SparkFun hosts a 5-day professional development workshop, Microcontrollers for Educators, to help teachers and other educators learn how to bring computer science and computational ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/sparkfun-summer-2019-professional-development) [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/tenor.gif)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/using-computational-thinking-to-create-music-videos) ## [Using Computational Thinking to Create Music Videos](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/using-computational-thinking-to-create-music-videos) BY [Megan Hemmings](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/megan-hemmings) 3/19/19 6:32 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/using-computational-thinking-to-create-music-videos#comments-listing) [helpful information](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) [STEAM](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/steam) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) OK Go has some of the most innovative music videos around. Now, this may be old news to some of you, after all, the main video I’ll be talking about here was released in 2016, but that doesn’t mean ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/using-computational-thinking-to-create-music-videos) [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/EDU/BLOG%20Images/March%2019/IMG_20190305_095100706.jpg)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-sparkfun-microbit-ecosystem-story) ## [The SparkFun micro:bit Ecosystem Story](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-sparkfun-microbit-ecosystem-story) BY [Megan Hemmings](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/megan-hemmings) 3/12/19 6:34 AM [1](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-sparkfun-microbit-ecosystem-story#comments-listing) [Events](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/events) [micro:bit](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/microbit) [helpful information](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Here at SparkFun Education, we are incredibly passionate about bringing physical computing to students at any age. From introducing first graders to circuits and electricity through paper circuits ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-sparkfun-microbit-ecosystem-story) [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HQweCr7sDWiSCWvDuby6dlbauVU_LTYJcgQM5vzZonb-mR0I6MsrVhI2cmYDBkFX85KMleNsLbEOq5tGa9R1MNfMJkFm4xstWFHzkq1NU8g5LGGGVnDEkip3ZY3_9dlauwW98sV3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/allowing-room-for-failure-the-benefit-of-providing-master-code-files) ## [Allowing Room for Failure: The Benefit of Providing Master Code Files](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/allowing-room-for-failure-the-benefit-of-providing-master-code-files) BY [Shane Diller](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/shane-diller) 3/5/19 6:28 AM [1](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/allowing-room-for-failure-the-benefit-of-providing-master-code-files#comments-listing) [getting started](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/getting-started) [Guest Post](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/guest-post) [programming](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/programming) [helpful information](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) If you’ve followed any of my earlier posts, you may have seen a link to a giant 100+ slide Google Slides on teaching Arduino. If you are crazy and took the time to read through all of it (first off, ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/allowing-room-for-failure-the-benefit-of-providing-master-code-files) [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/EDU/BLOG%20Images/Feb%2019/VR%20and%20Drones.jpg)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-many-benefits-of-stem/steam-learning) ## [The Many Benefits of STEM/STEAM Learning](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-many-benefits-of-stem/steam-learning) BY [Charles Randolph](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/charles-randolph) 2/26/19 6:23 AM [1](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-many-benefits-of-stem/steam-learning#comments-listing) [getting started](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/getting-started) [Guest Post](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/guest-post) [STEAM](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/steam) [computer science](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/computer-science) [STEM](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/stem) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Over the past few years, the topics of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and mathematics) have been pushed to the front line of ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/the-many-benefits-of-stem/steam-learning) [![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/64DaP26PwSitbOeDBNlm9RI9cwVPbVHMJLxtjQdNaEh7vn9TJbRq19I6GGSoXjUsggKF8ambEF4gSe2EZi-6AvgV9EZ0_LyLMWt1gbHiRXcxeUpsg-NBSddnR3AfafFGBr86WIwE)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/makerspaces-provide-skills-beyond-engineering) ## [Makerspaces Provide Skills Beyond Engineering](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/makerspaces-provide-skills-beyond-engineering) BY [Athena Zhang Baker](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/athena-zhang-baker) 2/19/19 6:28 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/makerspaces-provide-skills-beyond-engineering#comments-listing) [makerspace](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/makerspace) [Guest Post](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/guest-post) [helpful information](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Born from the minds of ingenious scientists and creative hobbyists, makerspace areas (and tools) in education have became one of the most popular (and arguably, important) ways to introduce students ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/makerspaces-provide-skills-beyond-engineering) [![](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/hubfs/EDU/BLOG%20Images/Feb%2019/20160318_101209.jpg)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/a-low-cost-simulator-to-teach-cpr) ## [A Low Cost Simulator to teach CPR](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/a-low-cost-simulator-to-teach-cpr) BY [Mrinali P. Kesavadas](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/mrinali-p-kesavadas) 2/12/19 6:38 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/a-low-cost-simulator-to-teach-cpr#comments-listing) [student projects](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/student-projects) [helpful information](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) [STEM](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/stem) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) My work on CPR was motivated by my personal experience. When I was eleven or twelve years old, my dad told me that he lost his father when he was around my age. This surprised me because it never ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/a-low-cost-simulator-to-teach-cpr) [![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/2b-6rxAm3oEpIVo5-CcfBOYWKzR8LgON5teFDRt9CfbP2sa6pY_YbXEvDVn6q_o5nBw2qhl6t8envDRwdoTXfO04rbWW7FH99oLVhDtYfYr7Sgh793OjqpSAkcw1otM6uLcl9jfG)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/light-up-valentine-cards-blog) ## [Light-Up Valentine Card Activity](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/light-up-valentine-cards-blog) BY [Maya Kleinbort](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/maya-kleinbort) 2/4/19 6:33 AM [0](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/light-up-valentine-cards-blog#comments-listing) [paper circuits](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/paper-circuits) [student projects](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/student-projects) [basic circuits](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/basic-circuits) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Light up your love with paper circuits this Valentine’s Day - no soldering required! This tutorial will guide you through how to create simple paper circuitry using only copper tape, a coin cell ... [Continue reading](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/light-up-valentine-cards-blog) [Previous](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/page/5) [All posts](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/all) [Next](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/page/7) ### Subscribe to SparkFun Education Blog ### Topics - [helpful information (79)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/helpful-information) - [Maker Education (60)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/maker-education) - [teaching tools (55)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/teaching-tools) - [getting started (54)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/getting-started) - [Guest Post (44)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/guest-post) - [computer science (40)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/computer-science) - [micro:bit (38)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/microbit) - [student projects (37)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/student-projects) - [STEM (36)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/stem) - [programming (34)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/programming) - [STEAM (31)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/steam) - [Events (28)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/events) - [Arduino (25)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/arduino) - [robotics (20)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/robotics) - [e-textiles (18)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/e-textiles) - [Professional Development (17)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/professional-development) - [basic circuits (17)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/basic-circuits) - [What is a (16)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/what-is-a) - [announcement (16)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/announcement) - [makerspace (15)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/makerspace) - [Community Partnership Program (14)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/community-partnership-program) - [Training (13)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/training) - [raspberry pi (13)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/raspberry-pi) - [python (11)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/python) - [AVC (10)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/avc) - [paper circuits (10)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/paper-circuits) - [Makey Makey (8)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/makey-makey) - [SIK (8)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/sik) - [Adventures in Science (7)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/adventures-in-science) - [microcontroller (7)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/microcontroller) - [Internet of Things (5)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/internet-of-things) - [Processing (4)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/processing) - [Javascript (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/javascript) - [LilyPad (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/lilypad) - [funding (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/funding) - [weather (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/weather) - [Insider (1)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/insider) - [Johnny-five (1)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/topic/johnny-five) All Tags ### Recent Authors - [Megan Hemmings (79)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/megan-hemmings) - [Maya Kleinbort (22)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/maya-kleinbort) - [Derek Runberg (21)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/derek-runberg) - [Shane Diller (16)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/shane-diller) - [Jeff Branson (15)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/jeff-branson) - [Angela Sheehan (12)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/angela-sheehan) - [Melissa Felderman (9)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/melissa-felderman) - [Megan Arnold (8)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/megan-arnold) - [Brian Huang (6)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/brian-huang) - [Shawn Hymel (6)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/shawn-hymel) - [Shelby Landsman (6)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/shelby-landsman) - [Jahnell Pereira (5)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/jahnell-pereira) - [Hailey Blessing (5)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/hailey-blessing) - [Mike Grusin (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/mike-grusin) - [Peter Hanson (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/peter-hanson) - [Andrew Milne (3)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/andrew-milne) - [Toni Klopfenstein (2)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/toni-klopfenstein) - [Joanna Drusin (1)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/joanna-drusin) - [Joe Romano (1)](https://blog.sparkfuneducation.com/author/joe-romano) - [Mrinali P. 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