Community reviews for Gizmos & Gadgets

LittleBits is an excellent resource for Maker Labs and an asset in elementary and middle school environments. The potential for quick changes and iterations to projects and circuits make this a good (yet pricey) introduction to basic circuitry. However, they can be used to complete more complex circuitry as evidenced by the advanced session of the lesson gallery. The sample projects provide an easy entry point and students can find success quickly and easily (No hot soldering needed.) They also work well with an inquiry-based approach. Students and educators could pose questions that could answered by the LittleBits. Here is an example that answers the question (Are objects worth as much as they weigh?) Having a few sample projects is good but letting students experiment and discovery seems sound pedagogy to encourage students to experiment in a behaviourist manner. (i.e. Does your circuit light up, buzz etc. or not) The community and lesson sharing tools are good so far but as with all active and consistent updates with keep the site vibrant and useful going forward. Overall, this is a great new tool for elementary and middle school students. However, we must avoid the pitfall for this technology to simply a teacher-driven tool and ensure that student hands and minds are directing its use in their own projects. Important Links Students Sets - http://littlebits.cc/kits/student-set Educator Site - http://littlebits.cc/education Lessons - http://littlebits.cc/lessons Educator’s Guide - https://s3.amazonaws.com/littleBits_pdfs/littleBitsEducatorsGuide_FINAL.pdf Little Bits Community Forum - http://littlebits.cc/community/chapters LittleBits TED Talk - http://www.ted.com/talks/ayah_bdeir_building_blocks_that_blink_beep_and_teach?language=en#