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The Madmaker online challenge from the University of Sydney will show more than 1500 Year 9 students what embedded systems are, and how they are used in everyday life.
More than 120 high schools, 300 teachers, and 1500 students across Australia are taking part in the six-week challenge. MadMaker is the brainchild of electrical and information technologies engineer Dr Abelardo Pardo and his team at the University of Sydney.
“During the Madmaker challenge students use Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to solve real-world problems in an exciting new way – exploring and designing systems with the popular and user-friendly Arduino Esplora board,” said Dr Pardo.
The students work in pairs, and use the Arduino Esplora board connected to a regular computer. The board includes sensors for temperature, sound, light and movement, as well as a joystick. The application to write programs is open source and can be installed on a conventional computer.
“We picked Arduino Esplora boards because they are an introductory level device, inexpensive but powerful tool to learn with. If the schools or students want to continue exploring and designing after the six week program, the costs of the kits are not prohibitive,” says Dr Pardo.
The Madmaker challenge was designed to entice students who may not have previously seen a future career in engineering, technology or science-related fields. It was designed after consultation with teachers, in order to create a teaching tool that would fit the needs of schools.
The organisers say feedback from the students has been “terrific”, with a high level of engagement from science and math teachers, as well as female students,
The University of Sydney project is officially named Embedded System Design Challenge and is partially funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training through the Australian Maths and Science Part Teacher Training Workshops, and the STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy at The University of Sydney.