Workshops/Arduino for beginners/Planning

When?

I propose we hold a 2 day workshop on the 28th/29th of August, would this suit those willing to help? Solexious 00:57, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

-could do the 28th. artag.

Who?

Who is willing to help run the event?

Solexious
b3cft
Harry
Ciarán
artag not much good at lecturing but can help debug. also have equipment if necessary - soldering, PSus, socket strips, etc.

Jobs for Volunteers

A description of tasks that need to be done, and who will do them.

Task	Volunteer
Lead workshop
Helping install the Arduino IDE, for Windows
Helping install the Arduino IDE, for Mac
Helping install the Arduino IDE, for Linux
Drawing up equipment purchase list	Solexious
Planning Workshop tasks
Publicity

Who for ?

Who would attend these workshops, and therefore who are they aimed at ?

nontechnical people who think it's a general computer course
computer people with a desire to make hardware do something
makers/artists who want to add electronics to their interactive exhibit
musicians who want to make custom input devices for MAX/MSP etc.
..

Thoughts on a Lesson Overview

Start with a general overview of hacking with respect to art, home automation, circuit bending, etc, presented as a short lecture to introduce the arduino and similar
- I did something similar for SkillsMatter/YDN a while ago: http://www.slideshare.net/b3cft/hardware-hacking
- culminated in this at the end of the talk: http://www.flickr.com/photos/b3cft/4798503275/
  - Can you lead the workshop?
Go into a setup for people with helpers wandering around making sure the software is installed correctly (java and all that)
Pull up some more slides with setup for the basic programs; maybe go with the simple blinking light example
coffee break
Move into a more complicated example using output only
lunch
Lecture on basic electronic theory such as V=IR and similar. introduce buttons and other inputs
Go through an input example - e.g press a button to turn on or off a set of LEDS
Modify this example with perhaps a buzzer instead.
Mention briefly, processing and how to use a POT to create a nice interactive graph (this was the demo Tinker used)
Indication of how to extend arduino - optional shields, connecting relays, rs232 etc.
Once that demo is complete, depending on time, finish with a short lecture on where to get equipment, suppliers, advanced topics and cool things that have been made with Arduino.
Sell London Hackspace branded kits

How many?

What is the maximum people we can cater for, ie How big is the hackspace?? This will dictate how many kits we buy, and how much space we have to clear to make it comfortable to teach. It also sets a limit on how much money we can make.
- With more seating we can fit 10 people onto desks in my view, and its a nice number :) --Solexious 12:31, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

How much?

How much will it cost per attendee for equipment, plus how much profit we would like?
How much will it cost for the parts / equipment?
thus, how much shall we charge?
- I suggest £40-50 is a reasonable amount for an all day workshop -- Ciarán
  - 2 day workshops (first day for learning, second for making your own project with assistance) are around the £110 mark, not saying we should charge this much, but at £40-50 minus costs for parts is a bit low on profit for the spaces funds --Solexious
  - for previous beginner arduino courses in london see: [1] £140 with kit provided, or: [2] £65 with no kit included --Solexious

Kit to go with workshop

I feel a kit that is given to attendees with the workshop would be fab. I tried to beat the cost of EarthshineElectronics starter kit, but have been unable to, this is even at the regular price, rather than contacting for "Special rates for colleges, schools, universities and training centres." Can anyone do better?
- http://www.earthshineelectronics.com/10-arduino-duemilanove-compatible-starter-kit.html
- That's a good price, but it's a VERY good kit. We could perhaps spend less and still provide a reasonable selection. Alternatively, bulk-buy from Earthshine. Note that to get a good selection of cheap parts we'll need to buy from ebay/china - so allow a couple of weeks for delivery, which is too long for the suggested date.
- I would be put off if the kit cost a minimum of £40! A smaller kit would be preferable, do you think that Earthshine Electronics (or an alternative company) would put together a smaller kit? Seems that Earthshine sell just the Arduino for £16, If we could get the kit under £30, then charge £40-50 for an all day workshop. I think we could be in with a winner.
  - When talking to attendees of previous arduino workshops one thing that keeps coming up is that the kit they were given had lots of things to try out at at home, rather than just what they needed for the workshop, so i'm hesitant to lower the part count on the kit --Solexious
  - That will depend on the target market though - at Dorkbot, the attendees have been art/design students who want to solve a specific problem, and don't necessarily want to just experiment. They'd really prefer some help building a custom interface and a mixed bag is only ever going to be part-used --Artag 16:10, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
    - Do you think this would be the target market for this workshop? I could see this being well worth a separate event, rather than a basic course...--Solexious

Is it worth buying equipment for more than one workshop, and have another similar workshop planned for 3 months time?
- With courses with 20 places selling out I think we could run this monthly with 10 places each time (initially), bulk buying would depend on if we have the cash to do this, and if that would reduce the cost for kits significantly to justify the risk of over stock... --Solexious 12:33, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

--128.40.76.3 13:32, 26 July 2010 (UTC)

Rather than offering a bag of bits, how about a shield with some bits already built on ? We could use stuff we've already got (e.g. I can donate some buttons, pots, light sensors, power transistors etc .. anything I've got a dozen of!) and it makes it more attractive to newbies who have no clue what to do with a bag of resistors.
- Suggest what should be on such a board and I'll dig in and see what I've got ! --Artag 16:11, 26 July 2010 (UTC)