Following up on Day 1 of the Holiday House Project, teachers returned this week to create their LED circuit and construct the house. Each person sent in their personalized home design for laser cutting during the days between the two sessions, so the pieces were ready for assembly. To enhance the look of their houses, many added a chimney, a sign over the door, new windows, and more. Three people even chose to cut out the octagonal window on the front.

We began the session with a very brief introduction to the electrical circuit, the concept of current flow from negative to positive, and the use of that current for powering the LED. We discussed the role of the switch to close and open that circuit. Technically speaking, I should have included a resistor, as calculated through this LED resistor calculator and dictated by Ohm's Law. However, I didn't have ready access to 56 ohm resistors, and I'm not sure how vital they are for a project of this scale. I would love feedback on this from any informed reader.

Here are the materials we used to make the circuit:

• One LED, from a various of colors, mostly 5mm
  
• One tactile switch from Adafruit
• One CR2032 watch battery and battery holder
• 22 gauge wire
• Soldering iron and glue gun

The maker approach to learning fits like a glove with teacher professional development. The hands-on aspect of making, along with the personalized nature of the projects, generates a high degree of motivation from participants. My hope is that this level of excitement and energy will lead to further use of the new learning spaces by these teachers and their students. And speaking of motivation, I now eagerly look forward to planning the next maker teacher professional development session.

As the first trimester comes to a close, and Creator's Studio adjourns until Spring, I have the opportunity to focus more time on professional development for the faculty at St. Matthew's. I will continue to blog here on PD activities as well as new personal projects with Arduino, Raspberry Pi, laser cutting, 3D printing, and more.

To introduce our faculty and staff to the new learning spaces, Creator's Studio and PIRL Terrace, I offered to guide those interested through a small project prior to the winter break. It is a holiday house, designed in Adobe Illustrator, cut on the laser cutter, and outfit with a simple circuit that allows the house to be illuminated from within. The workshop should take two sessions, but I am opening a third in case extra time is needed for final touches. There are about a dozen teachers that are participating in this first round, and an equal number will partake after the holidays. 

Below are pictures of the original house design, including the circuitry underneath that connects to an LED inside.

Session 1: House Design in Adobe Illustrator
I designed a very simple house in Illustrator using three colors, black for engraving, green for cutting, and yellow for the border. I chose to engrave shutters and shingles, while cutting out the door and windows. Since Illustrator and other vector-based programs like Inkscape can be intimidating applications, I wanted to provide a starting point from which my teachers could branch out and personalize, rather than start from scratch. While most are using this "template" to get started, some have chosen to make an object of their own, such as a chess board for the chess club, or a star ornament for the Christmas tree to be laser cut in acrylic. If you would like to see the original house design, you can download the Illustrator file here:

A few teachers have already sent me their modified houses for cutting this week. While I plan to have them experience the laser cutter in action for session 2, for sake of time, I have sent these projects through the cutter already. This allows participants to have personalized materials ready to work on when we meet again.

Session 2: Building the Circuit
Next week, I will guide participants through the creation of the circuit. After a brief overview of how a circuit works, teachers will build one using an LED, a switch, a watch battery, 22 gauge wire, wire cutters, and a soldering iron (optional).

With the circuit ready, and the house materials cut, teachers will build their holiday homes. More details and photos to follow next week.