Lately I’ve been struggling with the STEM/STEAM approach to teaching computational technology. It assumes you’re either an artist, scientist, or engineer. What about the rest of us? I meet plenty of people who don’t fit any of these categories, yet who use programming and electronic devices in their work. I’m looking to understand their perceptions of how these technologies work, and how they fit into their practices. In this talk, I tried to explain some of what I’ve noticed by observing and working with people from different backgrounds, and to review some of the current tools for teaching a general audience.

Ultimately, I want us to get to a point where we use programming tools in the same way as we use language. We all use language, but we’re not all language-using professionals. We use it casually, expressively, sometimes professionally, in a thousand different ways. We don’t follow all the rules, yet we work together to share a common understanding through language. We’re starting to do the same with media like video, audio, and images as well. Maybe we can get there with programming and computational thought, too.

Watch the video:

Join us for the Arduino Day event organized by our team at the Jacobs Institute on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley with the participation of Massimo Banzi, David Mellis and Tom Igoe.

We are seeking volunteers to assist us during the event. We are going to have free workshops, talks by the founders, and art and tech displays.

We are looking for volunteer assistance during the event e.g. staffing information tables and displays, bringing a project to demo, helping during workshops, picking up coffee & lunch, and providing technical assistance. This is not a paid gig, but to show our appreciation that you are spending your time with us, Arduino has prepared a small gift for you.

We welcome all levels of skills and curiosity. More important than your technical skills are your people skills. Please provide us with basic information about yourself and your interests. Use the appropriate form depending on whether you have volunteered with us in the past:

First time volunteers? Please fill out this form. If you have volunteered for Arduino before, please contact us at arduinovolunteer [at] gmail.com.

We also have two paid positions: one for a two-person video camera crew and the other for a photographer. To apply, please fill out this form.

When: April 2nd, 2016
Location: University of California Berkeley at Jacobs Institute – 2530 Ridge Rd, Berkeley, CA 94709
Website: http://jacobsinstitute.berkeley.edu/
Arduino Day website: https://day.arduino.cc
Staff: Judy A. Castro (Event Manager), Michael Shiloh (Educator)

Arduino Day’s events’ map is updating constantly with new events created by local communities worldwide. The participation is open to anyone who wants to celebrate Arduino, Genuino and all the amazing things that have been done (or can be done!) with them and the community of open source enthusiasts. The call for submission is now extended and open until March 15th! We’ve already received 280 submissions from more than 55 countries! Celebrate with us and add your local event  now on day.arduino.cc.

If you want to attend one of the events near your town,  check the map on the Arduino Day website and remember that this year we are also celebrating Genuino, Arduino’s sister brand for products sold outside of USA. US-based events will be called ’Arduino Day’, while events based outside the US will be called ’Genuino Day’.

Some days ago Massimo Banzi and his team announced that the third edition of Arduino Day organized directly by the Arduino team will take place on Saturday April 2nd 2016 in Berkeley (CA) at Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, University of California with Massimo Banzi, Tom Igoe and David Mellis.

“We’re really excited to express our love for open source – said Massimo Banzi, CEO at Arduino – in a day of celebration of our amazing community of makers, developers and partners. 6 million downloads of the Arduino Development Environment in the last year alone show the sheer size of our community.”

This is the draft agenda of the event (registration form coming soon):

– 11 am – 6 pm: exhibition of Arduino projects
– 12 pm – 4 pm : hands-on activities
– 3 pm -5.30 pm : Arduino co-founders  presentations

• David Mellis  “Makers and machine learning: a system for analysis of real-time sensor data”
• Tom Igoe “Talk Making amazing things talk”
• Massimo Banzi “IoT and the connected objects”

“I’m also excited” – said David Mellis, Arduino co-founder – “to hold an Arduino Day at UC Berkeley’s Jacobs Institute because they both represent a playful and innovative approach to design and engineering. I’m looking forward to seeing all the amazing things that people here at Berkeley have been building with Arduino. I’m also hoping that Arduino Day will be a chance to connect makers on campus with those in the broader community.”

 David Cuartielles will be in Mexico City to take part to Genuino Day organized by Hacedores at Centro de Cultura Digital in Mexico City.

Share your pictures, comments and news on your social channels using Hashtag: #ArduinoD16

This week New York City is the city of Makers, with Makercon conference and World Maker Faire coming up on our agenda!

You can begin on September 24th, with Massimo Banzi taking part to the session TECH: Cheaper, Faster, Better of Makercon (at 3.30pm local time) to discuss the future of maker development platforms – particularly microcontroller boards – and they paths toward being more powerful, less expensive, and more accessible to a broader range of Makers than ever before.

In the meanwhile, watch the video from 2014 edition:

On the weekend, September 26th and 27th, we’ll be joining Atmel booth in Zone 3 for the 6th annual World Maker Faire. We’ll be exhibiting some of our latest products and cool projects made with Arduino.

Here’s a memo of presentations made by Arduino team:

Saturday h.1.00 PM to 1.30 PM Center Stage – NYSCI Auditorium
State of Arduino by Massimo Banzi

Saturday 3:15 PM —3:30 PM Center Stage – NYSCI Auditorium
Who Are You Making For?  by Tom Igoe
Tom will share a few stories of makers whose work has inspired him in and out of the classroom, and discuss how their stories and motivations led to the things they’ve made.

Saturday 11:30 AM — 11:45 AM  Zone 3 – Make: DIY
Getting Started with Arduino (3rd edition) by Michael Shiloh
Co-author with Massimo Banzi of ‘Getting Started with Arduino’, Michael takes you through the microcontroller’s latest iterations.

Sunday 11:15AM – 11:30 AM Zone 3 – Make: DIY
Getting Started with Arduino (3d edition) by Michael Shiloh
Co-author with Massimo Banzi of ‘Getting Started with Arduino’, Michael takes you through the microcontroller’s latest iterations.