Hobbies: Coding with Arduino IDE

So, I graduated with a humanities degree. But I suppose it wasn't a total loss, because shortly after my short-lived teaching career, I was hired by a big-boy tech company to do support for their SAAS products. I didn't need to know code, I didn't need an engineering degree, and I didn't need to know (exactly) how our computers worked. But the job introduced me to XML and SLQ language. And I started, emphasis on started, to learn a bit how those languages worked. Now, this wasn't me being cool, and hacking behind a dark-screened computer like I was in some Jerry Bruckheimer & Don Simpson movie. It was more like copying and pasting strips of code into my browser -super boring stuff, actually. 

An LED system with a photoresistor sensor. 

Since then, I've been obsessed by computers, and how they work. I really want to get into the "guts" of those things and figure out how they actually work. So, in a way, I was an Arduino natural before I even knew it!  I stepped into the void and purchased the "30 Days Lost in Space" (3) electronics set with a "Hero" board, technical equipment and 30 lessons accessible via a website. This is something a middle school child could do. The lessons are meant for learners, and start at the very basic level. But, importantly, the Hero board uses Arduino IDE as it's language.  

In addition to the programming language, I've also got to order and work with the hardware; resistors, pin-headers, LCD screens, engines, fans, motors etc. Arduino programming really closes the gap between software and hardware, between the coding and the fantastic machines. And, you'd sh*t yourself when you see just how inexpensive this stuff is. The Arduino board retails for about 30 to 40 bucks (USD) (4), and other similar boards are even less expensive! This is stuff that would have been restricted to a lab or a company office only 20 to 30 years ago. Now it's available to all of us!

A rudimentary range-finder.

Arduino IDE introduced me to coding again, like a novice. In short, I was a kid. What do I need to type to make that red light turn blue?, can I make a stop watch?, etc. Not only that, but Arduino has its own board that you can make just about anything with. Need a robot friend? Wanna Spy on your Neighbors? Send a Satellite into space? The Arduino can do it all. It's the brain that makes your hardware wake up. Then, It's ALIVE!

Right now, I'm just working on simple projects more-or-less to learn. Nothing too exciting, but I can't help but think how great the Arduino board and Arduino IDE would be for children. It's an exceptional educational technology that is perfect for training our youth for the 21st century future. It integrates the machines, we all take for granted, with the programming that makes those machines think.