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Computer Engineering

Learning (& Teaching) Electronics through Simulation

Learn how to use Tinkercad’s powerful electronic circuits simulator to demonstrate and teach everything from Ohm’s law and electrical fundamentals all the way to advanced circuits and microcontroller programming. This hands-on session is designed to help you get started using Tinkercad as an electronics teaching tool, as well as to show you some best practices for creating useful Tinkercad circuits for the classroom.

Design Thinking approaches to STEM courses – Computer Science and Technology

Design Thinking is an approach to solving difficult problems, widely adopted in industry and healthcare. This interactive presentation will introduce the topic and discuss how it can be integrated into the high school curriculum, particularly in ICD2O and TAS1O. DT is used in many technology areas, and we welcome input from teachers in all areas of technology, but our examples will mostly be related to software—our area of expertise.

  • What is Design Thinking, and why is DT used from startups to IBM and Apple?
  • History of Design Science and Design Thinking.
  • Role of empathy.
  • Failure modes we have observed and how to avoid them.
  • Characteristics of a good design problem and one which has worked for us: “This is your grandfather’s gaming app.” 
  • What do professionals use for DT, and should you introduce students to them? 
  • Design Journey Dashboard: Our research project addressing bottlenecks to scaling up teaching of design.
  • Reading list for delving deeper.

Reclaiming Thinking: Crafting AI-Resilient, Student-Centered Assignments

Generative AI has revealed a persistent issue in assessment design: many traditional assignments can be completed without sustained student thinking. Instead of attempting to make assignments “AI-proof,” this session examines how to design AI-resilient, student-centered tasks that make thinking visible, authentic, and accessible. Grounded in the ADAPT framework (Authentic, Dynamic, Active, Personalized, Transparent), the session introduces the Assignment Strengthener custom GPT as a practical design aid for stress-testing and strengthening assignments. Participants will see concrete examples across subject areas and leave with clear strategies for creating assignments that function effectively in AI-rich classrooms.

Practical Machine Learning with micro:bits

This hands-on session explores a practical, beginner-friendly approach to introducing machine learning in the classroom. By using micro:bits and the CreateAI platform, we will transition from “Rule-Based” Computational Thinking 1.0 to “Data-Driven” Computational Thinking 2.0.

Participants will engage in the full machine learning lifecycle—collecting, filtering, and “massaging” data to train custom models. We will also discuss the critical role of representative data and how non-representative samples lead to model bias. Discover how to use the micro:bit to enhance lessons across various curriculum areas, bridging the gap between hardware and intelligent software.

Advanced Microcontroller Interfacing and Introduction to Circuit Design

Are you ready to go beyond breadboard circuits and simple plug-in modules? Did you know that you can easily design and build advanced interfacing circuits with your students for less than many commercial offerings, while providing students with valuable hardware and circuit design skills? We’ll look at common circuits and components you’ll need to know about when creating your own circuit designs, and provide a quick intro to the KiCad schematic capture and PCB layout tools that will enable you to get professionally manufactured PCBs.

Kick-Start your STEM Curriculum using SparkFun XRP/XRP Beta Robots Part 1

Are you looking to kick-start your STEM curriculum or robotics club?

SparkFun’s XRP and XRP Beta robots are full-featured line-following robots that can be put together in about 10 minutes. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn the hardware architecture of these robots, as well as how to easily program these robots using the “cetalib”Arduino library.

There will be a limited number of SparkFun XRP Beta robots available in the session and a free 2-month LMS subscription will also be provided. The LMS will provide additional lessons and live online help to continue the assembly and testing of this robot to complete a basic line following challenge.

Attendees will need a Windows or MacOS laptop with Wi-Fi network interface, and an available USB-A port. Attendees will need to create an account at the start of the session in order to access the workshop courseware and exercises.