This week I struggled with the concepts and with the action of putting them in practice. As I sat in class and did the readings and watched the videos, I could have sworn that I had a good understanding of basic electric circuits. However, it turns out that they weren't as clear when I tried to practice.
I couldn't even get the arduino to go into the breadboard at first. Took me several hours (non-consecutive) to risk breaking the delicate machine and actually get it into the breadboard. If I need to move it from there I would actually prefer buying another one.
By the time I managed to get the arduino into the breadboard I had wasted a lot of time.
When I first tried to build the circuit I couldn't make the LED work. So I re-watched the videos and re-read how the components worked. Finally, I asked for help from my classmates who explained how they themselves had problems getting the arduino into the breadboard, how the resolved it, and how they built their own circuits. I eventually managed to make the LED light and even added a second one.
As for the switch, I went through a couple ideas and decided to make a magnetic clasp switch using a button so I could make a light for my backpack. However I couldn't get the magnetic button to work.
I sincerely believe that these labs should be done in class while the explanation is happening and we have a chance to ask questions and see how the pieces connect. It is very different to hear about it than it is to actually make it happen, and for people who haven't worked with electronics and are beginners at making things it is important to have guidance, at least in my opinion. We have the residents but even they aren't on the floor 24/7 and for people that work and study it isn't always possible to see them and get help.
As of tonight at 7:52 p.m. I haven't figured out how to add the switch to the circuit. I might be able to later tonight and update the blog.
UPDATE 8:29 P.M. Tuesday 17th:
So I managed to break the circuit correctly and add a sort of switch. My idea for the magnetic button was as a sort of "silent alarm" that would light up if the buttons weren't closed together. Since I couldn't make the button work, I used the pieces of metal as replacement. As you can see in the video when the metal touches the light is off (buttons closed) but when the metal is apart then the light turns on because the bag is open.
