Unit 6A - (Option A) Creating Apps with Devices - Circuit Playground ('24-'25)

This unit assumes students are already familiar with App Lab, so we recommend starting with the App Lab Hour of Code which is included below. If your students are already familiar with App Lab, you may decide to skip this lesson. Click here to learn more about skipping this lesson, allowing your classes to start right away with Creating Apps for Devices.

This unit emphasizes the interactions between inputs and outputs on the circuit playground and an app screen. On their circuit playground, students learn to control inputs like buttons or toggle switches and outputs like the buzzer or LED. Students also interact with inputs and outputs in App Lab, such as buttons and text inputs and dropdowns. By the end of the chapter, students will be able to create an app that controls a device, similar to many "smart" hardware they may experience in their day-to-day lives.

• What inputs and outputs are available on a physical device?
• What inputs and outputs are available on an app?
• How can we create apps that use a physical device to control a digital app?

In this chapter, students focus on how their physical device can interact with the outside world. They learn how to use sensors and the accelerometer to react to the physical environment. They learn to attach external LEDs and buttons that extend the types of devices they can make. Throughout the unit, students use physical materials like paper or cardboard to extend the functionality of their devices. By the end of the unit, students will have created an interactive art project and developed a prototype for a physical device that solves a problem.

• How can a physical device use sensors to react to a physical environment?
• How can simple hardware be used to develop innovative new products?