AVR-Chat

--- In AVR-Chat@yahoogroups.com, "Eric Engler" <englere.geo@...> wrote:

> ..  what I really want to see is
> enough peripherals to make this a
> good educational platform.

Well, actually, the Dragon Rider isn't supposed to be just one 
product.  I'm starting with what will probably be the Dragon Rider 500 
(because it attempts to be like the STK 500), but I've been thinking 
also about Dragon Riders for just a single type of MCU that are more 
for building actual projects on.  These would be suited to educational 
purposes.  The AVR Dragon would be re-usable and the Riders would be 
semi-disposable.  Students could purchase them and keep the projects, 
which would of course work without the Dragon.  One of the people who 
contacted me about the field test is interested specifically in this 
type of application.

> But they'd also have to be avalable
> in a pre-assembled format ...

Most of my stuff is offered bare PCB, PCB with kit and assembled.  For 
large orders that I know are coming I can reduce the price of assembled 
product by having someone else do it.

And, David Kelly wrote:

... students designed, layed out, and built their own boards ... 
program them the next term ... Low volume PCBs are very reasonable ... 
these are things they are going to have to know ... room for 
improvement in school curricula.

I agree that this would all be very nice, but it just may not be 
feasible to get all students through this in the available time with 
the available supervision.  There are a heck of a lot of minor (and 
boring) issues to take care of in this process that we geezers take in 
our stride but can baffle newcomers.  Also, engaging the student is 
very important and that's much easier to do when the hardware is 
sitting there waiting to be programmed.  It makes more sense to me to 
have the student build their own project as you suggest *after* they've 
messed about with some pre-constructed gadgetry and have a clearer 
vision of where it will all end up.

Graham.