Youth radio clubs, circles, sections. Youth radio clubs, circles, sections Organizational conditions for the implementation of the program

I would like to tell you about my experience of organizing an electronics club in an ordinary Moscow secondary school. This, perhaps, does not really correspond to the subject of Habr, but firstly, posts about education (higher, additional, abroad, interactive, etc.) appear here quite often, which means they are interesting to many. And, secondly, today's schoolchildren who are fond of IT, electronics and robotics are, in fact, tomorrow's audience of Habr, right?

Motives

Circumstances (s) have so merged that about 1.5 years ago I had a lot of free time, and I would like to use it somehow fruitfully. I thought that I should do self-development: a long time ago I wanted to finally master FPGA, for example, or get some kind of certificate, or implement some of my small embed projects (along the way I signed up for the MIT 6.002x course on edx.org and even finished it successfully in December). But for quite a long time the thought stuck in my head that all this is actually devoid of any global meaning and the ultimate goal is unclear. Except, of course, getting a salary and enjoying the process itself. Have you ever thought about it? What will happen after you develop and write some cool game engine, or another website for a large customer, even if it is very fast and convenient, or you program another controller in some production, assembled on the latest fastest MCU with a bunch of periphery and kilometers of wires? What will remain after many years from all this in the dry residue? In general, after all this gloomy philosophy, I thought that there must be something other than this and we must do something else. I remembered that I had a radio circle at school. It did not last long, and there was no system in the classroom. Then the teacher himself did not know what we could be taught. However, I still liked going there, there was some inexplicable attraction, mystery and real magic in electronics! It turns out that the radio circle has long been gone, no school handicrafts have survived, but there are still positive emotions. In general, I decided to try to organize something similar myself. For the guys it will be interesting and (hopefully) useful, for me it will be a completely new experience, which is also useful. In addition, when you try to explain something to others, you yourself begin to understand what it is about.

Last year's story, or the first pancake

Last summer, I began to think about where I could organize all this. There were only 3 options: on the basis of some educational institution; in the orphanage of creativity (such, oddly enough, still exist in Moscow and feel great); rent a suitable room on your own. The latter option, of course, is extremely undesirable, because in addition to the actual rent, it will be necessary to issue an incredible amount of paperwork, certificates and permits from all inspection bodies: firefighters, sanitary and epidemiological supervision, utilities, someone else will apply ... And money for rent still no (classes should definitely be free), not to mention money for inquiries. The option with the house of creativity also turned out to be not the best. The nearest one (on Ryazansky Prospekt, near the Gorod shopping center) was still too far away to get there quickly after work, and it’s not close to the metro either. Although I still went there, I never found anyone from the administration (in the summer, of course, there was no one there). Educational institutions remain: they usually have everything in order with the premises, with the inspection authorities and, in fact, with the presence of children.

I opened the map and began to look at what was in the vicinity of my work and home. Relatively not far from work, I found an orphanage (by the way, I was surprised how many orphanages for mentally retarded children, as well as correctional ones). I chose an orphanage, not a school, because then it seemed to me that they, in theory, should be helped as much as possible. I went to their website, found mail and sent an email with a proposal to teach classes. Several days passed, and in response nothing at all. Okay, probably people are not up to it, or maybe there is simply no one to read e-mail at all. After work I called, but I managed to communicate only with the security guard, the administration does not stay late at work. A couple of days later, before work, I went there myself. This time, even the guard was not at the post, and after taking a walk on the first floor, I waited for him for about 10 minutes. When he nevertheless appeared and called the deputy for educational work, I went up to the second floor and again waited in the corridor. Another 20 minutes, the guys have just returned from school, everyone walks back and forth, but no one comes to me. Half an hour later, I finally met with the employee children. at home, went to her office and I told who I am, who I work, what I want and what I propose to organize. She seemed to be interested and took me to the senior group. As far as I understand, there are guys from 13 to 18 years old. Their teacher was also there. But there were only three guys on the spot: one was about 13 years old, the second was about 15 and the oldest was 18 years old. The elder was specially invited to listen to me, he didn't really want to. And the average was not stopping to play on the computer in FIFA. I sat down and in 15-20 minutes told briefly about what classes I propose to organize: about crawling and flying robots, programming, microcontrollers, participation in competitions, making gifts for the New Year and birthdays, about drawing printed circuit boards, soldering irons, Arduino etc. Naturally, all this is in such a form that the unprepared at least understand something: using the example of cell phones, cars, TV, Christmas lights and the same computer. It seems to me that quite a few guys who are interested in technology already at this age understand what is at stake, albeit very distantly. I was pretty sure they would be interested in such classes.
However, nothing of the kind! The guy, who was 15, took his eyes off the computer and asked if I could teach them how to trade on the Internet Forex exchange. He said that he already had a certain amount of money on his account and it would be great to increase it. To this I replied that radio is not economics, and in general such exchanges only lure out money, and in order to make money on this, you need to know economics, mathematics, statistics well, but in any case, this is not what you are supposed to do. But we can learn to program, and programming can help him in this area! But the guy just got upset and returned to FIFA. I decided to talk to the eldest about his studies. I found out that he was studying at the railway college and that all these blinkers and whistles were up to him as well. Maybe, I think, they just have a lot of electronics with TAU in college already? Maybe automation, or communication, or telemetry - there is a lot of this on the railway. Nothing of the kind - he's just studying to be a train driver! (yes the drivers will forgive me for such a tone) Well, I began to tell you how interesting it is to develop something for the same railway, to deal with some control system, to delve into communications, etc. And in general on the railway there is a huge scope for automation! But no, the guy said that even so, in general, he can do everything he needs and does not see any special advantages for himself in the classroom. To be honest, I was slightly unprepared for such a turn. Anyway, he said that I would call in a couple of days and if the guys decide to try, then we will organize a group. I already had to run to work (almost lunchtime), I said goodbye and left. And two days later he called and the teacher said: “You understand, our guys are spoiled by all sorts of circles. It seems that by the evening they have already forgotten that you came. In addition, the eldest is now going to marry and he has no time for you. Will you come and try to talk again, but with other children? "

The conclusions are:
1. One gets the impression that no one except myself needs this for nothing. Neither the manager nor the teacher even asked for my phone number (although, of course, I left all my contacts in the first letter). I myself left my business card at the exit. There can be no questions for the guys, of course, they are still children and still do not understand what is what and what they really need. But at the age of 18 you can already somehow think about your future. Although it may well be that I was not interested in telling everything and could not interest them.
2. Furnishings in children. the house does not give the impression that they do not have enough money for something. Nicely renovated building, good big TVs in all rooms, many guys have better phones than me, computers, normal monitors, desks and so on. But it is not clear what will happen to them when they leave here at the age of 18. In my opinion, no one thinks about how they will support themselves after graduation.
So last year I lost all desire to continue doing this.

Attempt number two

Time passed, and in the winter I again began to think about this idea. By that time, I had already read everything I could find on the Internet about organizing radio circles and even found several special books from Soviet times. I got some useful information on RadioKot, and also talked with two people who are just conducting such classes (hello to Vadim and YS). Unfortunately, a timid attempt to find like-minded people at work did not give a result, so I had to portray something in splendid isolation. Well, okay!

At the beginning of the summer, I finally got my courage and went to school. I have as many as 3 schools right next to my house, almost wall to wall. In the first school, the security guard was pretty bad and at first did not understand at all what I wanted (probably, the summer is affecting). Then he called someone, but after explaining the situation, he almost immediately hung up and informed me that they did not need me here. And I didn’t even have time to explain to anyone what I was actually suggesting! A very encouraging start, yes ... I decided to try again, since the schools are still nearby. I went into the second. Here the guard turned out to be quite normal, but he said that the school was for mentally retarded children and still there was no one from the administration and office at the school in the summer. Well, I went to the last school. Again the guard, again I introduced myself and briefly described what I was offering. And here, too, there was no one, but “the director just left! Go, catch up. " And indeed, on the steps of the stairs, I caught up with the woman and introduced myself, she turned out to be the director of this school. Again, I briefly told who I am, where I came from and what I want. She found out if I work and what kind of education I have. And it seems that my proposal interested her. Finally! We agreed that I would come in a few days for a more detailed discussion.

I came at the appointed time and began to wait for my turn to get to the director (of course, there are final exams here, everyone has clear problems, and besides, teachers also want to solve their problems). Finally, I was invited, and I described in more detail the proposed training program, the number of hours per week and the material base, as well as how many people the group will consist of. The director, in general terms, was satisfied with everything, and besides, there were no such circles at the school before that time (I did not really doubt it, of course).

But then I was stunned by the fact that I would have to officially get a job as a teacher of additional education. As it turned out, you can't just come to school and arrange any (albeit free) classes. To be honest, until this moment I somehow did not think about it, although this is certainly correct and logical: you should not let just anyone near the children. I was completely unprepared for such a turn, but there was nothing to do. The secretary began to tell what certificates and documents I would need to collect. I've never collected so much in my life:

arrange honey. a book
certificate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the absence of a criminal record
certificates from drug addiction and psycho. dispensaries
certificate from KVD
a copy of the work book from the place of work (I get a part-time job)
passport, SNILS, a copy of the diploma and TIN

Then my hands dropped once again ... “To issue honey. book ”is not easy to get. This means first getting a new blank book, then going through all conceivable and inconceivable doctors in your clinic, and then listening to some kind of lecture at the sanitary and epidemiological station and putting on a hologram. Getting a certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs is much easier - you just need to hit the road twice, with an interval of a month. It turns out that certificates from the narco and mental dispensary are given only at the place of registration. I have never been to the KVD, too, the pleasure is very dubious. In general, when I took directions to obtain these certificates in the school office, I did not even know what I was signing up for. If there are those who wish, then I can write another big article about getting all these pieces of paper, because when I received them, I probably collected all the rakes that exist. Initially, I wanted to fit everything into one post, but this is a completely separate song, full of adventures and unexpected discoveries (here I really want to say something obscenely. But I won't).

So, by the beginning of September (well, around the second week), I was still able to get all the required pieces of paper. At school I met a woman who coordinates the direction of additional. education. She explained how the guys enroll in all sorts of circles, and also gave the requirements for the program of additional education. I agreed with her the number and duration of classes. Wrote a job application and signed it with the director. Then he took all the documents to the personnel department, filled out a questionnaire for obtaining a bank card and wrote an autobiography that all teachers write (this is also quite an interesting point. You need to briefly list your relatives, their occupation, as well as write about your education, place of work, etc. their hobbies). Even though I didn’t talk to anyone about the salary, I still had to get a bank card, and now I’m not just anyone, but a teacher ...

As a result, since Friday, September 13, I am a school teacher. Next, the most important thing is to recruit a group for classes. I drew up an ad, which I hoped to attract the children, and posted it in the most prominent places at the school. In addition, it turned out that the school is not one building, but three. So I posted ads there as well. Plus, we managed to agree that in one of the school buildings I went through classes (from 6 to 10) during lessons and briefly told the children about the circle. Surprising as it may seem, no one called me in 5 days after the announcement. Not a single student and not a single parent. There was still hope that we would be able to attract the guys with our announcement. In the morning I came to school, they gave me a primary school teacher as an assistant, and together with her I walked around 10 classes (2 classes in parallel) with a two-minute story about classes in electronics and robotics. Here the effect was much stronger: it was clear that some were interested, some even began to ask questions. At the next break, 5 or 6 people signed up for classes, and the girl was the first to sign up! I was a little surprised, but it's even great. That was the end of my campaign to attract young technicians and I left for work.

As a result, after a few days, there were 12 people on the list of those wishing to study. They are mostly sixth and seventh graders, but there are two out of 9th graders. As I understand it, high school students have slightly different interests. During the recording, the parents of one second grader and one third grader even called me twice, but, in my opinion, such classes would be too premature for them. Also last week I drew up a curriculum required by the Ministry of Education and posted announcements at the school for the first class.

Conclusion

With this, I would like to end an already long post. I don’t know yet whether something will work out of my idea or not, but how I was convinced to organize the classes is quite realistic. There is a lot left behind and I have a story to tell:

what is the planned training program
what projects do the guys have to implement
what about the material base of the mug (all sorts of soldering irons, hoods, breadboards, computers, electronic designers, buying in Chinese stores, etc.)
how was the preparation of documents and certificates
And the first lesson took place today!

So if the habrasocommunity is interested in any of the above, then you know what to do.

A little more than 70 years have passed since the invention of the world's first radio receiver. For technology, this is a relatively short period. But radio engineering and electronics during this time firmly entered the culture and life of people. Radio electronics allows you to see movies, performances on TV screens, detect objects at long distances, melt metal, treat serious diseases, control spaceships and much more. It was radio electronics that made it possible to photograph the side of the moon invisible from Earth, to see a man's exit into open space. Radio electronics helped scientists to split the atom, create powerful accelerators of elementary particles, and look deeper into the microworld. Now there is no such branch of science, industry, in which radio electronics would not be used to one degree or another.

A significant contribution to the development of radio engineering and radio electronics in our country was made by radio amateurs. Their skillful hands have designed many different devices for the national economy, medicine, science, technology, culture. They are also propagandists of radio engineering knowledge among the general population.

There are many young people among radio amateurs. They are engaged in their favorite business in the circles of the Houses and Palaces of Pioneers, stations and clubs of young technicians, schools, radio clubs DOSAAF, independently at home. Studying the basics of radio electronics, they design receivers, amplifiers, and various devices.

Creativity of young people is often of a socially useful nature. Radio amateurs of the Novosibirsk regional station of young technicians, for example, over the past five years have been using homemade transistor receivers for more than 100 field brigades and mills of collective and state farms, have created several electronic devices for agriculture and medicine. Polyclinics in Novosibirsk have found use of "White noise" - a device that weakens pain when treating a sick tooth with a drill, a potentiometer - a device that allows you to measure the potential difference between a denture and the human body, a device for UHF therapy that irradiates only one patient with high-frequency currents tooth. An electronic guide designed by the guys is working in the local history museum of the city. Young radio amateurs of the Station are constant participants in local and All-Union radio exhibitions.

Young radio amateurs of the House of Pioneers in Cherepanovo, Novosibirsk Region, also designed several devices for medicine and the national economy, and members of the club of young technicians of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences developed and handed over to research institutes a number of devices for scientific purposes.

There are many examples of the creativity of young radio amateurs and their socially useful deeds. They are in every region, in many schools.

Where to start? How to teach children to design amplifiers, receivers, electronic devices and devices? Such questions always concern organizers and leaders of circles, young radio amateurs, and especially those of them who are taking up this business for the first time. The task of the author of this book is to try to answer these and some other questions.

The radio circle should be viewed as an amateur association of schoolchildren who want to learn how to build radio receivers and other radio structures themselves, and learn the basics of radio electronics during leisure hours. The task of the head of the circle is to satisfy and develop the interests of the circle members in radio engineering.

In every eight-year and high school, of course, there are guys interested in radio engineering. Many of them are involved in amateur radio at home, often alone. However, it is better to study the basics of radio electronics and master radio engineering, of course, in circles of schools and out-of-school institutions, where there are appropriate conditions for this - there are tools, materials, parts, devices. Circles of young radio amateurs can also be created at the place of residence - at house administrations, housing offices.

Pioneers' and schoolchildren's activities in radio amateurism are of a polytechnic nature. Indeed, in order to build a radio receiver or any other radio-technical device, knowledge of physics and mathematics is required. Studying in circles, they arm themselves with theory and practice in electrical and radio engineering, acquire skills in handling tools and measuring equipment, learn to read and draw electrical circuits, get acquainted with simple technological processes, and design.

The composition of the circle should be approximately uniform in terms of age, general development and interests of the children. Students in no more than two adjacent grades should be included in one circle. The work of a circle can be most effectively organized if it is staffed with students of the same class.

As practice has shown, students are successfully engaged in radio amateurism, starting with grades 6-7. They already have the necessary knowledge to understand the physical foundations of radio engineering.

Below are the sample programs of the circles of young radio amateurs of the first and second year of study. They are acceptable for both schools and out-of-school settings. The first of them, designed for students in grades 6-8, who had not previously been involved in radio amateurism, was developed by the Central Station of Young Technicians of the RSFSR, but it has undergone some changes: some topics have been expanded, new practical works have been proposed. The approximate program of the second year of classes, which is a logical continuation of the program of the circle of the first year of classes, was developed by the team of the Novosibirsk Regional Station of Young Technicians and tested in schools and out-of-school institutions in Novosibirsk and the region. It is designed for students in grades 8-10. But this does not mean that the circle of students in grades 8-9 should be engaged only in this program. Here you need an individual approach to the members of the circle, it is necessary to take into account their knowledge in the field of electrical and radio engineering. If the students of these classes have not previously been involved in radio engineering, then for them it is necessary to create a circle that will be engaged in the first program. The circle of the second year of studies should be staffed with students who have knowledge and experience in the volume of the program of the circle of the first year of studies.

It is very important that the members of the circle not only learn how to mount radio amateur constructions, but also know the physical processes occurring in them, understand the operation of one or another device, and be able to make simple calculations of blocks and units of equipment. But one should not overload the circle's classes with the communication of theoretical information, turning them into a kind of lessons. Novice radio amateurs - students in grades 6-7 in the classroom need to provide only some information from electrical and radio engineering, accessible to understanding, and only to the extent that is absolutely necessary for the implementation of the intended practical work. You should not give full justifications and exhaustive formulations of the laws of physics. It is only necessary to bring the circle members to these laws, to point out their practical application.

Theoretical information is reported in the form of popular conversations, accompanied by a demonstration of experiments, radio components, ready-made structures, with as many analogies, diagrams and drawings as possible.

Posters on electrical and radio engineering can be obtained through the "Book-by-mail" store.

Diagrams and descriptions of amateur radio designs can be written out through the radio technical consultation of the Central Radio Club of the USSR (Moscow). School radio circles can always get the necessary advice at the local Homes and Palaces of Pioneers, in the clubs and stations of young technicians. Various diagrams, drawings, necessary for the circle, can be found in the magazines "Radio", "Young Technician", "Modelist-Constructor", in brochures and books of the mass radio library.

Need, of course, and books on the basics of radio engineering. First of all, circle members should recommend the books "Young radio amateur" by V. G. Borisov and Yu. M. Otryashenkov and "Radio amateur's reader" by V. A. Burlyand and I. P. Zherebtsov. Aisberg's books "Radio ... It's very simple! " and "Transistor! ... It's very simple!" If these books are not on sale, then they may be in libraries.

The work plan of the circle is drawn up by the leader of the circle for the entire academic year on the basis of the program. However, the circle program is approximate. This means that, taking into account local conditions, the interests of circle members, a school or an out-of-school institution, it can be slightly changed, some topics expanded or shortened, and practical work replaced. We must strive to ensure that the study of the fundamentals of radio electronics and design by the members of the circle goes from the simplest to the most complex. The transition from one topic to another should always be logical and reasonable.

The practical work of the circle, which is the basis of its activity, should not be an end in itself. When assembling and assembling certain structures, it is necessary to have an idea about the principle of their work, about the purpose of individual parts and components of the structure, be able to establish and regulate them, find and eliminate problems. Only in this case, classes in the circle will be of great benefit to all circle members. However, unfortunately, in pursuit of effective designs, individual members of the circle, often with the permission of the leader himself, sometimes undertake the manufacture of complex receivers and devices according to ready-made descriptions. This inevitably leads to an unconscious copying of an unfamiliar and incomprehensible construction. To complete such designs, the leader has to pay a lot of attention to these circle members, and sometimes he himself has to bring the design to the end. Such "radio amateurishness" certainly brings only harm, and not only to the circle member who took on the overwhelming work, but to the whole circle. For practical work, it is necessary to outline only those structures and devices that will be manufactured and adjusted by the members of the circle themselves from beginning to end.

Among the circle members there will undoubtedly be those who wish to manufacture receivers or devices for personal use, for the home. This desire should be satisfied as much as possible, if, of course, these constructions are close in terms of the content of the work of the circle.

If a school or out-of-school institution organizes specialized radio sports clubs, such as fox hunters or shortwave, programs for such clubs can be obtained from the local DOSAAF radio club. It is recommended to complete such circles from children familiar with the basics of radio engineering in the volume of the program of the first year of study.

No matter how extensive the knowledge and experience of the leader of the circle is, systematic work with the members of the circle requires preparation in advance for each lesson. It is necessary to select fairly simple but effective experiments, analogies, examples, questions, tasks and other materials related to the lesson of the circle on this topic. Good preparation for knowing the circle contributes to the high-quality assimilation of theoretical material, favorably affects the performance of practical work, and increases the authority of the leader of the circle. Kruzhkovites should be advised to read popular science books and magazines on radio engineering, especially the magazine "Radio", regularly write down the information received in the classroom in a notebook, draw diagrams of structures in them, thus creating a kind of reference books that will be useful to them in their practical activities ...

The circle must have constant communication with the local House or the Palace of Pioneers, the DOSAAF radio club, the regional or republican station of young technicians. These institutions will help to properly plan the work of the circle, organize radio sports competitions, an exhibition of works by young radio amateurs. The radio club, in addition, can allocate some materials and radio components for the work of the circle.

Sports radio games for schoolchildren have already become traditional, including competitions in "Hunting for foxes", high-speed assembly of generators or receivers, walking in azimuth and working in a radio network, transmitting and receiving radio messages on a key. City, zonal and All-Union exhibitions of the works of radio amateurs-designers are regularly held, to which young radio amateurs also present their works. Every year, during the spring school holidays, a competition for young ultra-shortwaves is held.

It is a matter of honor for the circle of young radio amateurs to actively participate in these and similar events. This activates the work of the circle, rallies its team around new tasks.

Boy radio amateurs are the future soldiers of the Soviet Army. Knowledge of the basics of radio engineering and electronics will help them in their service as signalmen of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

About the organization of electronics classes at school. In this post, as I promised, I will try to present my thoughts on the program and methods of conducting such classes.

Caution High Voltage

For a start, it would be nice to think over the most common things. For example, what will be the material base for classes? It largely depends on the technical equipment of the school and the room where the children will make flashing LEDs and, a little later, terminators. I will talk about an ordinary school, where, in addition to a circle, lessons are held during the day. In creative houses and various clubs, the situation is naturally different.
There are several options:
1. There is nothing in the classroom allocated for classes except a 220 V socket. The most difficult option. We need to look for power supplies for each person somewhere. An unobvious problem is that before each lesson, this entire low-voltage power supply network must first be connected (extension cords, power supply units themselves, wires to each table), and then put everything back. They are not allowed to re-equip the class somehow - financial responsibility, no one will bother with this. The second option is to switch to programming as soon as possible and then deal exclusively with it, and then you only need a computer and a projector. It is clear that this does not fit - the guys need absolutely other.
2. It happens that in physics classrooms, each desk is already equipped with a socket or terminal block, which is supplied with 36 or 42 V. It is believed that this is a relatively safe voltage. In this case, you only need to make 5 and / or 12 Volt power supplies, which will be permanently installed on the desks. Sometimes it even happens that the teacher has the ability to change the voltage at the sockets of school desks using LATR - generally a great option.
By the way, you can find quite a few different soldering irons for voltages 12, 24.36 and 42V.
3. And finally, it happens that the class has a 5 V supply to each school desk. This is enough for most experiments, as well as for the operation of low-power devices, both analog and digital. Usually, such a power distribution is done independently by a physics teacher using rather thick wires (to prevent a significant voltage drop).

Unfortunately, in my case, the physics classroom belongs to option number 1. There is a laptop, an MFP, a TV, a VCR and music on the teacher's desk. center, and a projector hangs overhead. Behind the back is a small white screen for a projector and, in fact, a blackboard. No stacks of MacBooks, as there are not and are not expected. Well, I will use what I have. The presence of a projector made me very happy - I have accumulated lot rollers, which are so rarely shown in physics lessons and they will be very useful for understanding the theory.
Based on all this, it was decided to provide each young radio amateur with a 5V power supply. Most probably already have them: almost any charger from a phone, tablet, player, etc. Who does not have - I will distribute from my own stocks. We also use battery packs - convenient, mobile and safe. This is about the power supply. More about layouts, components and the rest later. In the near future I will discuss the "move" to the computer science office, because it will soon be difficult without computers.

Knowledge slice

An equally important task is to determine the "initial conditions", that is, at least the approximate current level of knowledge of future engineers. Without this, it seems to me, it will be difficult to set goals, and even more so to fulfill them. Even before our first meeting, I prepared a questionnaire and handed it out at the very first lesson. Explained what it is for and how to fill it in. But all the same, I found out the main points in a conversation in the classroom: I asked about their lessons in physics, computer science and mathematics, about hobbies, about experience in fixing something, about hobbies, the presence of radio amateurs in the family, and so on.
The results are as follows:
- the majority simply forgot to bring this questionnaire to the second lesson
- two sixth graders and one seventh grader did it
- ninth graders scored in full force
- it is noticeable that there is a real abyss between the 6th and 7th grade
- consider that there was no informatics. The maximum is an office. However, one guy said that there was something Logo-like and another even wrote something in C.
- I have not yet managed to understand the level of English, but what was in the questionnaires will not help in any way on the English-language resources. Well, that means we won't get into the datasheet yet.
- everyone has a computer and the Internet
- several people have a dad or grandfather who are engineers and know what's what. This is very good for me, I think it will be much more fun with them.
- even ninth-graders are not completely sure how the battery is depicted in the diagram. Those who are younger did not see such things at all.

Based on this, I made the following conclusions:
1. Start from the beginning. You cannot rely on the fact that all of them know what an electric current is, for example. Well, that was clear from the start.
2. Adhering to a clear plan and timeline will be very difficult. Judging by the way the guys brought me the questionnaires)
3. When we get to programming, we also need to start from scratch. A little further I will describe my considerations in more detail.
4. The English part of the network does not yet exist for them. We'll have to refer only to Russian resources and documentation. It is clear that I will not be able to motivate them to intensively study English - the guys do not yet understand why this is necessary.
5. Use the Network as actively as possible. You can't tell everything in 4 hours a week and you can't answer all the questions, but there are computers, phones or tablets. Therefore, we must try to teach them to look for answers on the Internet, communicate with each other and ask me questions not only in the classroom.

Last week there was a post about organizing electronics classes at school. In this post, as I promised, I will try to present my thoughts on the program and methods of conducting such classes.

No, this picture is not the result of three sessions)

Caution High Voltage

Knowledge slice

I have already started a diary on LiveJournal, channel on YouTube for future videos and a Skype account. When at the last lesson I talked about all this and asked to use it more actively, then everyone almost unanimously said that we need a group on Vkontakte. Well, I'll have to meet halfway, and a little later I will make such a group. As I understood from the conversations, the guys are much more often on Vkontakte than on any other site (here again I want to make a caustic remark, but I can't, I'm now a teacher =))
In the previous post there was a question about video recording. I tried to record the first two lessons, but doing it with an ordinary video camera turned out to be extremely inconvenient: a narrow angle of view and inconvenient to rearrange the tripod in order to shoot either a board, then, for example, a breadboard or some experiments. In the near future I will try to get hold of an action camera and then it will be easier. There are plans to share the most interesting things on the YouTube channel.

Do you have a plan, Mr. Fix?

Now the main thing: what exactly are we going to do and where to start? I didn’t have a clear answer before we started classes. I only roughly imagined the possible options. To date, 3 classes have already passed, and I more or less understood the level of training of the guys. My tricky plan is this:
- The very basics: what is electric current. Try to link this concept with a conventional pipeline, that is, use a hydrodynamic model (HDM) for visual and intuitive training.
- Power supply (battery) and wires. Analogies in the HDM are a pump, a water tank and pipes.
- Prototyping board device.
- The simplest diagram on a breadboard is a battery, wires and a light bulb.
- Resistor and its effect on the light bulb and the entire circuit. The analogies in the HDM are narrow pipes.
- Several resistors in different connection options.
- LEDs; buttons. Simple diagrams with them and analogies in the HDM (valve and gate valve).
- What is a microcircuit. Take a simple board and clearly show where the MS is, resistors, buttons, conductors and a power source.
- Analog and digital signal
- Microcircuits of standard logic (I will not dwell on this in too much detail, but it still needs to be done).
- The simplest counters, generators, registers, multiplexers, decoders, etc. Several activities.
- Capacitance and inductance.
- Arduino: what it is and why. What is a microcontroller with links to MS standard logic.
- Blink the LED.
- Then everything will be mixed, depending on the project for a particular person: someone will beep as a speaker, someone will turn the servo, display numbers on seven-segment indicators or process an array of buttons.

Like this. First, general things that are needed for any craft, then as questions and problems arise. I plan to explain the concept of capacitance and inductance far from the beginning, most likely when "combat" tasks will arise. It's the same with alternating current. Somewhere in the distant future there will be radio waves, still very far away.
The general point is to get tangible results as quickly as possible. From the very beginning, I suggested that the guys divide their work into two parts: each has its own small project + one common project, but more complicated. I also indicated an approximate time for them - until the New Year holidays. I think that you have to get used to the time frame right away, otherwise you can amorphously engage in something incomprehensible for the whole year without any visible result.
Now I am more and more inclined to unite children of 2-3 people on one project and abandon the common project altogether. If you delve into the theory for too long and do nothing with your hands, then interest will disappear very quickly and people will simply scatter.
As the comments correctly suggested, wherever possible, I try to explain the theory using the analogy of electrical circuits and plumbing. This is a well-known and well-proven method; it is much easier for a student to imagine a pump and a damper than invisible charge carriers and, for example, a diode.
The main focus will be on digital electronics, and analog things will be discussed as needed. Therefore, I will try to start working with the Arduino as early as possible: it is much easier and faster to get a working device, and besides, you can tinker and program at home. Why I chose Arduino, I think, is clear. If not, I will answer in the comments.
Thanks to a few good people who responded to the first post, I managed to collect 7 Arduino boards, and I have already distributed them to some of the students. Yes, while they do not know which side to take it from, but some will have time to read something about it on their own.

Start

So far we have managed a little for three lessons, but the first lesson was introductory and exclusively for collecting information, distributing questionnaires and talking about the difficult school life. On the second, we started by drawing a diagram of a battery + a light bulb. For almost everyone, this turned out to be an absolute Chinese literacy and had to talk about how the elements are displayed on the diagrams. Then, not without difficulty, they made a similar chain, but "in terms of the water supply." And then I tried to explain that it is impossible to leave this way and it is imperative to add a resistor. Here was a tense (for me) moment: half began to actively yawn, the other half just looked at the board with complete incomprehension. Therefore, it was decided to immediately proceed to the demonstration performance, and I took out a breadboard with resistors and an LED. First, I explained what a breadboard is and how the pins are connected in it. Then, with the help of ninth-graders, with a detailed discussion of everything that was happening, they assembled a circuit and connected the power supply. But it is clear that this experience is not the most spectacular) And then I managed to attract their attention: I suggested burning the LED by removing the resistor from the circuit. At the word "burn" sparks appear in the eyes, and the mouth breaks into a smile. So we went and fried this unfortunate LED, and along the way, everyone was able to make sure that it was warming up decently. After this explanation about the current, the resistor and their relationship went much more fun and productive: now at least it is clear what I was talking about.
The third lesson was similar to the second, but started with repetition and different questions from my side. Again with difficulty, but almost without my help, we were able to draw a simple diagram of three elements. Again, almost correctly drawn the GDM of all this. And then I said that resistors are different and that the light bulb will shine differently depending on this. All this was immediately checked on the breadboard, different resistors were plugged in. And then somehow, but still almost independently, we figured out what would happen if we turned them on in parallel. The GDM helps a lot here, and what is important - no formulas were required. For some reason, difficulties arose with the sequential inclusion. Well, not all at once)
The most important thing that happened was that they began to discuss their future projects. At first half wanted to make a kind of "robot", but after my leading questions and conversations, the guys began to gradually descend from heaven to earth. So, for now, here's what they came up with for themselves:
- robotic arm with a clip
- battery charger
- robot driving on the lane
- automatic pencil sharpener
- a simple radio-controlled car

And the fourth lesson did not take place. Instead, I offered to go to the Russian robo-sumo championship! It seemed to me that it would be interesting for them and could motivate them. However, as a result, only three people out of about ten went, despite the fact that the competition took place almost at the same time as the lesson. Maybe the parents did not let me in (for the trip, you must have permission from the parents, which they do not mind), or maybe they just decided not to bother and stay at home, I don’t know this yet. Unfortunately, the parents also showed almost no interest, only the mother of one sixth grader went.

Robo Sumo Competition

Perhaps someone will be interested in how we went to these competitions. A few days before that, I agreed to meet there with several people who wanted to meet and exchange experiences. We got to MIEM, the guys sat down in the hall and began to observe the ring with the help of two projectors (sumo robots are quite small, and even at close range it is difficult to see everything that is going on there). Of course, it's great that there are events that you can easily come to and see the work of such enthusiastic people and their robots. I met Vladimir, who offered to help lead the circle. I also met Alexei, who has been conducting similar classes for the second year, but only on the basis of the library. It was also interesting to hear about how it all began and what the training program was.
When there was a short break in the competition program, I noticed that on the distant tables something was actively blinking in all colors. He invited the guys to look - it turned out that these were stands assembled on breadboards. Instead of a thousand words - a link to the forum. When in the summer I surfed the net and studied everything on the topic of circles, I hung on this forum for a long time. This is exactly what you need for beginners! A detailed description of the breadboard itself, ways of connecting power, manufacturing and laying wires made from a cheap cable, and most importantly - detailed tasks for using standard logic microcircuits. In addition, the forum has a lot of useful things, and in the summer I read it all. This is how I met a wonderful person at a robo-sumo competition, the head of electronics classes at the MEPhI student design research bureau, Vasily Vasilyevich Zuikov. A person completely passionate about his work, with whom you can talk for more than one hour. In the same place, he presented our mug with a set for classes according to his program: a breadboard, wires, a battery pack, a set of 155 series logic and even his unusual and functional business card. The photo in the title of the post was taken just at this booth. In the meantime, I tried to tell the guys something about the structure of these circuits and the components used to build them, but the attention of the listeners was constantly switching to the robots that were driving around the stage) Nothing, they will soon assemble something similar by themselves.

About the competitions themselves.

Gratitude

I would like to tell you separately how stormy and positive the reaction to the first post was. A huge number of people wrote to me, and I apologize if I did not manage to answer everyone in time. Several people from other schools have asked for classes (unfortunately, this is not possible at the moment).
I talked on Skype with the same novice teacher from Astana, as well as another person who has 10 years of experience in such matters.
Ruslan wrote, who then went to the school and handed over a whole package with useful pieces of iron: a soldering iron, several LCD indicators, LEDs, motors, power supplies, Arduino boards and even 2 sets of LaunchPads from TI. Written by uSasha, whom I also met and who gave the guys a complete set of radio control equipment, as well as a wonderful Meggy Jr RGB board and a programming cable. Posted by Anatoly who sent the GSM modem and FPGA evaluation board.
Vladimir, whom I have already mentioned, generally offered his help in teaching! I hope everything works out.
Written by Dmitry, who organized a circle "Radiotechnics" in the village. Milkovo of the Kamchatka Territory. He also told a lot of interesting things about his adventures: it is very difficult to organize such a thing when the regional center is 300 km away, and there are no specialized shops there either. It would be great if he shared his experience with everyone.
I met Ilya and Oleg, the organizers of the RobotKlass project - also a great undertaking! I met with Vitaly, who has decent experience in teaching programming to schoolchildren.
Several people offered financial assistance, for which we are very grateful.
And I was also very pleased that not only the strong half of humanity is interested in the topic, but also the beautiful one. Alena, hello to you)
And finally, I have just returned from a meeting with Alexey, Kirill and Alexander, who have been teaching robotics for several years and whom I met in robot sumo. The guys have a lot of ideas, they already have a good idea of what children need and how to convey it to them (this is programming, and electronics, and design). I learned a lot of new things. I really hope that such meetings for the exchange of experience will now take place on an ongoing basis.

That's how many people in these two weeks! The impression is that a very decent number of people are concerned with the topic of additional education, at least in Moscow. It is a sociable, extremely friendly and young community whose members help each other. Hooray!

The one who considers the radio engineering direction outdated and obsolete is wrong - they say, this type of communication is hopelessly outdated, so why understand it? In fact, this lesson is one of the most popular and demanded in our days. The young Popovs and Marconi are attracted by a lot in radio engineering: the opportunity to create a complex device with their own hands, improve or repair an existing one, as well as simply acquire skills that will be useful to every person.

In laboratories, houses and centers of creativity, young radio amateurs of our city have the opportunity to get acquainted with the basics of radio engineering, work with locksmith and assembly tools, and with complex circuits and equipment. Many schoolchildren, studying radio business in circles, take an important step towards their future specialty and profession.

In our city there is no shortage of qualified teachers and masters specializing in radio engineering. Many have received professional education back in the USSR, have devoted many years to leading factories and industrial enterprises and are ready to pass on the secrets of skill and their experience to the younger generation. Children studying radio business often become winners of various competitions, participants in conferences and rallies.

Preparation for soldering microcircuits

Working with a soldering iron and microcircuits is a must for every radio amateur. One of the basic rules for beginners is this: get inexpensive circuits and practice! Only "having got your hand" on simple ones, you can move on to more complex and, accordingly, expensive. Before you start soldering the microcircuit, you need to remove its excess solder using a copper braid, which is preheated with a soldering iron. Remember that it is thanks to the high-quality preparation of the base that the success of all work depends! This affects how reliable the future connection with the microcircuit elements will become. The value of resistance also depends on this. Before work, the circuit must be degreased: an ordinary napkin moistened with soapy water will help with this. True, there are cases when you cannot do without a special composition, which can be purchased in radio parts stores. Contacts are cleaned with acetone or methyl hydrate - it is the safest for human health.

Soldering equipment safety

Classes of children and adolescents in the radio engineering circle are held under the vigilant supervision of teachers. In any case, the course starts with safety rules. The teacher tells how to properly handle the equipment, setting up, adjusting and operating it. Explains how to be safe when working with the antenna. The most important task of the organizers of the circle in the premises of an amateur radio station is to ensure fire safety. Considering that circuits are most often assembled using soldering, let us dwell in more detail on the basics of working with soldering equipment. You have to deal with high temperatures, so you need to protect your skin. Of course, no one is immune from burns, but caution will not hurt. It is especially important to protect your eyes from burns so as not to lose your eyesight. There is no need to raise the pallet high, wave it - the tool should always be on the stand. When soldering, be sure to wear glasses. Even if you just disassemble the circuit, the solder can splash into the eyes, and injury in this case cannot be avoided.

How to avoid mistakes when connecting speakers?

When connecting speakers, it is important to remember that they are afraid of overload. If this happens, the speaker may be damaged. Therefore, it is important to take into account that the power supplied to it is not higher than the nominal one (less is possible). Before connecting the speakers, pay attention to their rated power (in watts) and the resistance of the voice coil (in ohms).

How to check the state of the resistor?

Not every device works for decades, not to mention its individual elements and details. Often, capacitors fail, a little less often, but this occurs - resistors ... It is quite simple to check whether the resistor ordered to live for a long time - you need to measure the resistance. Any indicator is considered a normal indicator if it is less than infinity and greater than zero. Pay attention to the color: the black resistor, as a rule, has already served its purpose, although there are exceptions. The part gets this color due to overheating.