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Ask HN: Help w/ Software Development presentation to middle schoolers

by jonstjohn on 10/22/13, 3:38 PM with 1 comments

My son's school just sent a request for me to participate in the middle school 'career investigation immersion'. In the program, parents come in and give

- a brief presentation of the career - hands on activity (15-20 minutes) - Q&A (5-10 minutes)

I'm a software developer (+10 years) that has worked on web and mobile applications, with some hobby electronics experience (arduino, pi).

Any ideas on what might be interesting for a short hands-on activity for middle schoolers? I feel like I should definitely do this, but I don't really have much experience with that age group (my son is 3 1/2, so isn't part of that group).

Thanks!

  • by thorohhh on 10/22/13, 5:06 PM

    Its actually easier to teach hardware for kids that age. Maybe you can make a sat solver that checks if a circuit is satisfiable and basics of circuits with "and" "or" and "not" gates is always very interesting. You can even teach them about latches and flip flips and have them program a "soft drink" machine