Instruction Guide: EV3 "- "Data Wires" Part 1
Note: This is Part 1 of 2 on Data Wires
In this Lesson we have 1 Primary Instruction Resource:
- EV3 Trainer section on Data Wires is the Primary Instruction Material.
Resource 1:
The EV3 Trainer has a video describing Data Wires:
Bonus > Data Wires > 1-5
Bonus > Data Wires
- Data Wires 1: Pipeline Explorer - Video showing a real-world robot looking for problems in a pipeline.
- Data Wires 2: Robot Config - Contains build and setup instructions for a robot that will handle the challenges of this unit.
- Data Wires 3: Random Move - Discusses Data Wires and the Random Block. Mini Challenge : Random Distance
- Data Wires 4: Wall Distance Value - Discusses using Sensor Data Values to control a robots speed. Mini Challenge : Dangerous Wall
- Data Wires 5: Displaying Data - Discusses displaying data on your EV3. Mini Challenge: Multiple Display
The EV3 Trainer Teacher's Guide references on pages 138 - 141. These pages have a lot of additional information!
Students should be able to answer all the review questions at the end of each step and end up with a solid command of the purpose and functionality of data wires, as well as the function of each data plug on the Move, Random and Sensor Blocks.
The "Try It" sections below the review questions in Steps 3, 4 & 5 dig deeper into the block parameters - make sure students understand these as well.
As students progress through, have them document their milestones in the "Data Wires" Part 1 Task Assignment Sheet.
Throttle Challenge
This Challenge is an adaptation of the Throttle Challenge from the NXT Video Trainer 2.0. To Adapt to EV3 and cover the scope of this "Data Wires" Part 1 Lesson:
- Use the medium motor form the EV3 Core set as the throttle
- Have students display the medium motor's power setting on the LCD display as the "Throttle Position"
Key learning to check for during sign-off includes:
-
Ensure students understand the nature of data wires:
- Data is generated on a wire when a block's output plug (the Random and Sensor Blocks in this lesson) is attached to another block's input plug by a data wire
- Data on a data wire connected to the input plug on a block (the Move Block in this lesson) will over-ride that parameter of the configuration panel settings
- To continuously update a data wire values, the blocks must be inside a loop that repeats frequently.
Additional Resource
The Differentiated Instructional Material: Extended, STEMcentric Video on data wires and advanced displays covers these same concepts in more details and with different examples.
