The littleBits Bluetooth Low Energy Bit (marked "BLE" on your Bit) is the easiest way to control your inventions wirelessly, from any smart device (like a phone or tablet). All you need is the littleBits Invent app and this Bit to move motors on wireless vehicles, or trigger buzzers for pranks. You can also use your circuit to control functions on your device, like triggering the camera to take a picture.  

The synth speaker amplifies your sonic explorations! You can control the volume with a dial at the front of the module. It also features an output jack that you can connect to headphones, an amplifier, or a computer. The speaker is connected with 3M™ Dual Lock™ so it can be removed from the circuit board. To reattach, simply press together firmly.

The DC (or "direct current") motor rotates a small shaft you can attach anything to. Try attaching a wheel! Use it to spin, turn, twist, and roll.

The littleBits micro sequencer sends out voltages based on the position of each of the four “step” knobs. Connect it to an oscillator and it will step through the "sequence" consecutively to make a melody (The LEDs tell you which step is active). Turn a knob all the way counter-clockwise to make the step silent. Use it in "speed" mode to set the speed using the dial, or flip the switch to “step” mode to use an input module like a pulse or button for control. In addition to its main output, it also has a trigger output, which you can send to any of your other Bits modules.

Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom - Join the maker movement! There’s a technological and creative revolution underway. Amazing new tools, materials and skills turn us all into makers. Using technology to make, repair or customise the things we need brings engineering, design and computer science to the masses. Fortunately for educators, this maker movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing. The active learner is at the centre of the learning process, amplifying the best traditions of progressive education. This book helps educators bring the exciting opportunities of the maker movement to every classroom. Children are natural tinkerers Their seminal learning experiences come through direct experience with materials. Digital fabrication, such as 3D printing and physical computing, including Arduino, MaKey MaKey and Raspberry Pi, expands a child’s toy and toolboxes with new ways to make things and new things to make. For the first time ever, childhood inventions may be printed, programmed or imbued with interactivity. Recycled materials can be brought back to life. While school traditionally separates art and science, theory and practice, such divisions are artificial. The real world just doesn’t work that way! Architects are artists. Craftsmen deal in aesthetics, tradition and mathematical precision. Video game developers rely on computer science. Engineering and industrial design are inseparable. The finest scientists are often accomplished musicians. The maker community brings children, hobbyists and professionals together in a glorious celebration of personal expression with a modern flare. When 3-D printing, precision cutting, microcomputer control, robotics and computer programming become integral to the art studio, auto shop or physics lab, every student needs access to tools, knowledge and problem solving skills. The maker movement not only blurs the artificial boundaries between subject areas, it erases distinctions between art and science while most importantly obliterating the crippling practice of tracking students in academic pursuits or vocational training. There are now multiple pathways to learning what we have always taught and things to do that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Making for every classroom budget Even if you don’t have access to expensive (but increasingly affordable) hardware, every classroom can become a makerspace where kids and teachers learn together through direct experience with an assortment of high and low-tech materials. The potential range, breadth, power, complexity and beauty of projects has never been greater thanks to the amazing new tools, materials, ingenuity and playfulness you will encounter in this book. In this practical guide, Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager provide K-12 educators with the how, why, and cool stuff that supports classroom making.

Take learning & inventing further with the littleBits micro:bit Adapter The littleBits micro:bit Adapter connects micro:bit and littleBits enabling new learning experiences and creative inventions in a less-intimidating way. Enhance your learning with micro:bit by adding coding to your littleBits using platforms like the free Microsoft MakeCode or Python editor. It works by connecting the signals from the littleBits input and output bitsnaps to pins on the micro:bit edge connectors. No special coding libraries are needed. * micro:bit is required for use & sold separately Coding Capabilities Microsoft MakeCode  Microsoft MakeCode is a free, open source platform for creating engaging computer science learning experiences that support a progression path into real-world programming.  Students new to coding can start with coloured blocks that they can drag and drop onto their workspace to construct their programs.  Python Editor for micro:bit  micro:bit Python editor is designed with teachers and learners in mind: you can easily enlarge the text size for sharing on a large screen or whiteboard, download projects as Python text files or .HEX files ready to flash onto a micro:bit. It also works with micro:bit classroom.  Featured Activities micro:bit Countdown Create your very own micro:bit countdown clock using your favourite littleBits and some help from MakeCode. micro:bit Sunflower Create a micro:bit powered sunflower to seek out the best and brightest spots in and around the room. micro:bit Obstacles Create your very own autonomous robot using a micro:bit, your favorite littleBits, and a Sphero RVR. See if you can program RVR through a maze or an obstacle course without it ever hitting a wall or object.

The keyboard lets you play melodies- it features 13 switches that make up an entire octave of notes. It has two modes: "press" (which only produces output when you press a switch) and "hold" (which will hold the last note you played). It also features an octave control which changes the playable range. In addition to its main output, which is great for controlling our oscillators, it also has a "trigger out", which you can send to the "trigger in" of envelope or other littleBits modules.

The littleBits temperature sensor responds to the temperature surrounding its probe. The higher the temperature it senses, the more signal it sends out. The temperature sensor determines temperature via the IC that is located on top of the board. It communicates via I2C with an MCU located on the bottom of the board. The MCU gets a temperature reading in Celcius, applies a hysteresis to the reading, then converts it to farenheit if necessary. The final determined temperature is converted to a number module readable analog value. Every 50mV on the output of the bitsnap represents a single degree in either Farenheit or Celcius. Since heat will conduct through the board itself, there are slots around around the temperature sensor which provide thermal relief from board conductivity. Not Waterproof: littleBits are not waterproof. Please do not put the temperature sensor in your mouth to take your temperature. Plus, they taste weird so you will wish you hadn’t.

The pressure sensor is a touch-activated module; give its pad a little squeeze to activate it. The more pressure you apply, the more signal it sends out. Put it in front of a vibration motor to control how much it shakes!

The littleBits mix module allows you to combine two inputs and send them to a single output. It also has a volume control for each of its inputs - that's where the 'mixing' comes in. Use it to play two oscillators on a single speaker!

The littleBits envelope modifies the loudness contour of a sound. It takes a sound input and shapes it into something you'd hear from an acoustic musical instrument, like a piano or saxophone. This envelope has two controls: "attack", which is how long it takes to ramp up to maximum volume, and "decay", which is how long it takes to go down to silence again. You can use its third bitSnap[TM] to trigger the envelope from different sources, like the keyboard. [Try it putting the envelope after an oscillator being controlled by a micro sequencer.]

This book is your comprehensive guide to littleBits. With dozens of curated inventions to supplement the Bit explanations, it’s perfect for beginners, educators, and anyone who wants to dive deeper into the littleBits platform and learn how to use each individual Bit.

The littleBits fan Bit is just what you'd think: a small electric fan tethered to a littleBits module. It's great for those hot summer nights. Use our little fan to create fluttering movement in your creations or just to keep yourself cool.

The microphone Bits module translates sound into the electronic language of littleBits. You can use it to turn sounds into light or motion, or use it with the speaker Bits module like a small megaphone! Make sure the switch is set to “sound” when you're using it with the speaker, and “other” for all your other modules, like LEDs and motors. The microphone Bits module also has a 3.5 mm input jack so you can plug in your computer or mp3 player.

The littleBits filter has the most effect on the sound’s character or “timbre”. It affects the timbre by changing the relative volume of certain frequencies in the sound. Use it to give the impression that a sound is “brighter" (more high frequencies) or “darker” (more low frequencies.) The "cutoff" knob sets the frequency to be emphasized, and the other controls 'peak,' or intensity of the filter. If the peak is turned up all the way, the filter turns into an oscillator! [This is great for shaping all of the sounds you can make with the Synth Kit, but it's especially good with a noise input.]

The codeBit dongle allows you to wirelessly upload code from your computer to your codeBit. The USB cable brings power to your USB power Bit and rechargeable battery. It will also send information between certain Bits and your computer.

The mounting board (8" x 7") serves as the backbone of your inventions. It provides structure, and allows you to keep your circuit intact and move it around with ease. This mounting board can accommodate large circuits.

The oscillator is the main sound source in the Synth Kit and is capable of creating audio tones that will be used in almost every sound experiment you create. It features a "pitch" knob to adjust its output tone and a "tune" dial for adjusting the tuning when using with the keyboard. It also features a mode switch that selects between "square" and "saw" waveforms. The "square" waveform has a rich, powerful character, and the "saw" waveform has a more mellow, rounder character. [You'll often use it after the Keyboard or Micro Sequencer Bits modules, but you can have lots of fun by just twisting the pitch knob and "sweeping" through all the frequencies from high to low pitches.]

The littleBits delay module takes incoming audio and repeats it, like an echo. It has two knobs: "time", which sets the delay length between a sound and its repetition, and "feedback", which controls how many times the sound repeats. Delays can be long and spacey, like shouting into the Grand Canyon, or loud and crazy. This Bits module will play forever if you turn up the Feedback knob all the way. [You can also shift the pitch of a sound by turning the "time" control while a sound is repeating.]

Mounting boards come 2 to a pack and allow you to keep your circuit intact and move it around with ease! Simply snap together your littleBits circuit and press the feet of your modules into the holes of the mounting board. Hold your circuit upside down, vertically, and carry it from place to place without it coming apart. Four holes in the corners allow you to permanently mount your circuit to any surface, project, or permanent installation. Mounting boards can be used individually or tiled to accommodate circuits as large as you can make. Hang it, thread it, wear it... the list goes on and on!

bitSnaps are the colour-coded, magnetic connectors found on either end of all littleBits modules. Use these to make your own modules by attaching bitSnaps to either end of your printed circuit board. They allow you to snap modules together with ease and prevent you from connecting modules the wrong way. Included in this package are 12 grey bitSnaps (6 female and 6 male connectors) and corresponding blue, pink, orange and green stickers to identify whether your new module is a power, input, wire, or output.

The littleBits split module sends a single input to two wired outputs. It's great for connecting one output to two inputs, like using a keyboard to control two oscillators. But keep in mind that it can be used just like a wire module if you ignore one of its outputs.

The littleBits random module has two modes: "noise" and "random voltage". In "noise" mode, it outputs white noise, like a television set not tuned to any channel. In "random voltage" mode, it outputs random voltage signals that can control oscillators and make them play random pitches. Use the "trigger out" connector and "speed" dial of the micro sequencer to set the timing of the random output pulses and use an input Bits module like a dimmer to control the range of your random outputs.

The littleBits light sensor measures how much light is shining on it. It has two modes: “light” and “dark”. In “light” mode, the more light shines on the sensor, the higher the signal it sends out. In “dark” mode, it's just the opposite – the signal increases the darker it gets. You can use a screwdriver to adjust the sensitivity. Use a bargraph to see how it's working!