Hello, student! It’s nice to meet you for the first time.
Our first season course“Mastering Arduino” is officially saying “Hello World” to you.
From concept to reality, the HOME+ teaching and research team has spent6 months carefully crafting a unique programming curriculum for teenagers, aimed at introducing you to programming and opening the door to artificial intelligence.
01
The Future is Here
AI is no longer just a dog that can play Go.
AlphaGo is an artificial intelligence Go program developed by the company DeepMind, which was acquired by Google.
In October 2015, AlphaGo defeated Fan Hui, a 2-dan player, with a score of 5 to 1.
In March 2016, AlphaGo defeated the Korean Go champion Lee Sedol, who has 18 world championship titles, with a score of 4 to 1.
From December 29, 2016, to January 4, 2017, AlphaGo, under the ID name “Master”, defeated dozens of professional Go players from China, Korea, and Japan with a score of 60 to 0 on online Go platforms.
In May 2017, AlphaGo Master defeated Ke Jie, the world’s number one ranked Go player at the time, with a score of 3 to 0.
The final version of AlphaGo is AlphaGo Zero and its general version AlphaZero.
The Go robot based on deep learning algorithms, Alpha Go, has officially implanted the concept of artificial intelligence into the public’s mind.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of computers to possess intelligent capabilities similar to humans, allowing them to work efficiently once they have the correct direction. Here, the correct direction means the most likely achievable goal, which in technical terms means maximizing expected outcomes.
Tasks that artificial intelligence needs to handle include learning, reasoning, planning, perception, language recognition, and robot control.
What can artificial intelligence do for us?
For example:
1. Visual recognition technology can identify brands and people’s faces.
The iPhone X incorporates visual recognition technology. Face ID uses advanced machine learning algorithms to recognize changes in human faces. Even if the user wears a hat, glasses, or various patterned sunglasses, the iPhone X can accurately recognize the face to unlock the phone, log in, and make payments.
2. Train neural networks to recover childhood memories.
Algorithmia uses black and white images as input and color images as output to train neural networks. The trained neural networks can color black and white images, meaning we can input black and white photos of our elders, and the neural network can automatically restore them to color images.
3. Use full-duplex interaction technology as your companion in life.
On July 26, 2018, Microsoft officially released the sixth generation of Xiaoice, which further upgraded the interaction method and integrated multi-sensory interaction. At the same time, Xiaoice has moved from being a chatbot to more application scenarios, from familiar hosting programs, singing, storytelling, and poetry writing, to news commentary, finance, smart home, and mobile phones, Xiaoice can be found everywhere.
If you often browse NetEase News, you will find Xiaoice’s presence in the comment sections of various articles. Moreover, all comments made by Xiaoice are generated through machine learning, meaning this process is entirely intelligent and without human editing.
AI can achieve many more things…
However, a tall building starts from the ground. Learning artificial intelligence is inseparable from mathematics, algorithms, and programming.
02
The Future is Here
Learning programming is not just about becoming a programmer.
Learning programming does not mean we must become programmers or software developers in the future.
In an increasingly intelligent future, programming is actually a fundamental and core skill, as any implementation of artificial intelligence is inseparable from programming. We may not need to be experts, but we need to understand.
Programming can enlighten various abilities and lay the foundation for children’s future development. From an educational perspective, the core concept of youth programming is to cultivate computer programming as an equally important foundational skill alongside reading, expression, and mathematics.
What changes can learning programming bring?
1. Improve logical thinking skills.
Programming is the process of breaking down large problems into smaller ones. In this process, one must think about how to arrange the code reasonably within the program, allowing the program to smoothly handle input, computation, and output. This process can significantly enhance teenagers’ logical analysis abilities.
2. Cultivate patience and focus.
The rigor of programming means that any small error or mistake will lead to the program failing to compile. Therefore, during the programming process, one needs to continuously debug and correct errors, which is a significant test of children’s patience and focus.
3. Cultivate the ability to integrate information and solve problems.
Programming fundamentally involves the arrangement and combination of computer instructions. This is similar to looking up words in a dictionary, learning Chinese characters, and forming sentences to write articles.
The basic instructions in a program are akin to Chinese characters. To complete a coherent and concise program, one must integrate knowledge and apply it effectively. In this process, children’s ability to integrate information and solve problems will become increasingly strong.
4. Provide more choices for their future.
We know that 24 countries around the world have incorporated programming into their basic education systems.
In the United States, the penetration rate of youth programming is 44.26%;
In the United Kingdom, this figure is nearly 10%;
In China, the penetration rate of youth programming is only 0.98%.
Fortunately, we are witnessing the rapid rise of programming education in China under strong policy support.
On July 20, 2017, the State Council publicly issued the “New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” to provincial, autonomous regional, and municipal governments, as well as various ministries and agencies.
The plan clearly states: “Implement a national intelligent education project, set up artificial intelligence-related courses in primary and secondary schools, gradually promote programming education, and encourage social forces to participate in the development and promotion of educational programming software and games that make learning fun.”
Under this policy, we see many institutions and schools making changes:
In April 2018, the Nanjing Education Bureau included programming in the category of special enrollment for the Nanjing high school entrance examination;
In August 2018, Zhejiang Province included information technology as a subject in the college entrance examination, with the score proportion being the same as traditional elective subjects, set at 100 points. In the actual exam, its selection rate is only second to physics and chemistry, ranking third;
17 985 universities have set criteria for adding points for students with technology specialties, followed closely by 211 universities;
More than 600 first-class middle schools across the country, such as Tsinghua University Affiliated High School, Renmin University Affiliated High School, and Shanghai Foreign Language University Affiliated High School, have successively offered programming education-related courses. The number of public primary and secondary schools offering classes in major cities is growing exponentially.
Zhihu
Moreover, children who learn programming also have an advantage in the college entrance examination, as programming-related questions have already appeared in math exams in several provinces and cities.
Students who know programming not only earn points for programming questions in the college entrance examination, but also enjoy other very attractive benefits.
From the perspective of the college entrance examination and the trends in domestic education, programming may become the next “Olympiad math”, and children who excel in programming can enjoy reduced admission scores or qualifications for independent admissions interviews at key middle schools and universities.
Every year, a group of students with programming specialties enter top domestic universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and Zhejiang University through recommendations or reduced scores.
Indeed, learning programming with such purposes may seem utilitarian, but it does provide us with a choice and a right, the right to achieve a better quality of life.
03
The Future is Here
Arduino allows you to achieve what you envision
To help children with no prior experience get started with programming, we have chosen Arduino for teaching in this season’s course.
Arduino is a computer tool used to assemble devices that can interact with the physical world around you, essentially acting as an electronic brain. Once the circuit has Arduino, it learns to think. And when the circuit learns to think, it achieves intelligence.
Let’s first take a look at some fun things Arduino can do.
Beginner level:
Running lights
Touch light
Temperature and humidity sensor
Light tracking
Intermediate level:
Game assist arm
Sorting machine
Time traveler
Advanced level:
Remote sensing glove
Line-following robot
So what exactly is Arduino?
Arduino is an open-source circuit board with simple input and output capabilities, using the Processing language development environment.
If you’re still not quite sure what it does, just remember three words: microcontroller.
Arduino core: AVR microcontroller
Arduino essence: microcontroller application development board
Arduino advantages: simple functions and many application libraries, allowing those without a strong microcontroller background to use Arduino to create what they want.
Concise IDE (Integrated Development Environment): the programming software for writing code, compiling, debugging, and downloading.
Arduino consists of two main parts:
1. Hardware: the circuit board used for electrical connections;
2. Software: Arduino IDE, the program development environment on the computer.
You just need to write program code in the IDE, upload the program to the Arduino circuit board, and the program will tell the Arduino circuit board what to do.
The reason we chose Arduino is to minimize the dullness and complexity of the C/C++ programming process while integrating circuit knowledge, allowing children to create their own maker projects and experience the joy of programming and AI.
04
The Future is Here
About HOME+
HOME+ Youth Maker Lab was established in early 2019, fully committed to STEAM education.
The course design encompasses interdisciplinary knowledge points such as mathematics, physics, programming, science, English, expression, and creative design, allowing teenagers to fully experience “learning by using” and “learning through fun,” stimulating their enthusiasm for learning.
HOME+’s STEAM courses adopt the PBL teaching concept. Through project-based teaching, it helps teenagers build a systematic knowledge framework, enabling them to master the connections and transfer of multidisciplinary knowledge.
“Our original intention is to let more people understand programming and experience the convenience it brings. In the future, when everyone says I have an idea,” they can realize it themselves.” Jiao Xiao Jiao, HOME+ Course Project Leader
HOME+ understands that a good learning environment is crucial for children’s growth.
Therefore, we provide children with a family-style hardware-supported teaching location and complement it with cooperative learning teaching methods, allowing children to learn in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, together with mentors and classmates, “learning by doing”.
This season’s summer course “Mastering Arduino” focuses on small class teaching with a 1 to 3 teacher-student ratio, with a limited enrollment of 15 students, suitable for teenagers aged 12 to 18.
Play hard, learn freely.
Hao Xiao Hao, HOME+ Course Instructor
We are ready.
Play hard, we provide fruit snacks during breaks.
Learn freely, our teaching materials might be the best in Zhaotong right now.
Upon successful enrollment, we will gift you an original Italian imported Arduino kit.
In addition, we are jointly launching a “Registration Event” with “Starry Printing Company”. Starting from today, the first 5 people to successfully register will receive a beautiful stationery set provided by “Starry Printing Company”.
After successful registration, we will promptly contact the child’s parents to discuss and confirm the child’s summer vacation and free time, to customize a personalized course plan for the child, and to distribute activity prizes.
This season’s course consists of two classes per week, with each class lasting 2 hours, and each hour being 90 minutes.
Course fee 2899 yuan / 16 class hours / person.
By the way, you need to bring a laptop with you to class, with the operating system being Win 7 and above.
If you have any questions, you can leave a message in the “dialog box” on the public account homepage, and we will respond as soon as possible.
Click the image below, and start your exclusive AI journey.
The future is here, will you come?
