@inproceedings{86504ca735c14399b969f9a9b5316ea7,
title = "BitBlox: A redesign of the Breadboard",
abstract = "Building physical computing projects can enable learners to integrate computing into a range of interests and disciplines. However, the electronic portion of these projects can be difficult. Students are learning new concepts as well as how to work with new tools. This influx of information can be difficult for students to retain in their working memory as they construct their circuits. In this paper, we introduce BitBlox, a set of modular, solderless Breadboards for prototyping circuits. BitBlox attempts to decrease the cognitive load on the user by reducing the complexity found in the standard Breadboard by bringing visibility to the underlying connections within its modules. We present a comparative classroom study integrating the Breadboard and BitBlox into two different high school classes. Our qualitative analysis focuses on student errors, strategies, and collaborative practices, highlighting important dynamics for designing hardware tools.",
keywords = "Design, Education, Electrical circuits, Microcontroller",
author = "Kayla Desportes and Aditya Anupam and Neeti Pathak and Betsy Disalvo",
note = "Funding Information: We thank the teacher and students who worked with us on this investigation. We also thank the NSF for grant DUE 1431984 that made this work possible. Copyright: Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.; 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, IDC 2016 ; Conference date: 21-06-2016 Through 24-06-2016",
year = "2016",
month = jun,
day = "21",
doi = "10.1145/2930674.2930708",
language = "English (US)",
series = "Proceedings of IDC 2016 - The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children",
publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery, Inc",
pages = "255--261",
booktitle = "Proceedings of IDC 2016 - The 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children",
}