Hardware Podcasts

22: Mincraft Is the New Apple II

Embedded.fm · 9 Oct 2013 · 49m

What this episode covers

Jordan Hart, a school administrator at the Digital Media Academy (DMA), discusses using Minecraft and Arduino robotics to teach STEM concepts to children aged 6 to 18. He explains how DMA integrates game mechanics like Redstone logic gates and server administration into its curriculum to drive motivation and teach real-world skills like security and teamwork. Hart also details the company's efforts to open-source its pedagogy and compares accessible hardware platforms like the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black for educational use.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Digital Media Academy, Georgia Tech, Emcraft, Stanford D school, Harvey Mudd, Hacker Dojo
Products
Minecraft, Arduino, Leap Motion, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black, Lego Mindstorms EV3, GarageBand, Code Academy, Udacity

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 14m

    Technology Instruction with Charlie Larrabee

    Charlie Larrabee, the lab guru at DaVinci Lab for Creative Arts and Sciences, discusses teaching electronics and technology to children aged 6 to 14. He details the shift from traditional Radio Shack kits to modern platforms like Circuit Playground Express and micro:bit, and explains how he uses tools like code.org and physical demonstrations with a Wimshurst generator to make abstract concepts tangible. Larrabee also shares his personal journey into electronics, his hobbyist work with vacuum tubes and JFETs, and his advice for parents on fostering creativity and resilience in young learners.

    Careers & educationMicrocontrollers & dev platforms
    7 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 05m

    The Walmart Greeter of Electronics

    Dave Jones of EEVblog and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss the shift toward practical engineering education at universities like the University of Sydney, the rise of open-source robotics kits like the Seeed Studio SO-101 and Hugging Face's Micro Duck, and the impact of AI tools like Astra GPT Six on PCB design. They explore how AI is changing the learning curve for young engineers, with Jones mentoring his employee Dylan on voltage regulator selection and Gammell positioning himself as a welcoming 'Walmart greeter' for new hobbyists entering the electronics space.

    AI & machine learningCareers & education
    7 chapters

  • Making It · 1h 13m

    Episode 173: Concrete Bandsaw

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss their current projects, including Jimmy's visit to a granite quarry and machinist event, Bob's Plinko board build with Brightwood College students, and David's decision to bring merchandise fulfillment in-house. They debate the future of digital fabrication, the differences between Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and Jimmy's long-term plans for his new workshop and antique machine collection. The episode also covers Bob's upcoming speaking engagement at Craft and Commerce and his views on teaching versus professional practice.

    Scaling productionMicrocontrollers & dev platforms
    10 chapters

  • The Electromaker Show · 25m

    Apple II controlled Synthesizer, Rust on Everything, New Pi Bootloader

    The host covers OpenCut, an open-source quadruped framework by Petoy using the Arduino-based Nyboard, and two Low Level Learning tutorials on using embedded Rust with the Raspberry Pi Pico and Arduino Uno. He highlights a modular synthesizer project by Joshua Coleman controlled by an Apple II via a DAC, and Iran Fiet’s Atari 2600 tennis interface. The episode concludes with news on the Mico RP2040 USB PDM microphone, the new Raspberry Pi network-bootable bootloader, and updates to the Arduino CLI and CadQuery CAD tool.

    Embedded firmwareMicrocontrollers & dev platforms
    1 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 31m

    #397.7 - Impedance Matching with Jeff Keyzer and Michael Ossmann

    Jeff Keyzer of MightyOhm.com and Michael Ossmann of Great Scott Gadgets join host Chris Gaddis at ToorCamp to discuss their current projects and philosophies on learning electronics. Keyzer details his work supplying Geiger counter kits and his non-electronic hobby of restoring a 1962 Sunbeam Alpine, while Ossmann describes his team's large-scale creme brulee project and the design of a 'Jar of Fireflies' badge to reduce waste. The conversation explores teaching strategies, contrasting the 'start with a working system' approach of Arduino with the reverse-engineering mindset of software hackers, and highlights the upcoming release of the GreatFET hacking tool.

    Prototyping & iterationCareers & education
    6 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Embedded.fm. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.