In December I posted a blog about a guy named Johnny Chung Lee. He developed free software that can be used with a wiimote (remote for a wii) that enables you to have your own interactive whiteboard or wall for under $100. It is really amazing! Check out his other projects as well.
Parts needed (not including projector & computer):
- Wii Remote Controller-$39.99
- IR Keychain lite-$15.95 (or build your own for under a $)
- Bluetooth Dongle-$19.99
- Software-$0.00
I showed Johnny’s projects to a colleague in a different school district and she showed it to her students. Her students took it a ran with it. They now have an interactive whiteboard. Show this to your students. They may just take it on.
Here’s her email. (She gave me permission to publish it.) I nearly levitated when I read it. It’s very exciting.
Chris,
When I got back on Monday to school I showed the video to my 9th grade computers class about the Wii whiteboard. There’s a few boys in the class who are big gamers and they were pretty psyched. Before the end of the period they had figured that they needed a computer with bluetooth (something we didn’t have at school). One of them had a laptop at home that did, so he went home that night and spent about 4 hours playing with it to get the software to work. They found another video on YouTube that explains in detail how to make the IR_pen. I have to admit when I saw it, I was discouraged by all the steps (I’ve never been one for building things, especially in electronics) One student went home though and took apart an old remote for the IR light and taping a AA battery to the outside of a highlighter made a working pen. It doesn’t have a switch, so you have to make contact with the wire to the battery. to turn it on & off. The kids even brought in their own Wiimotes to use.
BUT IT WORKS!!
Thanks for the idea. It turned out to be an awesome project for some kids who were starting to get Spring fever, and honestly I did nothing more than show them the video and they ran with it. They were also very proud of their accomplishment. Now the girls in the class want to try out getting the head-tracking software project that Johnny Chung made on another video. I’ll let you know how it works out.
Check out the photos.
We did discover something else last period. If you take apart a regular penlight and replace the bulb with a IR bulb, you have your pen without all the wiring. Penlights are pretty cheap & we also found a USB Bluetooth device for about $10-15 to convert our existing computers.
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Thank You,
Sara
Technology Coordinator
If you or your students try this, let me know. I would love to hear about it!
Chris
