Kniwwelino®

Context

Digital skills play a central role in our knowledge society, both in private and professional lives. These new competencies, acquired lifelong in formal education and vocational training, are required to ensure optimum inclusion of citizens and to enable smooth jobs transformation and worker upskilling.

There is currently a lack of lay and engaging material to support digital skills education and overcome the complexity of technologies as well for learner and teacher. In addition, a well-though digital nation policy must not only consider literacy as the aim, but also struggle to engage citizens into active participation into the country digital transformation rather than being bare consumers.

Overview

Engaged in the Global Maker Movement initiated by Arduino, LIST developed Kniwwelino in collaboration with SCRIPT and SNJ and with the support of the FNR. It is creative environment for learning programming and electronics.

Kniwwelino contains a versatile affordable micro-controller board based on the Arduino® and WiFi™ technologies and a visual programming interface enabling rapid learning curve to create quickly useful and rewarding connected projects. The coding platform is designed for any novices with a block-based visual programming web environment where item are assembled like a puzzle. The platform was initially tailored to target kids but is prepared for future other age-groups extensions. The current kids oriented ecosystem offers attractive and comprehensive set of creative projects with full coding instruction, extensions with various sensors and actuators, as well as crafting models.

The online visual programming interface, in which blocks are assembled like a puzzle, has been designed especially for children. Extensions can be connected to the board to enable them to learn about electronics. Kniwwelino was successfully used in various workshops, maker fairs, and diverse kid, teenager and adult events. It received excellent market traction and is already for available for sale at electronic-shop.lu. Kniwwelino was successfully used in various workshops, maker fairs, and diverse kid and teenager events. It received excellent market traction and is already for available for sale at electronic-shop.lu.

Benefits

Lowest price tag on the market with respect to equivalent product
WiFi-enabled for multi-user and spatially distributed projects
Creative programming environment that follows the learning progression: for the whole family and newbies with block-based visual programming to power coders with C++ and the Arduino language
Workshops accessible to public that never code or manipulate electronic parts or devices
Full web-based ecosystem, comprising comprehensive projects with code, electronics and crafting instructions in 3 languages (FR, DE, EN)
Driverless and wireless firmware update, compatible with PC, Mac® and tablets
Internet of Things (IoT) message protocols (MQTT) included to easily connect devices and systems.Wide range of sensors and actuators available in programming tool (Buttons, light, proximity, ultrasonic distance sensor, temperature, humidity, servos, continues rotation servos, relay, RGB LED, LED, sound, etc.).