A kit of parts both playful and educational, this cool set of components lets children design simple movement sequences and test various kinetic strategies.

LINKKI features three motors – for full rotation, limited rotation and wifi connectivity – tied into a peg board where various pieces can be plugged in to create endless combinations (particularly once you start hacking your own pieces from scratch).

“The flat mechanism makes the design process with which engineering such as mechanics, robotics, electronics, and model making is involved feel like just drawing on the paper: fast, easy, and intuitive,” writes its creator. “Flat parts also enables users to make their own parts with on-the-shelf material such as cardboard—that is, it’s easy to hack and open-ended.”

The toy kit is intended in part to engender interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) by engaging it as a kind of play and making discoveries more intuitive, casual and entertaining for kids.

The post Modular Kinetic Toy Kit Teaches Kids About Design Motion first appeared on Gajitz.

The way we’re going about making circuits has been rapidly changing in the past few years, and it’s largely thanks to conductive inks. These ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight inks can be inserted into thin objects or even printed on paper, totally eliminating the need for bulky framework. Circuit Scribe started out as a Kickstarter project and is now available via retail outlets, and it’s spent the past couple of years proving just how awesome it is.

The concept behind Circuit Scribe is easy even for non-technical folks to understand. Instead of wires, soldering, and a lot of specialized knowledge, you can draw circuits on paper with the non-toxic, water-based ink. Circuit Scribe sells modules that you can snap onto your creations with magnets to make working lights, sound modules and even a small motor.

Although you can use it to make some pretty rad toys and gifts, the Circuit Scribe is important on an even larger scale. It’s among the first generation of similar products that allow anyone to make electronics without a whole lot of prior knowledge. The process of using Circuit Scribe to make things actually leads to the learning (rather than the learning leading to the making) which is a fun, engaging type of education.

As far as functionality goes, the Circuit Scribe system is far easier to use than some of its competitors which are bulkier and can take hours to dry. The Circuit Scribe pen lets you draw and then immediately use your drawing to make something fun. People who are interested in electronics and engineering careers will still need to learn traditional methods as well, but conductive ink gives you the kind of instant gratification that just makes you want to keep playing and learning.

The post Conductive Ink Pen Lets You Draw Custom Working Circuits first appeared on Gajitz.

Designer Falk Wolsky’s wife was helping their son with his homework when she realized he was making mistakes without her noticing. She casually mentioned the need for a pen that would alert you to spelling and penmanship mistakes. Like any good dad, Wolsky took notice.

Along with fellow designer Daniel Kaesmacher, he created the Lernstift (German for “learning pen”). While the user is writing, it releases a gentle vibration to tell the user that they have made a spelling mistake, or to correct their handwriting. The writing utensil has three interchangeable tips: pencil, fountain pen, and ballpoint.

Although it’s designed for children, the Lernstift packs a tiny computer inside its ergonomic design. An embedded Linux system runs the board, which contains a motion sensor, processor, memory, vibration module and Wi-Fi module. It has two modes: Orthography mode, which recognizes spelling mistakes; and Calligraphy mode, which recognizes flaws in legibility. Eventually the designers hope it will contain the capacity to help people learn new languages through writing.

The post Smart Pen Vibrates to Alert You to Errors as You Write first appeared on Gajitz.

Electronic waste takes up massive amounts of space in the world’s landfills – and a lot of it is not actually broken, just obsolete. But even worse, in many parts of the world low-income children and adults risk their health to dig through the e-waste, looking for reusable and recyclable components. Dhairaya Dand saw this sad state of affairs in Cambodia and decided to do something about it. He came up with ThinkerToys as a way to make use of obsolete technology while providing fun, educational toys to disadvantaged children.

Dand’s vision is to use off-the-shelf components to create small, open-source games that plug into some piece of e-waste such as an old keyboard, mouse, headphones or monitor. The old, discarded technology works with the new, low-cost technology to create an entire play system. The game modules will be produced at under $5 each and provided to children in developing nations at no cost. The entire effort will be supported by selling the same modules in developed nations.

So far, four game module prototypes have been developed. Keyano turns a regular computer keyboard into a musical keyboard. RandoMath also connects to a keyboard and features a tiny screen on which kids can answer random math problems. Storynory uses a discarded set of headphones or an old speaker to play stories for kids in their local language. Finally, TV++ connects to an old CRT monitor or TV and a mouse or keyboard to let kids draw, play educational games and practice spelling.

The plug-and-play devices are unique in that they use both old and new components to bring fun, cost-free educational toys to the children who need them the most. They will not only provide a valuable educational service to children; they will also help to keep e-waste (and its assorted toxins) out of landfills.

The post E-Waste Toys Turn Trash Into Fun Educational Treasures first appeared on Gajitz.

Besides making computers and other gadgets, IBM is known for producing training videos and short educational films. In 1965, before the dawn of the personal computer era, they produced the gem below: “Man & Computer.” It is a 22-minute-long dive into the functions of a computer, augmented by some groovy animations and top-notch acting.

The content of the video is actually very interesting, as it underlines just how far computing has come in 45 years. Curiously, the video focuses on reassuring the viewer that computers will never replace humans – only enhance our abilities. It seems that even before computers took over the world, people were frightened that they would one day lose their jobs to the machines.

The post Man + Computer: 1965 IBM Video Reassures Technophobes first appeared on Gajitz.