Arduino MP3 Player in Social Studies

Patricia Aigner’s Social Studies e-Textile Project.

Product

The LilyPad MP3 Player is an interesting tool for embedding audio and music into an e-textile.  It has an Arduino compatible microcontroller, MP3, micro-SD card socket and also the ability to use different triggers for sound, lights and more.  It can be combined with some speakers or earbuds for sound output. The board works nicely with sketches writer for the MP3 Player shield. I used the sample code from Bill Porter’s MP3 Player Arduino library which was easily editable. 

Project

In my project, I combined the LilyPad Mp3 Player with a local history object, the Rutland High School Banner.  I added sound files and also an LED light behind the torch in the HS Seal which dates from the 1800s.  You can hear history stories and music from the school by activating the banner.  Pretty cool.

To watch an introductory video visit here…it was done like a movie or book trailer to build interest in the project (without giving too much away).

Here is the actual lesson and resources.  It is not creative commons licensed since I have not determined how I want to use this project in the future.  For now, it is copy written.

Summary

I really enjoyed working on this project and plan to share it with the HS as an installation. Through the process of creating and programming, I have come to the conclusion that it is far better to be a creator than a mere consumer of technology.  Combining programming with e-textiles or other actionable objects allows end users to participate in a more tangible experience.  I want our students to have choices like this as part of their learning.