Peter Martin, Head of Design & Technology, Poole Grammar School, Dorset, writing for IEE Electronics Education magazine
February 2004
Absorb Electronics is one of a series of subject specific programmes from Crocodile Clips that runs in a Windows Explorer environment. This is not an add-on to Crocodile Clips but a book in its own right that is a mixture of theoretical or practical topics that can be used in part, or as a unit for students to explore. Each unit can be run from a contents page.
The units are laid out in a logical manner and start from the basics of electrical circuits for Key Stage 3 work, to the theory of transistors for Key Stage 4. Diagrams are interactive, as are circuit diagrams that run through the Crocodile Clips environment. For those schools who do not use Crocodile Clips, the circuit is loaded into a viewer (installed automatically from the CD). Clicking on one such diagram, loads it into the circuit simulator where the experiments can be carried out. In addition to the theory, there is information and work units for prototyping circuits using breadboard. Students can follow the steps easily to achieve the desired outcome by following the steps that are clearly explained. Throughout the CD there are short interactive tests, enabling students to monitor progress.
For those members of staff who would like a ready made project, Absorb Electronics has three that can be used. The "Safety Light" project uses LEDs and a 555 timer to make a cyclist's safety light. "Chuckles" uses two Schmitt trigger astables (one fast and one slow) to drive a piezo transducer. For the more adventurous, the final project is a "Pulse Monitor" that uses op-amps, Schmitt triggers and filters in its solution.
One of the highlights of this well written software is the use of standalone "tools" that can run independently of the programme to calculate Ohm's Law, time constants or the frequency period. Each of these can be run through the software tutorials themselves or through a shortcut to the appropriate file. Although this is not documented in the manual, the author had no trouble in getting these to run on a Windows 2000 network. These tools are Flash objects and a Flash Media Player must be installed from the CD to enable them to run.
Too often, text books deal with all the facts about a device, and students have to disseminate the relevant from the superfluous. Absorb shows the basics. For the more able (or inquisitive) additional topics or information is accessible through extra buttons. This takes them beyond the basics and allows for differentiation of learning (particularly useful if an inspection is looming!) but even if this is not the case, this software is well worth further investigation.