Resources/Facilitator guide
Schools
Facilitator quick-start
For a teacher, makerspace lead, or third-space facilitator who needs to run 45–60 minutes without live Overhaul support. This is a draft from our own workshop notes and QA timings. It is not standards-aligned curriculum and not a verified classroom case study.
Last updated September 2026. We will revise after each session we run.
Session structure
Suggested split for one period. If you only have 45 minutes, cut share to two minutes and skip live generation.
Intro / framing
5–8 minShow one finished sample (or a gallery photo). Name the goal in one sentence. Do not demo the full copilot live unless you have already generated the package.
Generate or hand out
5 minEither paste the chosen gallery prompt and generate once on a facilitator laptop, or hand out a package you generated before the session. One generation per table, not per student.
Build
25–30 minCut, wire, upload. Facilitator circulates. Use the troubleshooting list, not a live call to Overhaul.
Test / unstick
8–10 minOne structured test: does the mechanism move on command. Freeze new features. Fix stalls and wiring only.
Share / wrap
5 minEach table says what moved and what they would change. Point them at the gallery prompt to retry at home if they have a board.
What to prep beforehand
- One laptop or Chromebook per table, with Arduino IDE (or the school’s allowed uploader) installed, and USB drivers tested on that exact hardware the day before.
- USB data cables that you have already used to upload, not a mixed drawer of charge-only leads.
- One microcontroller board per table (Uno-class for current gallery packages) plus the parts for the chosen session plan.
- Cardboard, scissors, rulers, cutting mats. Craft knife and hot glue only with an adult on that table.
- Printed cutouts if you are not cutting from a projector. Printing A4 the night before is the single biggest time save.
- Overhaul accounts: students can use the free copilot if you want them to type, but for a first 45–60 minute session generate the package yourself and keep the laptops on upload + the gallery page.
- Physical kits are not for sale yet. Do not promise a kit handout. Use cupboard parts or a buy-list you actually have on site.
- Open the matching Build Gallery project and the two or three troubleshooting articles for that build on a facilitator tab.
Group sizing
Students per device
Two at a laptop is the working default from our own workshops: one types or uploads, one handles cardboard. Three is possible if the third is on cutting. Four on one screen stalls the session.
Students per electronics set
One board and one mechanism per table of two or three. Sharing a single servo across two competing designs in 45 minutes does not finish.
What this is based on
Bench QA timings plus notes from sessions we have run. This is not a published class-size study and not a guarantee for a 40-student hall with one facilitator.
Sample session plans
Two ready-to-run plans built on existing gallery entries. Use those pages as the reference build.
Intermediate
Recycling sorter, 60 minutes
A chute that sends a light item left or right using a sensor and a servo gate.
Groups that have already uploaded a blink or servo sweep once.
Open the Smart Recycling Sorter gallery entry
- 0:00–0:08 Framing: show the gallery photos and the gate motion. Name the test: two items, two bins.
- 0:08–0:12 Hand out the pre-generated package (cutouts, wiring, code). Do not live-generate unless the wifi is proven.
- 0:12–0:40 Build: cut chute, mount sensor, wire servo, upload.
- 0:40–0:52 Test with the two items. If everything goes one way, open the threshold article and change one number.
- 0:52–1:00 Share: one sentence per table. No extra features.
If they get stuck: open the matching troubleshooting article.
Beginner to intermediate
Cardboard robotic arm, 60 minutes
Two-servo arm that lifts a light object. Success is one pick, not a polished robot.
A first moving structure with a clear demo (pick and place a ping pong ball).
Open the Cardboard Robotic Arm gallery entry
- 0:00–0:08 Framing: gallery arm photo. Test is “ball in cup,” not “looks like an industrial arm.”
- 0:08–0:12 Hand out cutouts and the three-wire servo reminder (signal, 5V, GND).
- 0:12–0:40 Build. Double-layer the servo mounts. Do not run servos until glue has skinned.
- 0:40–0:52 Test without the ball first, then with. If a servo hums, cut power and free the joint.
- 0:52–1:00 Share. Point early-finish tables at the servo-claw gallery entry, not a new invention.
If they get stuck: open the matching troubleshooting article.
Common facilitator pitfalls
Group-session problems, not individual wiring bugs. Fixes link out rather than copy the troubleshooting pages.
One table finishes 20 minutes early
Do not invent a harder robot on the spot. Hand them the next gallery neighbour (servo claw after the arm, or drawbridge after the sorter) and the same parts pool. Cap scope: one extra mechanism, no new sensor type.
Related resourceA table’s build fails mid-session
Freeze the design. Run the matching troubleshooting article in order. If the mechanism still does not move with five minutes left, switch that table to a known-good blink or single-servo sweep so they still upload something. That is a valid wrap, not a failed class.
Related resourceUSB boards never appear on school laptops
This is a prep miss, not a student miss. Have two facilitator laptops that already enumerate the boards. Move the board, not the lesson, to a working USB stack.
Related resourceWifi or the copilot is slow
You should already have the package generated. If you planned live generation and it fails, fall back to the gallery prompt page and a USB stick copy of the .ino. Do not spend the build window on login recovery.
Related resourceSomeone promises kits or a polished curriculum
Kits are not for sale yet. This guide is not standards-aligned curriculum. Say that out loud at the start if leadership is in the room, so the session is judged on whether students got a mechanism moving.
Related resource