XinCheJian Curriculum

Objective

Define a set of immediately useful skills across a wide variety of disciplines (mechanical, electrical, software, design and social sciences) to become a well-rounded maker and human being able to conceive, design, implement, operate, maintain and promote serious hobbyist, artistic or commercial projects.

Learning approach

• Skills are introduced through workshop lasting each for about an hour
• Learning process is linked to a larger all-encompassing goal (building robots)
• Theory should be minimal
• Preparation to workshops should be lightweight
• Tools should be easy to use and free (or inexpensive) - preferrably free as in freedom
• Content should focus on safety, setup, "most basic usage", "most useful usage"
• Further mastery of the skill should be self-directed, with help from the community
  • starter kits
  • online documentation
  • projects

Apprentices become teachers

Apprentices who acquire a new skill should immediately assist into transferring the newly acquired skill to more students to reinforce their own learning.

Skills

Skills are presented as follows:

• Skill
  • details
  • self-learning link
  • XinCheJian documentation

The skills should be approximately ordered in the order they should be acquired.

Introduction

• Introduction to Makerspaces, Makers, Hacking and Makers' ethos
  • Why a makerspace? Who are makers? What projects are there? What do we do?

• Online safety
  • Backup, two-factor authentication, VPN

• Offline safety
  • Urban survival skills
  • Disaster preparedness

• Operating System installation, configuration and software installation
  • We use [Ubuntu], a Debian-based distribution of Linux

• Documenting projects
  • Create a page, using tags
  • We use [MediaWiki]

Beginner

• Makerspaces management
  • Purchasing, finances, management

• Change control
  • commit, checkout, revert, show history
  • We use [Git] and [GitHub]

• Design
  • Brainstorming, schematics, creativity

• Basics of electronics
  • current, voltage, resistance, ohm's law

• Basics of boolean logic
  • Boolean operators, truth table
  • We use the [7400 series] and Logisim
  • Local information: Digital Logic

• Basics of programming
  • Variables, control flow statements, functions
  • We use [Arduino]

• Basic lifeskills
  • cooking, budgeting, cleaning, dressing...

Intermediate

• Event management
  • How to organize, promote and host events

• Emergency First Response

• Second language for makers
  • Chinese/English for makers for which it is not the mother's tongue

• Microcontroller programming
  • interrupts, state machine, servo control, digital communication
  • We use [Arduino]

• Basics of mechanical tools
  • Drill, mill, lathe, bandsaw

• Basics of electronics tools
  • multimeter, oscilloscope, function generator

• Soldering
  • Protoboards, stripping wires
  • We use [Mitch's Altman "Soldering is Easy" comic book]

• Basics of photography

• Basics of cryptography

Upper intermediate

• Electronics circuit design
  • We use [Eagle] (and hopefully soon [KiCad])

• Basics of mechanical design
  • We use [Google Sketchup]

• Basics of CNC (Computer numerical control)
  • We use Linux EMC

• Scripting
  • We use [Python]

• Presentation skills
  • How to do interesting presentations

• Video production
  • How to record and produce video

Advanced

• Project management
  • Learn how to plan, iterate and deliver

• Self-improvement
  • Become a better human being

• Social engineering
  • Neurolinguistic programming

• Introduction to GUI development
  • We use the [Android SDK]

• Interfacing mobile devices with hardware
  • We use the [Android Accessories Development Kit]

• Web Application development
  • We use [Google AppEngine]

• Graphics design
  • We use [Inkscape]

Doctor Maker

• Starting a new organization
  • Start a business, religion or makerspace...

• Writing a book

• Advanced digital logic
  • We use [Digilent Xilinx's development board]
  • Local information: Digital logic

• Kernel compilation
  • We use the [Linux Kernel]

• Device driver writing
  • We use the [Linux Kernel]

• Artificial intelligence
  • We use [Stanford online AI class]

• Intelligence research and gathering

• Transhumanist, life extension, technological singularity