Welcome to the Probe Kit Web site, developed for the Information Technology in Science Instruction (ITSI) project. Here, you'll find all the information you need to build probe circuits, test the probes, understand the electronics, and order any of the materials found in the ITSI Probe Kit.
Note that the ITSI activities can also be used with a range of commerical sensors, and teachers should not hesitate to use whatever they have available.
The use of real-time data capture and display in teaching represents one of the most valuable innovations computers have contributed to education. Sensor technology gives the learner new possibilities to explore and understand the world and to see it represented symbolically in ways that greatly increase comprehension.
Using sensors, students can immediately see multiple representations of data while an experiment is underway. Changes that are difficult to understand can be rendered almost obvious when displayed as a graph in real time. Research shows that probeware can greatly increase student learning.
By constructing their own sensors, teachers and students learn basic electronics, programming, and design skills that will enable them to install, configure, and use a wide range of sensors for measuring experiments with computers. These skills greatly enhance science teaching and learning while giving students a solid foundation for IT-based careers in programming, computer hardware, and software engineering: programming, instrumentation, analog and digital electronics, and sensors.
The ITSI Probe Kit is a collection of inexpensive components that students can use to build a variety of sensors and take data using the ITSI activities. Though the sensors are not as rugged as the commercial versions, they are much less expensive and enable the student to have a more direct experience of the underlying electronics.
There are two approaches to using the ITSI Probe Kit:
Activities to build each sensor include step-by-step instructions with pictures. Each activity also enables you to test the sensor's output. Many of them are very simple, requiring only the sensor itself and a few connector wires.
Start by reading the "Experiment board and header – how they work," which provides some basic background and a simple activity of lighting an LED with the Probe Kit. Then check out "Reading resistors and capacitors". Then start building sensors!
Here is a list of materials included in the ITSI Probe Kit. They enable one to construct all of the probes listed on the ITSI site.
To order more supplies, go to the complete list of sources and costs (Microsoft Excel format). There may be quantity discounts. Typically, the shipping is the same for 5 or for 500 of these small electronic parts.
Please send any questions or comments to probekit@concord.org