Computer Science for Kids

3. The Fireflies' Message

Standard: 2‐CS‐03: Understand how to identify and fix issues with computing devices and components

You watch, fascinated, as dozens of fireflies stream into your new dark firefly refuge as long as you have your flashlight on. “They prefer the darkness, as do I,” states the Guide, who closes the door of her lantern to create a darker environment. “Watch now, and perhaps they will send you a message.”

Once inside their refuge, the fireflies glow merrily and land lightly on the floor of their new home. As you watch, you note that some fireflies land on buttons on each side of the refuge. Are they trying to tell you something?

“Can you enhance your system to allow the fireflies to communicate with you?” asks the Guide.

Maybe, if you could enable messages to be sent from the refuge by means of button presses or other taps, you could gather feedback from your guests, the users of your device. To send messages between devices, you will need a way for the devices to connect to each other, perhaps via Bluetooth, which is a radio connection, or by connecting the devices to the same Wi‐Fi network. You can try a few things to get your refuge online.

By means of progressive experimenting, you can ensure that your device can communicate with a second device to gather feedback. You'll also need to perform troubleshooting tasks to make sure that the base refuge works even when its connected devices are offline. Ensuring that all the code runs without a glitch is ...