Sensors 2.0: How open hardware and software empower learning communities

We described an open approach to the use of the computing for exploring science and engineering that is not predetermined or prescribed. Rather, its use is intended to be emergent, where change is a byproduct of teachers, children, and their parents learning together, discovering new possibilities, and sharing those discoveries. These open designs-both hardware and software-empower students and the communities in which they live. They are free to shape the tools that they use to experiment and to engage in projects that are authentic in their design. When students and communities are given control over their learning we postulate that they are more effective learners.