Curious what we teach in the Level C lessons? Building on the skills you learned in Levels A and B, Level C teaches you to write advanced-level Python code and build circuits with complex electrical components including servos, accelerometers, speakers, and many more.
Click here to view sample lesson videos, activity instructions, and more.
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE FOR the level c lessons
LESSON 1: Networking and Remote Access
- Computer Networking
- LAN vs. WAN
- IP Addresses
- Determining the Current IP Address of Your Raspberry Pi
- Changing Your Password
- Remote Access Methods
- VNC Access
- SSH Access
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Change Password and Determine IP Address
- Activity #2: Remote Access Using Secure Shell (SSH)
- Activity #3: VNC Viewer Installation and Connection
LESSON 2: Infrared Remote Control
- Infrared Communication
- IR Remote Control Data
- IR Remote Codes
- The Socket Module
- Bytes and Strings
- Bash Scripts
- Curl Command
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Building the RGB LED and Receiver Circuit
- Activity #2: Installing the LIRC Package Software
- Activity #3: Creating a Program to Control the RGB LED with the IR Remote
LESSON 3: Creating GUI Programs with Tkinter
- Python Program Elements
- Classes and Methods
- Method Calls for Imported Modules
- Simplifying Method Calls
- The Tkinter Module
- The TK Class
- The Canvas Class
- The Event Class
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Displaying Mouse Position
- Activity #2: Displaying Keyboard Input
- Activity #3: Controlling LED with Keyboard Presses
LESSON 4: Transistors
- Transistors
- NPN Transistors
- PNP Transistors
- Identifying Transistors
- Component Reference Designators
- Transistor Specifications
- Pulse Width Modulation with Transistors
- Dual-Color LED
- Resistance Values in Series and Parallel
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Driving an LED with a Transistor
- Activity #2: Adding a Second Transistor and LED
- Activity #3: Driving the Dual-Color LED
LESSON 5: Command Line Programs
- Bash Programming
- Bash Scripts
- Creating a Bash Script
- Running a Bash Script
- Controlling GPIO Pins with WIRINGPI
- Reading the Status of All Pins
- Changing the Mode of a Pin
- Changing the State of an Output Pin
- Modifying the Duty Cycle of a PWM Pin
- History of Commands Typed into the CLI
- Making Programs Run at Startup
- Modifying the /ETC/RC.LOCAL File
- Stopping a Program that was Launched at Startup
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Creating a Bash Script
- Activity #2: Controlling a GPIO Pin Using WIRINGPI
- Activity #3: Adding a Program on Startup
LESSON 6: Working with Audio
- Amplifiers
- Amplifier Gain
- Distortion
- The PAM8302 Amplifier
- Audio Output Hardware
- Raspberry Pi Audio Output Quality
- USB Audio Output Devices
- Audio on GPIO Pins
- Audio Input Hardware
- USB Audio Input Devices
- Software Audio Functions
- The ARECORD Command
- The APLAY Command
- The OS Module
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Adding the Amplifier and Speaker
- Activity #2: Recording Audio Files
- Activity #3: Playing Your Voice File with the IR Remote
LESSON 7: Servo Motors
- Servo Motors
- Types of Servos
- Servo Options
- Keeping Servos Safe
- Driving a Servo
- Servo Drive Commands
- Servo Drive Latency
- Using Servos in Projects
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Adding the Servo and Testing
- Activity #2: Controlling the Servo with Keyboard Input
- Activity #3: Controlling the Servo with Your IR Remote
LESSON 8: Working with Data
- Technical Terms
- Dataset
- Mutable vs. Immutable
- Ordered vs. Unordered
- Iterating
- Dataset Characteristics
- Lists
- Tuples
- Sets
- Dictionaries
- Mixed Datasets
- Identifying Components of a Dataset
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Creating a Dataset
- Activity #2: Printing the Number of Students and Teachers
- Activity #3: Adding a Student to the Dataset
LESSON 9: Working with Accelerometers and Gyros
- Accelerometers
- Other Forces
- Multiple Axes
- Gyros
- Using Gyro Information
- The MPU6050 Sensor
- Software Commands
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Adding the MPU6050 Sensor and Driver
- Activity #2: Controlling the RGB LED
- Activity #3: Controlling the Servo
LESSON 10: Using Tkinter for Displaying Data
- Tikinter Window Construction
- The Grid Method
- Changing the Window Title
- New Widget Types
- The Label Widget
- The Button Widget
- The Entry Widget
- Creating Tkinter Loops
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Timer Display
- Activity #2: Displaying Accelerometer Data
- Activity #3: Displaying All MPU6050 Axis Data
LESSON 11: Building a Web Server Using Bottle
- Web Page Control
- Components Required for Web Page Control
- IP Addresses and Ports
- HTML Code
- HTML Tag Types
- The Bottle Web Server
- The PIP Installer
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Preparing the Circuit and Installing Bottle
- Activity #2: Modifying the Program to Control the RGB LED
- Activity #3: Adding the Green and Blue Elements
LESSON 12: Interfacing with a Camera
- Raspberry Pi Camera
- Camera Specifications
- ESD Precautions
- Camera Connections
- Accessing the Camera Connector on Your Raspberry Pi
- Enabling the Camera
- Camera Commands
- The Flip Options
- The Timeout Option
- The Encoding Option
- Using Multiple Options
- Camera Commands in Python
- Camera Errors
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Connecting the Camera
- Activity #2: Taking a Photo from the Command Line
- Activity #3: Building an Image Capture and Display Program
LESSON 13: Building a Web Camera Server with Apache
- Types of Web Content
- PHP Scripts
- Javascript Code
- CGI Scripts
- The Apache Web Server
- Advantages of Apache
- Apache File Locations
- Apache URL Behavior
- RPi Cam Web Software
- Rpi Cam Video Modes
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Installing the RPi Cam Software Package
- Activity #2: Viewing the Camera Over the Network
- Activity #3: Changing the Autostart Setting
LESSON 14: Using Relays
- Relays
- Mechanical Construction
- Input Coil Current
- Relay Types
- The Relay Carrier Board
- Driving the Relay
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Building the Circuit
- Activity #2: Adding the LED Load Circuit
- Activity #3: Controlling the Relay and LED with the IR Remote Control
LESSON 15: Working with Data from the Internet
- Methods for Gathering Data from Websites
- Parsing Data
- API Data Access
- Database-Style Web Page Content
- The URLLIB.REQUEST Python Module
- The REQUESTS Python Module
- Viewing Feed Data
- Cheerlights
- Update Frequency
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Adding the OLED Screen
- Activity #2: Changing the RGB Color Using an Internet Feed
- Activity #3: Display Cheerlights Color on OLED Display
LESSON 16: Web Page Control
- Using Images with HTML
- The Apache Web Server
- Apache File Locations
- Web Server Permissions
- Listing Permissions
- The Apache CGI Processing Module
- Creating and Running CGI Scripts
- Creating a Web Page to Run CGI Scripts
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Web Pages with Links
- Activity #2: Adding an Image
- Activity #3: Adding CGI Scripts to Control an RGB LED
LESSON 17: IOT with the Raspberry Pi
- IOT (The Internet of Things)
- Home-Built vs. Commercial Solutions
- The Cayenne Software Package
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Adding a Switch and Installing Cayenne
- Activity #2: Controlling an LED and Monitoring a Switch
- Activity #3: Monitor an Input Using Cayenne
LESSON 18: Final Project: Alarm
- Project Overview
- User Interface
- Program Operations
- Required Files and Modules
- Activities:
- Activity #1: Circuit Modifications
- Activity #2: File and Folder Preparation
- Activity #3: Creating the Alarm Program