{"id":4221,"date":"2011-08-30T20:43:45","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T03:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ilearntechnology.com\/?p=4221"},"modified":"2011-08-30T20:50:48","modified_gmt":"2011-08-31T03:50:48","slug":"make-your-own-ipad-stylus-for-less-than-10-cents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ilearntechnology.com\/?p=4221","title":{"rendered":"Make your own iPad Stylus for less than 10 cents!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We had an incredible first week at Anastasis Academy<\/a>.\u00a0 It was amazing to see all of our hard work come together in the form of a student body.\u00a0 Walking through the classrooms this week it was obvious: this is a place of learning.<\/p>\n

One of our first-week of school activities was creating our own iPad stylus.\u00a0 Since we are a one-to-one iPad environment, this seemed like a good beginning for everyone.<\/p>\n

We learned that to make a stylus, we first had to find some soft, conductive material.\u00a0 A Google search informed us that we could use conductive foam (the kind that is used to pack electronics), conductive thread, conductive yarn (we thought this would be PERFECT for our pens but couldn’t get any delivered fast enough), or a Scotch Brite sponge.\u00a0 I was a little skeptical of the Scotch Brite (it just seemed TOO easy) but it worked like a champ!<\/p>\n

The kids had fun exploring how the yellow, soft part of the sponge would draw on the iPad when they held it in their hands.\u00a0 Some of the kiddos were a little baffled when they put the sponge into the plastic pen body and they found out that it no longer worked.\u00a0 Students added a little wire and soon the pens were working again!\u00a0 It was a great way for all of the kids to experiment with conductors and insulators.<\/p>\n

Below are the steps for making your very own $0.10 or less iPad stylus.<\/p>\n

*I bought a pack of Scotch Brite sponges, cheap, penny pens from a local office store, and a small roll of craft wire.\u00a0 We made about 50 pens for $6.00!<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Separate the Scotch Brite sponge from the abrasive green backing.\u00a0 Cut the yellow sponge remaining into small wedges.<\/p>\n

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2.\u00a0 Take the ink out of some cheap plastic pen casing.\u00a0 Drill a hole near the head of the pen with a small drill bit.<\/p>\n

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3.\u00a0 Cut 6 inches of wire.<\/p>\n

4. Tightly wrap the wire around the small end of the sponge wedge.<\/p>\n

5. Thread the sponge through the head of the pen (our pen head separated from the pen body).<\/p>\n

6. Bend the end of the wire farthest from the sponge into a 90* angle.\u00a0 Thread this into the pen body and through the pre-drilled hole.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Pull the wire through the drilled hole and wrap it several times around the pen body.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Cut the exposed end of the sponge into desired pen-nub shape.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

9.\u00a0 To use the pen, make sure that your hand is touching the wire at some point. Draw or write with your stylus!<\/p>\n

The kids loved making their own stylus.\u00a0 There was a lot of talk about perseverance (when we tried to thread the wire through the small drilled hole), conductivity and exclamations of “I did it!”.<\/p>\n

It was a wonderful exercise in frustration and success.\u00a0 Every student was proud of their finished product that actually worked!\u00a0 Students learned about conductivity, perseverance, insulation, and building with every-day materials.<\/p>\n

One of our students, Benton, made a short stop motion animation with his pen…you can see it below:
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