Source: https://mokxi.com/learn/path/twelve-weeks Updated: 2026-11-10 All paths # The twelve week course The classroom course, week by week: a loop on a breadboard through to a board talking over serial. Free 12 lessons 24 h 3 chapters 875 XP Maker ยท Beginner +100 XP 0 of 12 done Start the course free A first circuit Lesson plan for teachers What you will build ## 3 projects, built step by step 12 lessons in 3 chapters, about 24 hours on a simulated breadboard. Free, in your browser, every step checked by the simulator. Chapter 1 project ### Timing with no processor: the 555 A resistor, a capacitor and a 555 make a square wave with no code in sight. Measure it, then change the parts to change the rate. Open it in the simulator Chapter 2 project ### More outputs than pins: the shift register Three pins in, eight out: a 74HC595 shifting a byte and latching it. Open it in the simulator Chapter 3 project ### Project week: two boards, one wire Plan a system, agree a protocol, share a ground, and present it as a link. Open it in the simulator The map ## Chapter by chapter Each lesson opens when the one before it is done, and each chapter ends in a project. Chapter 1 ## Weeks 1 to 4 A loop, a board, a button and a timer. Open 160 XP ### A first circuit One loop on a breadboard: five volts, a pushbutton, a resistor and an LED. Build the habit of reading a circuit as a loop, and work out the current in it. 0 of 6 steps Start What is in it Locked 135 XP ### Blink: the first program An Arduino Uno, one pin and a program. Drive an output from code, watch the timing be real, and find out what delay() costs you. 0 of 5 steps Locked 160 XP ### Reading a button, and printing what it says A pull-up, a pin that reads low when the button is pressed, and a count printed to the serial monitor. Finish by catching the contacts bouncing. 0 of 6 steps Project Locked 320 XP ### Timing with no processor: the 555 A resistor, a capacitor and a 555 make a square wave with no code in sight. Measure it, then change the parts to change the rate. 0 of 6 steps Chapter 2 ## Weeks 5 to 8 Logic, memory and the parts that hold a value. Locked 10 XP ### Logic gates, as real chips AND, OR, XOR and NOT on 74HC chips with supply pins and propagation delay. Locked 10 XP ### Arithmetic from gates: the full adder Two XORs, two ANDs and an OR add one bit and carry into the next. Locked 10 XP ### Memory: flip-flops and counters A D flip-flop wired to toggle divides a clock by two; four of them count. Project Locked 20 XP ### More outputs than pins: the shift register Three pins in, eight out: a 74HC595 shifting a byte and latching it. Chapter 3 ## Weeks 9 to 12 Shifting, shaping and talking to something else. Locked 10 XP ### Pulse width modulation and the eye One pin switching fast enough that a fraction of the time looks like a fraction of the brightness. Locked 10 XP ### Serial: making the board talk Printing to the monitor, reading what is typed back, and the time a baud rate costs. Locked 10 XP ### Interrupts: events instead of polling A handler that runs the moment a pin changes, and the rules that come with it. Project Locked 20 XP ### Project week: two boards, one wire Plan a system, agree a protocol, share a ground, and present it as a link. Syllabus ## Every lesson in the course All 4 lessons, in order, each with what it covers. Any of them opens in the editor right away. Chapter 1 ### Weeks 1 to 4 - A first circuit One loop on a breadboard: five volts, a pushbutton, a resistor and an LED. Build the habit of reading a circuit as a loop, and work out the current in it. - Blink: the first program An Arduino Uno, one pin and a program. Drive an output from code, watch the timing be real, and find out what delay() costs you. - Reading a button, and printing what it says A pull-up, a pin that reads low when the button is pressed, and a count printed to the serial monitor. Finish by catching the contacts bouncing. - Timing with no processor: the 555 A resistor, a capacitor and a 555 make a square wave with no code in sight. Measure it, then change the parts to change the rate. Chapter 2 ### Weeks 5 to 8 - Logic gates, as real chips AND, OR, XOR and NOT on 74HC chips with supply pins and propagation delay. - Arithmetic from gates: the full adder Two XORs, two ANDs and an OR add one bit and carry into the next. - Memory: flip-flops and counters A D flip-flop wired to toggle divides a clock by two; four of them count. - More outputs than pins: the shift register Three pins in, eight out: a 74HC595 shifting a byte and latching it. Chapter 3 ### Weeks 9 to 12 - Pulse width modulation and the eye One pin switching fast enough that a fraction of the time looks like a fraction of the brightness. - Serial: making the board talk Printing to the monitor, reading what is typed back, and the time a baud rate costs. - Interrupts: events instead of polling A handler that runs the moment a pin changes, and the rules that come with it. - Project week: two boards, one wire Plan a system, agree a protocol, share a ground, and present it as a link. Kits ## Build it on your bench too Every lesson runs in the simulator with nothing to buy. When you want the real thing, these kits have the parts. Have a kit already? ### Find your kit Pick the starter kit you own and run every lesson in its manual with the same parts on the same pins. See every kit Questions ## About The twelve week course Is The twelve week course free? Yes. All 12 lessons of The twelve week course are free and run in your browser, with nothing to install and no parts to buy before you start. Do I need any parts? No. Every circuit is built on a simulated breadboard, and the simulator checks each step as you go. When you want to build it for real, the same parts and wiring work on a real bench. How long does The twelve week course take? About 24 hours: 12 lessons in 3 chapters, each one a few short steps. Your progress is kept, so you can stop after any lesson and pick up where you left off. What will I build? Each chapter ends in a project that puts it together: Timing with no processor: the 555, More outputs than pins: the shift register and Project week: two boards, one wire. Where do I start? With "A first circuit", and each lesson builds on the one before it. New to circuits? Electronics basics is the course that starts from zero.