Source: https://mokxi.com/teachers/plans/build-macro-pad Updated: 2026-11-11 Lesson plan # Build a macro pad lesson plan Twelve keys, a volume knob, three layers and a screen on a Pro Micro that plugs in as a keyboard. 2 chapters, 3 lessons, about 2 hours, on the SparkFun Pro Micro. Every lesson runs in the browser, with nothing to install. Start a class from this course The unit ## Objectives and materials ### By the end, students can - Read a key matrix, then send real shortcuts and media keys over USB. - Add layers, a lamp for each and a screen that shows what just happened. ### Materials for the whole unit - Full-size breadboard - Keypad, 4x3 telephone - LED x 3 - OLED display, 128x64 - Resistor x 3 - Rotary encoder, KY-040 - SparkFun Pro Micro Every part is already on the simulator’s bench, so there is nothing to buy or hand out. The counts are the most any one lesson uses, if you build it on real breadboards too. Chapter 1. About 1 h 10 min ## Keys that type Read a key matrix, then send real shortcuts and media keys over USB. Lesson | Time | What students do Twelve keys on seven pins Wire a keypad to a Pro Micro and read it with the Keypad library. Why a matrix saves pins, and how the board tells which key you pressed. | 35 min - Meet the board - Press a key - Find a corner - Let go Become a USB keyboard Turn every key into a shortcut and add a knob that turns the volume. Why volume is a different kind of key, and how the board sends both. | 35 min - One include, two devices - Copy, the way your keyboard does it - Two modifiers at once - Turn it up ### Materials - Full-size breadboard - Keypad, 4x3 telephone - Rotary encoder, KY-040 - SparkFun Pro Micro ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Become a USB keyboard" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 4 of its 4 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Turn it up". Chapter 2. About 45 min ## The finished pad Add layers, a lamp for each and a screen that shows what just happened. Lesson | Time | What students do Layers, lamps and a screen Finish the pad: three layers you switch with the knob, a lamp for each, and an OLED that shows what every key just did. | 45 min - A lamp for every layer - The screen - Press the knob - Keys that mean something new - Play and pause ### Materials - Full-size breadboard - Keypad, 4x3 telephone - LED x 3 - OLED display, 128x64 - Resistor x 3 - Rotary encoder, KY-040 - SparkFun Pro Micro ### Check for understanding Each student finishes "Layers, lamps and a screen" on their own, without opening the hints. The simulator checks 5 of its 5 steps as they go. Then ask each one to explain, in a sentence or two, the last thing it asked of them: "Play and pause". Your class ## Teach this unit as a class Start a class from this course and its 3 lessons are assigned in one go, in order. Students join with a six-character code or printed login cards, and each one’s work comes back to you. The class tools are free for 30 days for one class of up to 20 students, with no card. The lessons themselves are free either way. Start a class from this course See the demo class More units ## Other lesson plans Electronics basics 20 lessons, about 10 h. Embedded on the Arduino Uno 16 lessons, about 12 h. Embedded on the ESP32-C3 13 lessons, about 11 h. Embedded on the Raspberry Pi Pico 7 lessons, about 6 h. Build your own fight stick 5 lessons, about 4 h. Embedded on the STM32F411 6 lessons, about 6 h. C++ on a board 13 lessons, about 10 h. Digital logic and memory 4 lessons, about 4 h. Interactive devices on the Uno 9 lessons, about 8 h. From gates to a computer 23 lessons, about 16 h. Build a claw machine 8 lessons, about 6 h. Every unit All the courses as ready-made units, on the teachers page.