Learning MicroPython

📖 Comprehensive educational resources for teaching and learning MicroPython and physical computing

🌐 View Documentation Website →

🎯 About

This book contains comprehensive educational resources for learning MicroPython and physical computing with microcontrollers. Designed for students aged 10-18 but suitable for all ages, it provides hands-on programming experiences with real hardware including the Raspberry Pi Pico, the Raspberry Pi Pico W (wireless), the ESP32, sensors, displays, motors, and more.

🏆 What Makes This Special

• 📚 Progressive Learning Path: 9 structured sections from basics to advanced robotics
• 🔧 Hardware-First Approach: All examples tested on real microcontrollers
• 🎓 Educational Focus: Extensively documented with troubleshooting guides
• 🤖 AI-Enhanced Learning: Integrated AI prompts for concept explanation
• 🌍 Open Source: Free educational resources under Creative Commons license

🚀 Quick Start

For Students & Beginners

1. Visit the documentation: dmccreary.github.io/learning-micropython
2. Get hardware: Raspberry Pi Pico ($4) + breadboard + sensors
3. Install Thonny IDE: Free Python development environment
4. Start with basics: LED blink, buttons, sensors
5. Build progressively: Work through sensors, displays, motors, robots

For Educators & Contributors

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dmccreary/learning-micropython.git
cd learning-micropython

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Serve documentation locally
mkdocs serve

# Deploy hardware examples using rshell
./src/unix-scripts/load-libs.sh

📖 Learning Sections

Section	Topics	Hardware
🔰 Introduction	Physical computing, microcontroller basics	-
🛠️ Getting Started	Board setup, IDE configuration, breadboards	Pico, ESP32
⚡ Basic Examples	Blink, buttons, potentiometers, PWM	LEDs, switches, motors
🔍 Sensors	Temperature, distance, light, gesture, compass	DHT11, HC-SR04, APDS9960
🔧 Motors & Servos	DC motors, H-bridges, stepper motors, servos	L293D, DRV8833, SG90
📺 Displays	OLED, LCD, LED matrices, 7-segment	SSD1306, SH1106, MAX7219
🔊 Sound & Music	Audio generation, music playback, I2S	Buzzers, speakers, DAC
📡 Wireless	WiFi connectivity, web servers, IoT	ESP32, Pico W
🚀 Advanced Labs	Interrupts, multi-core, memory, debugging	-

🛠️ Supported Hardware

🎯 Primary Microcontrollers

• Raspberry Pi Pico/Pico W ($4, 264KB RAM)
• ESP32 (WiFi-enabled alternative)
• Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 ($11, educational board)

📦 Compatible Sensors & Components

• Sensors: Temperature, humidity, distance, light, gesture, compass
• Displays: OLED (I2C/SPI), LCD, LED matrices, 7-segment
• Motors: DC motors, servos, steppers with various drivers
• Audio: Buzzers, speakers, I2S audio devices
• LEDs: NeoPixel strips, matrices, individual LEDs

🗂️ Repository Structure

learning-micropython/
├── docs/                    # MkDocs documentation source
│   ├── basics/             # Basic programming examples
│   ├── sensors/            # Sensor integration guides  
│   ├── displays/           # Display programming
│   ├── motors/             # Motor control
│   ├── sound/              # Audio and music
│   ├── wireless/           # Network programming
│   └── advanced-labs/      # Advanced topics
├── src/                    # MicroPython source code
│   ├── drivers/            # Hardware driver libraries
│   ├── sensors/            # Sensor example code
│   ├── displays/           # Display demos
│   ├── motors/             # Motor control examples
│   ├── neopixels/          # LED pattern generators
│   ├── sound/              # Audio examples
│   └── kits/               # Educational kit projects
└── requirements.txt        # Development dependencies

🎓 Educational Kits & Projects

• 🤖 Maker Pi RP2040 Robot: Complete robot development platform
• 🌈 NeoPixel Projects: LED programming and pattern generation
• 🎵 Spectrum Analyzer: Real-time audio visualization
• 📻 RFID Access Control: Security system projects
• 🎮 Game Projects: OLED-based games like Pong

🧑‍💻 Development

Documentation (MkDocs)

# Serve locally for development
mkdocs serve

# Build static site
mkdocs build

# Deploy to GitHub Pages
mkdocs gh-deploy

Hardware Development

# Copy driver libraries to Pico
rshell -p /dev/ttyACM0 cp src/drivers/*.py /pico/lib/

# Interactive shell with Pico
rshell -p /dev/ttyACM0

# Alternative: Use mpremote
mpremote connect /dev/ttyACM0 fs ls

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! This project serves students and educators worldwide.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add educational content (include wiring diagrams and comments)
4. Test on real hardware
5. Submit a pull request

📝 Contribution Guidelines

• All hardware examples must include circuit diagrams
• Code should be extensively commented for educational purposes
• Include troubleshooting sections for common issues
• Progress from simple to complex examples
• Test on actual hardware before submitting

📜 License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

You are free to:

• ✅ Share — copy and redistribute the material
• ✅ Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material

Under these terms:

• 🏷️ Attribution — Give appropriate credit and link to license
• 🚫 NonCommercial — Not for commercial use
• 🔄 ShareAlike — Distribute contributions under same license

Full license details →

🙏 Acknowledgements

This project builds upon the incredible work of the open source community. We gratefully acknowledge:

🔧 Core Technologies

• MicroPython - Python for microcontrollers
• MkDocs - Documentation site generator
• Material for MkDocs - Documentation theme

📦 Python Libraries

• rshell - MicroPython remote shell
• pyserial - Serial communication
• numpy - Numerical computing
• plotly - Interactive visualization

🔌 Hardware Drivers & Libraries

• SSD1306 OLED Driver - OLED display support
• VL53L0X Time-of-Flight - Distance sensor
• APDS9960 Gesture Sensor - Gesture detection
• HMC5883L Compass - Magnetic compass
• I2S Audio Examples - Audio processing
• NeoPixel Libraries - LED strip control

📊 Visualization & Web

• vis-network - Interactive network graphs
• PyMdown Extensions - Enhanced markdown

👥 Special Thanks

• Jim Tannenbaum - BIPES block programming integration
• Valerie Lockhart - MicroSims inspiration and support
• Carl Boudreau - Rural education outreach
• Arun Batchu - AI integration guidance

Full acknowledgements →

📞 Contact & Support

• 📧 Author: Dan McCreary
• 🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📚 Documentation: learning-micropython.com

⭐ Show Your Support

If this project helps you teach or learn MicroPython, please consider:

• ⭐ Starring this repository
• 🍴 Forking and contributing
• 📢 Sharing with educators and students
• 💡 Submitting new project ideas

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🎯 Mission: Making physical computing and robotics accessible to students and educators worldwide through comprehensive, hands-on MicroPython education.