I think that explaining basic electricity / electronics is important. It goes well with the Arduino and it explains why LEDs need resistors, and how to calculate that.
Do these kids already know about electicity? Positive and negative? Amps and Volts?
Where on *earth* are there kids who literally have "never been exposed to a computer"?
I would imagine that hacking Arduinos is way down on the list of priorities.
But I didn't want them to build cool stuff with it, but it should a medium to teach programming to them and also expose them to the world of computers and electronics.
But to program anything, you need something to compile and upload your sketches from - you need a laptop anyway.
it should a medium to teach programming to them and also expose them to the world of computers and electronics.
If anyone working with kids would like to discuss this let me know and I will put more information here.
It's still in development. We are calling the kit "My Smart Arduino"..