To afford for students to realize their ideas, a teacher needs a pile of junk in the classroom. The basic stock of electronic parts, tools, computers, building materials, art supplies and recyclable material is the base line needed for students get hands on and prototyping their ideas. If a 3D printer or other fabrication tools are available, make sure to have a good supply of the raw supply like filament and consumable parts that are used. Acquiring all of that may get costly very quickly and teachers aren’t exactly the most well paid profession out there.
Getting most of what we need usually comes from the community like student, parents and local merchants. Asking parents to bring in old electronics, magazines, scrap plywood, cardboard really helps in providing a base for getting projects started. Making a donation list also helps parents and sponsors direct their resources to getting things you actually need and have space to store.
At some point, it’s a matter of space and not money.
When buying software or electronic kits that has version updates, make sure to understand their pricing model so that kits do not lose their relevance and updates become unaffordable. Bigger companies may ask for more but if their support is good, it’s generally a good idea to invest with them rather than spending a teacher’s free time debugging. Finally, if there is a budget available, consider buying in bulk for consumable parts like batteries, motors, switches, LEDs and buzzers. Buying from retailers in China online may be cheap but beware of long shipping times.
Soldering is a skill that should be taught to all students who may have an interest in tinkering with electronics, but the danger it imposes due to the high temperature is a risk a teacher must deal with. Safety protocols like avoiding dangling wires, never leaving a hot iron unattended and not touching the tip of the iron to avoid harm upon themselves and others. Soldering iron connects electronic parts better than electrical tape or twisting components, it melts a filler metal known as solder at ~315C; any mishaps can be serious. There are many online tutorials for learning to use the soldering iron safely on the net, referenced below in Martinez & Stager’s (2013) book below..
Reference
Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. 147-174