01 / START HERE
Two browser pages. Two different jobs.
The DALE website
This website explains the kit, setup and experiments. Reading a lesson here does not control your board.
Your DALE web app
The app runs on your preloaded ESP32-S3. Open it in a browser to control the connected hardware and build your projects.
After Wi-Fi setup, connect your phone, tablet or computer to the same Wi-Fi network as your DALE board. Open http://dale.local, or use that board’s assigned IP address. Follow Getting Started if you have not connected yet.
Your teacher may give you a board-specific QR code or IP address. Use that address when several DALE boards are running. Keep the lesson open in one browser tab and your team’s DALE app in another.
DALE controls real electronics. Before changing physical wires, stop the activity and disconnect power. If your teacher has prewired the TM1638, leave those connections in place.
02 / FIND YOUR WAY
A quick tour of the layout.
The main navigation tabs take you to DALE’s different work areas. The connection indicator at the top tells you whether the browser is communicating with the board. Tabs may wrap onto another line on a smaller screen.
Navigation map — select a name below to read its explanation in this guide.
| Work area | What you do there |
|---|---|
| Project Wizard | Start a new project, reopen one, or try the onboard RGB demo. |
| Projects | Name and save your work; choose modules and their IO pins; open Notes and Journal. |
| Labs | Test a component directly before controlling it with a logic circuit. |
| Logic Builder | Connect blocks, run your circuit, explain its behavior and inspect generated code. |
| Pin Mapper | Explore IO assignments and direct hardware tools. |
Use the names to find each area; the tab order can be rearranged on a device. Lab controls differ by module.
03 / KEEP YOUR WORK
Create, configure and save a project.
A project keeps your experiment together: its module settings, saved circuit, Notes and Journal. In class, use the same project name for the first experiments: DALE Experiments.
- In Project Wizard, choose CREATE NEW PROJECT. In Projects, ADD PROJECT also starts a blank workspace.
- Enter the project name in Projects.
- Check Use Module only for the modules you are using.
- Choose IO pins that match the actual wire connections. For the classroom TM1638 example: STB = IO 15, CLK = IO 16, DIO = IO 17. Use your teacher’s assignments if different.
- Resolve any checked-module pin conflict, then press SAVE PROJECT. Check the status message for success.
Save after changing wiring settings, building a circuit or editing it. A working circuit in your current browser is not a substitute for saving the project.
To return to saved work, select it and press LOAD SELECTED PROJECT, or open it through Project Wizard. Loading restores saved work, so save current changes first if you want to keep them. Creating a new project begins with an empty circuit.
04 / MEET THE HARDWARE
Use a Lab to test one component.
Labs let you ask, “Does this component work, and what can it do?” You operate the module directly, without building a logic circuit first.
- Check the module and its IO assignments in Projects, then save.
- Open Labs and choose the module. DALE opens its Lab page; use OPEN SELECTED LAB if needed.
- Read the wiring guide and check that the displayed pins match your wiring.
- Use the Lab’s INITIALIZE control when provided. Check the status message.
- Try one control at a time. Predict the result, operate it, and observe the hardware.
- Stop, clear or switch the output off using that Lab’s controls when finished.
TM1638
Try the LEDs, display and keys. This is the shared module for the first three classroom experiments.
MP3 Player
Initialize the player, choose a track, start at low volume, and test PLAY/STOP. Project MP3 pins also control MP3 PLAYER blocks.
MAX7219 Matrix
Explore text, sprites and animations. Lab CLEAR stops and removes remembered text; use the Lab’s start controls to display something again.
Sensors and movement
Measure ultrasonic distance, read RFID or IR commands, or test a servo. Follow each module’s own Lab instructions.
A Lab test and a logic circuit are separate activities. Testing a light in a Lab does not automatically add a block to your circuit. Some Labs have USE IN LOGIC BUILDER to transfer a selected item or setting.
05 / BUILD BEHAVIOR
Connect inputs, decisions and outputs.
Logic Builder describes what should happen. A button or sensor provides an input; a gate makes a decision; an LED, display, servo or MP3 player produces an output.
- Open Logic Builder while your project is active.
- Choose blocks from the toolbox. Set each block’s options, such as its button or LED index.
- Tap a source block’s output port, usually on its right. Then tap the destination input port on the left.
- Match the signal types. Matching inputs are highlighted after you choose a source.
- Drag blocks to organize the circuit while stopped. Predict what your circuit will do before pressing RUN.
| Port color | Signal type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Green / Boolean | TRUE or FALSE | A button, AND gate or PLAY trigger. |
| Blue / Number | A numeric value | A distance, count, track number or volume. |
| Yellow / Event | A pulse marking a change | A Rising Edge pulse feeding Counter COUNT. |
| Purple / Text | Letters and words | A message sent to a display. |
Connect matching types. For example, a green Boolean signal cannot connect directly to the yellow COUNT input. A RISING EDGE block can turn a FALSE-to-TRUE change into an Event.
06 / OPERATE YOUR CIRCUIT
Know RUN, STOP, RESET and CLEAR.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| RUN | Evaluates the circuit repeatedly and controls real connected hardware. Values and wires update live. |
| STOP | Ends the running circuit and switches off or clears supported outputs. It keeps your blocks and wires. |
| RESET LOGIC | Stops the circuit and clears runtime state such as counts and stored logic states. It keeps the circuit. |
| CLEAR | Removes the blocks and wires from the current Logic Builder workspace. Use it only when you intend to clear the circuit. |
| UNDO / REDO | Step backward or forward through available circuit edits while stopped. |
| SAVE PROJECT | In Projects, saves your current circuit and project settings so you can load them later. |
Build and rearrange the circuit while stopped. In RUN mode you can watch live behavior and adjust supported settings, such as a Number or MP3 track/volume. Stop before changing the circuit structure or physical wiring.
A FALSE-to-TRUE change starts the selected track once. Holding PLAY TRUE does not continually restart it. Return the signal to FALSE before triggering another play. STOP has its own Boolean trigger; TRACK and VOLUME accept optional blue Number inputs.
07 / USE THE WORKSPACE
More room on a tablet.
Press FULL SCREEN in Logic Builder to give the circuit more space.
- TOOLS on the left opens the block toolbox while stopped. Opening the panel alone does not add a block. If TOOLS is hidden in RUN mode, press STOP before adding blocks.
- CTRL on the right opens controls such as RUN, STOP and Explain My Logic.
- EXIT returns to the regular page layout.
- Drag an empty part of the canvas to pan across the workspace. Use − ZOOM and + ZOOM to change the scale.
- FIT CIRCUIT helps bring the whole circuit into view. MAIN returns you to the main area of the canvas.
Tap or click once, then watch the status message. If a circuit extends beyond the screen, pan or fit it before adding duplicate blocks.
08 / UNDERSTAND AND GROW
Explain your logic. Then see the code.
Explain My Logic
Describes the blocks and connections in your circuit. While speaking, the button becomes STOP EXPLANATION; press it to end the explanation.
Show Me The Code
Opens the generated standalone Arduino sketch. Read its teaching comments, pin assignments and any unsupported-block warnings.
Use Explain My Logic to check your understanding, then explain the circuit in your own words. Your teacher may ask what the input is, what decision is made, and what output changes.
Show Me The Code is a bridge to programming. Viewing code does not upload it to a board. Later, use Arduino IDE to compile and upload a supported sketch to the kit’s blank ESP32-S3 board, keeping DALE on the preloaded board. Follow the generated wiring comments and any warnings before uploading.
09 / RECORD YOUR DISCOVERIES
Notes and Journal belong to your project.
Save the project first, then use its NOTE controls and Project Journal. Notes can describe the project or an individual module. The Journal records your experiments over time.
Predict: What do I think will happen?
Observe: What actually happened?
Explain: What caused it?
Experiment: What did I change, and what happened next?
Save the note or journal entry using its own controls. Keep your own classroom notebook too. Before moving on, demonstrate your result and explain it to your teacher.
10 / EXPLORE LATER
Pin Mapper and additional work areas.
Pin Mapper gives you a visual view of IO assignments and direct tools for functions such as digital inputs, outputs, PWM and serial buses. It is useful for exploring a pin or testing hardware.
For the first three lessons, start with the project’s TM1638 settings and Lab; you do not need to master every Pin Mapper tool first. Avoid assigning the same IO to unrelated active functions.
Dashboard and Diagnostics
Check board information and health, including memory and connection-related information. Bring an error or unusual status to your teacher.
Learn and DALE Voice
Learn contains DALE’s built-in teaching material. DALE Voice provides speech-related controls. These complement the website experiments and your teacher’s explanations.
More Labs and bench tools
Explore analog tools, Signal Scope, Function Generator, RTC/EEPROM and SPI/SD when a lesson calls for them. Each has its own setup and controls.
11 / FIRST CLASS
Your first ten minutes in DALE.
- I know which browser tab contains my team’s DALE app.
- I can find Projects, Labs and Logic Builder.
- I can identify an input and an output.
- I know how to stop my circuit and save my project.
- I can explain what I observed before moving on.
If you are working in a team, rotate who operates DALE, who predicts and tests, and who records observations. Everyone should have a turn and be able to explain the result.
12 / QUICK HELP
When something does not behave as expected.
I can read the lesson, but I cannot control the board.
You may still be on the public website. Open your team’s DALE board address in another tab. Check that the board is powered and both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.
The Lab works, but the logic circuit does not.
Check RUN status, connections and matching port colors. Confirm module IO assignments in Projects. A Lab test does not create a logic connection automatically. For MP3, confirm that PLAY receives a fresh FALSE-to-TRUE change.
DALE reports a pin conflict.
In Projects, check Use Module only for modules you are using. Reassign conflicting IO pins to match your wiring, with power disconnected before moving wires. Save the corrected project.
My circuit or settings seem missing.
Check that you opened the correct board and project. Select the saved project and LOAD it. Save changes before loading another project.
A dropdown looks empty after a board restart.
Wait for the board to reconnect, then refresh the browser page. Reopen or load the saved project as needed.
The app does not respond.
Check the connection indicator, power and Wi-Fi. Tell your teacher before restarting. A browser refresh can recover the interface; unsaved changes may need to be checked afterward.
READY TO TRY IT?
Start with one LED.
Use the TM1638 and follow the first experiment. Predict, test, record and explain before moving on.
Open Experiment 01 →