Robots for the Classroom

This week I had the opportunity to play with robotics in my W210 class. There were all different kinds of robots that enabled users to explore different areas of learning. I think that these robots would be a valuable asset in the classroom because they are an engaging and different way to teach and expose children to different types of computer science and coding.

The game in the photo above was a great way to teach kids how to code. This specific game requiresa Bluetooth tray, puzzles and an iPad/Tablet with the Puzzlet app on it. How this works is you connect the tray to the iPad and you use the puzzle pieces to solve the challenge that the app gives you. Students have to use the puzzle pieces to create a code that will successfully allow them to tell the dragon what to do. The different pieces include: moving forward, backward, up, down, jumping, repeating actions etc. This is a great way to simulate what coding really is. This game specifically is an engaging, interactive way for students to have a hands on experience with coding and learning the basic skills that are necessary to understand important concepts. Although students may not be aware of the skills and tools they are building, this game provides a great background and foundation to help them continue coding in the future. Looking at the Puzzlet website I found that there were many different games that involve more than just coding. Puzzlets offers math games for all ages which would be great in the classroom because it teaches both he fundamentals of coding and math principles. Puzzlets is a versatile resource that will be a great addition to my classroom whether it is in the form of computer science or mathematics. 

This is a great robot that I would see myself using for younger students. This robot works by using the little blocks on the right side of the picture and arranging them in the order of how you want them to be completed. You must start with the green block with a circle in its center because it tells the robot to start and you must end sequence of blocks with the red cube that says end. There are many different blocks that say turn, go straight, go backwards etc. When you have the blocks in the sequence you want, you press the triangle in the middle of the car in order for it to go. The car will move corresponding to the directions you gave it on the blocks. I think this is a great way for students to create simple codes and immediately see the results. It is a fun and simple way that students can experiment with different patterns and use the trial and error technique to learn the important elements of coding. For example if a student forgets to put the green start block at the beginning of the pattern, when they touch the triangle on the car, it won't move. This will reinforce the importance of giving specific directions when coding. As students continue to play with the robot, the hope is that they will begin to draw similarities and relate it to the coding they do on the computer when creating programs and websites. Whether students are in kindergarten or just starting with their computer science career, I think that this robot is a great way to introduce the principles and key concepts of coding. 

This robot was definitely the cutest of them all. This little bumble bee was very similar to the previous robot in the sense that it takes the directions that you give it and moves in the same pattern. As you can see in the picture above, the bumble bee has different buttons on his back. There is a move forward, backward, right, left, clear, pause and start button. Users press the buttons in order to get the bumble be to do their desired actions. This is another great way to introduce simple coding principles to beginners. One way that I think that this could be used in my future classroom is I could create an obstacle course for the bumble bee to go through. Based on the course, students would have to program the bumble bee in a way that it could get through the obstacles and end up at the finish line. This would be an assessment that could show me which students understand the idea of programming and coding and which are struggling with these concepts. Although it would be an "assessment," students would still be engaged and having fun because they are not use to learning with robots and having this type of hands on activity. 

Throughout this activity I realized the benefits that robots can provide to my future classroom. Whether I have students playing with robots during free time or I have them working with them during computer science, it is a great way to expose students to the basic principles of coding. All three of the robots that I have reviewed offer valuable lessons that will further my students understanding of computer science and get them excited to continue learning about coding in the future!