This is the first in a series of posts exploring the resources for teaching with the Sphero robot published at https://www.gosphero.com/education/. The Sphero company made these posts possible by providing 2 robots for review purposes.
As a nerd I am excited about this robot ball because ROBOT BALL! and as a teacher of technology I am excited because in addition to having some great remote-control and augmented reality features, there are some really neat programming opportunities with Sphero, several apps allow you to program the ball and there seems to even be a scratch interface.
Sphero struggles on course gravel, but rips it up on dirt, carpet, rubber mats, and garden paths. It skitters on ceramic tile in a noisy and frantic way (this noise scares the cat the most).
If this information is not specific or geeky enough, check out the specs page on their site.
Sphero Drive, a great place to start 
Sphero main app all of the settings and the "level up" game narrative gateway
Augmented Reality
Just one of the many apps that combine AR and Sphero
Over the next few weeks I will be crash testing the lessons at Sphero Education.
If you have a question, a wonder, or something you would like me to try, please leave a comment.
As a nerd I am excited about this robot ball because ROBOT BALL! and as a teacher of technology I am excited because in addition to having some great remote-control and augmented reality features, there are some really neat programming opportunities with Sphero, several apps allow you to program the ball and there seems to even be a scratch interface.
The Robot
The Sphero robot is a motorized ball that interfaces with a phone/tablet via Bluetooth. Both Android and iOS are supported. I am using Sphero 2.0 and it is FAST, and durable. So far my dog has attacked it enough to realize she cannot get her small mouth around it, one of my cats just hide when she hears it and I have run it into every piece of furniture. The fact that the ball lights up is really handy when you are trying to figure out where it is stuck under the couch.Sphero struggles on course gravel, but rips it up on dirt, carpet, rubber mats, and garden paths. It skitters on ceramic tile in a noisy and frantic way (this noise scares the cat the most).
If this information is not specific or geeky enough, check out the specs page on their site.
The Apps
Fun for you, terror for your cat, driving appsSphero Drive, a great place to start Sphero main app all of the settings and the "level up" game narrative gatewayAugmented Reality
Just one of the many apps that combine AR and Sphero
@gosphero AR gaming in my front yard http://t.co/2LxYxkKq7f pic.twitter.com/qFVJHfsWqB
— Sam Patterson (@SamPatue) April 16, 2014
Programming
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| Macro Lab |
This is the real selling point for me, while I love a new toy as much as anyone, the ability to program the ball really makes this a great tool for learning. There are 2 main programming apps Sphero Macro Lab, which allows the user to create programs that Sphero follows. This is great as it lets the teacher craft challenges that the students then program in response to. These challenges can range from simple, who can get closest to the pin, to intense multi-color robot ball dance contests. The second app for programming is OrbBasic, which allows programming in Basic that interacts with Sphero.
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| OrbBasic |
Room to wonder- I am now reading about how to get Sphero to connect with Scratch!
The Contest
Do you want a Sphero for your classroom? Why not enter this contest, all it takes is sharing picture of your classroom space and using a hashtag.Over the next few weeks I will be crash testing the lessons at Sphero Education.
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