When I first heard of the Ozobot, I had trouble figuring out where I could use it in my coding curriculum. The robot uses 2 different programming modes, one follows just written lines on paper. There is also an app for ios and Android uses flashing dots to send programs to the robot through it's optical sensors.
I set up a small station to explore the Ozobot during my K-3 robots and programming after school club. I was nervous just because the robot is small and little kids make a huge mess with markers. At the end of the class, my robot was still awesome and the kids had marker on their arms clear up to their elbows.
My biggest challenge with tech is to make sure the activity remains social. I was surprised with how quickly the kids when from sharing the robot to working together. They asked for tape so they could connect the maps they were drawing.
I will be the first to admit that my kids left some of the higher level functionality of the robot untouched, but this was their first session. In later sessions they explored the apps and started trying to draw the commands on paper. This is a little challenging for the youngest ones, they don't have the motor control needed.
I am excited about the Ozobot because it is a fun way to really get into thinking about robots and programming. Can I imagine how they might develop this robot overtime? Yes. I think that adding a tab;let-based visual programming interface would make it easier to further integrate this robot into some amazing STEAM lessons.
Comments