Dash and Dot

Grades K-2 and 5, Mohonasen
11/2016

Focus:  I teach Science. I used the robots with a group of 5th graders enrolled in a before school Computer Programming Class. I also used the robots at an elementary STEM night with groups of students in grades K-2.

Class Response: Students were highly engaged and really excited about using the robots.

For the STEM night, students used the Go app and the Path app to program Dash and move him around the room. For the 5th grade computer class, students created a challenge or project and then worked in their group to develop the program to have Dash complete the challenge. For example, one group designed a maze with different obstacles that Dash had to move through the maze. Another group had Dash push objects a specified distance.

Advice:  Make sure the app is working on all the ipads prior to the first lesson. We encountered some difficulty on the first day when some ipads would not connect. The apps were installed but there were issues with running the apps and connecting to the robots that I needed help from our tech department with so for the first lesson, I was only able to use two of the robots instead of the 5 I had planned to use.

Greatest Benefit:  Students are really motivated and inspired. There are so many benefits to teaching coding to the elementary students such as problem solving skills and collaboration, and the robots really provide an excellent vehicle to develop those skills.

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