The Finch Robot was created at Carnegie Mellon University by students who wanted to find a tactile way for elementary aged children to get an introduction to coding.
The RubberBandProject staff has used several robots with students. You can explore the unit we used ozobots for here.
We have also experimented with Go-Pi-Go.
The Finch Robot is very easy to setup and get kids coding. The RubberBandProject staff was invited to an ExploreMore day at Emerson Elemenatry School. RBP staff conducted six 35 Minute classes using The Finch Robot. The kids had a blast. After a 15 minute prep lesson from me K-5th grade students were able to start coding. The students had complete autonomy to do anything they wanted. Some students made their Finch Bots dance, others focused on the lights. One student got frustrated at having to code every move he wanted to make, so he coded a remote control. This allowed him to control the robot directly with arrows on the keyboard. Another student overheard me mention the computer language we were using
( SNAP) could program sounds. He forgot about the robot and concentrated on the sounds. He’s a musician, in the school band. Listen to how he programmed “Lets Go Band” within 30 minutes of being introduced to coding ever in his life.
|
|
|
ISTE standards
1.1.a Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
1.1.b Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
4.1.a Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation