Observing the LEGOs robotic programming in the after-school program in East Elementary School.
The kids were having fun with the LEGOs. LEGO toys are small, colorful, interlocking plastic bricks and are accompanied by an array of gears, mini-figures and various other parts. Lego bricks can be assembled and connected in countless ways, to construct such objects as vehicles, buildings and even working robots. Anything constructed can then be taken apart again, and the pieces used to make other objects. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego)
The LEGOs that the East Elementary school implemented were accompanied by software called ROBOLab. This is used to program the LEGO to do what the kids want the LEGO to do. It was amazing to see how the kids got very curious, excited, confused, and challenged when building with LEGOs, creating the behavior of the LEGO by using their own ideas, programming with the software and making the LEGO work as they wanted it to.
The kids built their own manual and theories. 4-6th graders were free to express their creativity to build anything they were passionate about. I often asked them how they were feeling and received various answers from fun to boring, challenged to cool. By the end, if their program worked the way they wanted it to, the students felt very satisfied, challenged and motivated to build another one. Some kids were worked in a group and others individually. They all seemed to enjoy creating and discovering their own ideas and problems.
Teachers do not only teach but assist, facilitating students anytime when stuck with a problem. Teachers did was not give answers but guidelines to enlighten and teach the kids the principles of LEGO toys. These are some of the best approaches to teaching technology in the classroom.
The kids were motivated and engaged to discover their own problems by synthesizing their own creation. The teachers’ roles were very important at this level. The students were gaining the skills to be able to decide what LEGO structure they wanted to build, to develop their own program and make the LEGO act, to find and solve their own problems, to think critically about the cause and effect of their ideas, and to accomplish by using their own ideas and creation.
By the end of the day, I had come to a realization. These kids are the next-generation of programmers and robotic scientists. They would be able to understand the concepts of programming from an early level, enhancing their skills through the university level.
Key learning points:
- Investigating energy, forces and speed
- Programming and controlling input and output devices, using wireless communication
- Developing solutions, select, build, test and evaluate.
- Measuring, using coordinate systems, conversion and applied math
- Creativity, problem-solving and team-working skills
(http://www.rm.com/shops/rmshop/product.aspx?cref=PD985)
For more info: http://www.lego.com/eng/education/mindstorms/home.asp?pagename=userobolab
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