Winter Camps

Happy Thanksgiving Week everyone!  Winter Camp registration will open on Thanksgiving day at www.InitiateLearning.net Be sure to sign up early because spots will go fast!  Check out the amazing line up:

Robotics 4 - EdPrinter Build

Today was the last day of our Summer Robotics 4 camp.  We built the EdPrinter and boy was it a challenge!  There were 4 kids in the class that were able to do it mostly independently.  Once they were done they were able to assist me in helping everyone else get the build completed.  The instructions were challenging and it was confusing about how to put the pieces together.

Once we got it built we had a discussion about the coding software Python and I showed the group the 2.5 pages of code written for the robot to draw a rectangle.  Of course, a lot of the code is notes about how it works and not actually code, but it made a good point about how we've been using a drag and drop coding program and there is a lot of code behind those drag-able squares. I gave the four older kids the option of playing with the Python code to have Edison draw a different design, but by then their brains were shot and they opted for just free building :).  I hope to have the speed video and class video up soon (as well as more pictures) but it seems I'm having technology glitches that I don't have time to solve this evening.  I'll aim to fix it all this weekend!  Thanks for learning with me!

Robotics 4 - EdCrane Build

As the builds get harder our class endurance, grit, and problem solving all have stepped up to the challenge. 

 When everyone was done building we experimented with different magnetic toys to determine how much weight the crane could hold and what made it tip over.  I encouraged the kids to explore adding pieces or changing the design of the crane to be able to hold more weight. 

Here is the speed build and a couple videos from our class time together:

Robotics 4 - EdRobo Claw

This afternoon was the best camp day yet!  We all successfully built the Ed Robo Claw.  We had fun driving our robo claws with the remote control.  The kids set up their own game where they had to pick up pieces and deliver them to either the recycling center or the garbage dump.

 Then we started a new programming challenge. Using EdBlocks we attempted to program our Robot Claw to deliver a container of toxic waste to a secure location and return back to camp. 

We got really close to being successful with many different groups but had to cut time short in order to clean up successfully.  Since we now know we can clean up successfully we can have a little more time working out our code challenge tomorrow.  Here is a speed build of the Robo Claw and some class videos.  Try, try again is certainly the motto of robotics! I encourage you to try again at home and see if you can figure out the code.

Summer Robotics 3 Wrap Up

This week we pushed EdBlocks to the max and learned to code some amazing activities with Edison in Robotics 3. Today we started off with music.  After a lesson about the length of different notes (whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes) and how to select a different note from the staff I sent the kids off to code Hot Cross Buns, Happy Birthday, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  With this set of songs kids were able to be challenged with the code at the appropriate level for themselves. 

Everyone was thrilled when they coded their robot with a new song.  I have what feels like hours of robotic sounding tunes in my phone videos now. :). 

 After coding the music we learned how to make Edison perform like a real performer on a stage.  We talked about how at a theater they turn off the lights for the audience, open the curtains, then turn on a spotlight.  The kids then programmed Edison with a wait block so he would perform when the spotlight turned on.

 We used our knowledge about Edison's light sensor to play the Cockroach Game.  Each child programmed their Edison to avoid the light. We put 3-4 Edisons in a circle and gave everyone a flashlight.  The goal was to get the other Edison bots to go out of the circle and the last one in the circle was the winner. 

 After playing for a bit we introduced the motor speed block and made predictions about if we set the speed to slow or fast which would help Edison win the game.  We adjusted our code however each child saw fit and played again.  

At the end of the day we had a dance party where the teacher robot sent out a signal or message to all the other robots that told them to start dancing.  This required students to program Edison to wait until the signal was received and then dance however each student decided was best.  We had a complete blast exploring these different programming abilities with Edison.  Thanks for spending part of your summer with me!  I look forward to one more amazing week of Robotics Summer camp - next week we're adding Lego type bricks to Edison and creating some amazing robotic builds. There is one spot left for next week if you haven't signed up yet, just let me know!

Summer Robotics 3

Our Robotics 3 camp is off to a great start this week.  Robotics 3 is a coding continuation of Robotics 2.  We're exploring all the possibilities within EdBlocks (the basic coding language for Edison).  We have a mixed bag of participants in Robotics 3 this time around.  Some kids are coming right from Robotics 2 last week, others did Robotics 2 during Spring Break, and still others are jumping in for the first time.  We started off our class by drawing what we think of when we are picturing robots.  We had a fun variety of ideas come up.  After each applicable idea I was able to show a video of a real life robot that is similar to what each student shared.  We watched short video clips of a spider robot, a humanoid robot falling over, a humanoid robot walking and running successfully, and a lawn mowing robot.  We reviewed the three parts that make a machine a robot (computer, sensors, and actuators) and reviewed how coding is telling the computer one step at a time how to do something. 

 We worked through a series of challenges to program our robot to avoid obstacles.  We started with a base program that used the infrared sensor to detect an obstacle and stop the robot.  Then we tried the program with a variety of obstacles for Edison.  We explored why he didn't stop before hitting the clear Lego bricks and why he was pushed around the glass jar rather than stopping before hitting it.  Then we worked on programming Edison to back up, turn around, and repeat the code so he could drive around without hitting anything.  The final challenge was to have Edison alert us when he detects an obstacle.  We did that by adding a beeping sound.  At home you could try the same program and have Edison flash his lights to alert us instead.

We also worked on programming Edison to bounce within borders.  That means that he uses the light sensor on the bottom to detect when he runs into a black line and then backs up, turns around, and drives off again.  It's like an invisible fence - only it's a black line on a table.  Some of our group was able to start playing with making music with Edison.  This gets a little tricky for some and those kids that play the piano definitely have an advantage.  We're working with coding blocks that have 1/8th notes, 1/4 notes, half notes, and whole notes, and we have to pick out the right note from a staff picture.  It's a little challenging, but with a litter perseverance we'll get Edison to play a variety of songs.  We'll pick up with music first thing on Thursday so we'll all get the chance to make him "sing". 

Summer Robotics 2 Day 3

This afternoon the Robotics 2 camp finished up with a dance a party.  We reviewed computational thinking and how we will be more successful if we work out one piece of code at a time. Then we jumped into our challenge of using all 4 drive directions to make Edison dance.  I was impressed with how many different varieties of turns, twists, speed, and length of time were used.  The kids thought it was fantastic that they could pick a favorite song, I could play it over the speaker system, and they could have their Edison "dance" to the music.

 Our dance code was a fun adventure in creative coding. I could see the "choreography" happening in some student's minds as they thought about how they would like Edison to move to a Greatest Showman song or how would Edison do the Floss dance?

 After our break we learned how to make Edison turn on and off his lights.  We played around with the code to make Edison dance and turn on and off the lights. Our main coding focus today was on the Loop block, which makes the code repeat either a set number of times or forever.  The kids discovered the Look block on Wednesday so it was fairly easy for them to incorporate it into their dancing code. We even learned that you can put a Loop block around a few blocks, add more blocks, and put a loop block around all of it.

We had an amazing time learning together.  It was a ton of fun to watch the kids become confident in loading code onto Edison and playing around with writing the code.  It is awesome that Edison is open ended so all these kids can go home and continue creating new code challenges for their Edison.  Here are some example challenges to get your kids to do (or come up with your own!): 

• Drive around and obstacle, such as a cup or pencil case
• Drive around the border of a desk without driving off the edge
• Create a maze on a large piece of paper
• Create a maze using building blocks

Share with me what amazing challenge you can make your Edison do!  Share a video, pictures, or even just text on Facebook.com/InitiateLearning  I can't wait to see what you can accomplish! 

Summer Robotics 2 Day 2

The kids in Robotics 2 brought some amazing passion and energy to camp today!  I am incredibly impressed with what we were able to accomplish.  They were able to recall the parts of a robot with the correct vocabulary and they were able to transition into a more independent situation where students didn't need me to remind them step-by-step how to program the Edison Robots.  This led to a fantastic situation for any classroom - Individualized Learning.  The kids who where working on mastering the decimal form of a percentage of a second were coached through that.  Students who mastered the math quickly were able to move on and challenge themselves by adding more complicated code.

 When we were ready to put Edison through a maze we spent time talking about computational thinking.  Computational thinking is the process of doing one step at a time.  First we want Edison to go forward, then turn left, then go forward, then turn right, then go forward.  Just being able to list the steps in order is a skill to master.  As we worked on the code I stressed that THE ONLY WAY anyone can be successful at writing code in the beginning is to write one step of code at a time, test it, adjust it, and make it absolutely correct before adding the next step of code.

 Then we learned how Edison can interact with drawn lines.  Edison has a line tracking sensor and can follow a black line or respond to a black line.  We learned a few more coding blocks such as "Speed" and "Turn OFF the Motors" all while playing with following our own drawn trails - a simple black marker and large sheet of paper does the trick! These are all activities that can me built upon at home after camp ends.  We spent some time today talking about how coding robots is a fairly complicated task and we will hardly ever get the math right on the first try.  

After each task we sat as a group on the sofa and reflected on what went well and not so well and why we thought that.  We also brainstormed different ideas to troubleshoot problems such as accidentally poking holes in the paper that then cause Edison to get stuck!  I am continually impressed with the enthusiasm and perseverance that is shown by kids in robotics camps - something about robots helps us be a little more brave to try, fail, and try again.  Keep up the great work!

Summer Robotics 2 - Introduction to Coding

Summer Robotics 2 kicked off today with a bang!  Robotics 2 is an introduction to coding and is REALLY content heavy on day one.  Pat your kids on the back because they made it through a lesson on coding and a lesson on decimals BEFORE they got to play with their actual robots.  We reviewed the parts of a machine that make it a robot (computer, actuator, sensor) and shared our own robot brainstorms.  Then we headed into physical coding.  I introduce coding like baking a cake - you follow the recipe in order to make something yummy. 

Using our large floor mats kids split into two teams and made a pathway for their friends to follow.  They worked together to "write the code" with the code cards to help their friends get safely to the end.

Then we were able to practice the process of downloading code to Edison.  Once the code is written:

1. Make sure Edison is turned on

2. Plug Edison into the computer

3. Click the circle button on Edison ONE time

4. Click "Program Edison" on the computer

5. Click the pop up "Program Edison"

6. Listen for the correct sound that says it's uploaded

7. Unplug Edison

8. Set Edison down and press Play

Though we only played with programming Edison to drive forward for a variety of time and turn for differing lengths of time we surely had fun doing it.  The kids got a kick out of making Edison turn "forever" and "accidentally" driving him off the edge.  Our next two sessions will be chalk full of different code arrangements to teach Edison to do a variety of tricks.  I look forward to your children's creativity in the next couple of sessions!