SANTHA WALTERS
  • Blog
  • Santha
  • Doodles and Bullet Journal
  • Resume
  • Olli Classes

Finding my way...

Robots in Transition

11/15/2018

2 Comments

 
I've been asked by students and by other teachers, "Why robot coding?  How on Earth is that related to English?"  

My response is usually "How is coding NOT related to English and writing?" This year, I decided to let my kids answer that question. Here is what they said:

Corwin:  "It i
s similar to writing a paragraph because you have to outline everything beforehand. As well as the fact that you have to make an intro and conclusion in a sense. Essentially it’s like writing a paragraph in a different language."

Alina: "
I think programming a robot is like writing a paragraph because you need to use the correct codes just like how you need to use correct punctuation and spelling.You have to read and test it to make sure it works correctly.You can always fix it to make it work more fluidly or have better punctuation."

Bailey: "For coding a robot the first thing needed to do is to have a basic outline of what you want it to do, much like how in an essay there is an outline. After that the codes are put together like how the body paragraphs are. Finally, you can edit the coding like how you revise an essay."

Here's the winning video for Team Courage 2018.
The lesson plans were pretty straight forward and can be found here.  If technical lesson plans aren't your thing, the process went pretty much like this:
Picture
This year was the second year to run this lesson.  In addition to being better organized with the grading and releasing kids into groups, I was also able to ask for feedback from the students.  They gave me some great ideas for next year including:
  1. Give groups formal lessons on coding with Blockly (@nearpod maybe?)
  2. Allow more time to film and edit.
  3. Find a way to separate the groups and give them more space to program and work.
I think these are all great suggestions and can't wait to use them to help structure the upcoming full week of drones and robots.  
2 Comments
Ann Feldmann
11/19/2018 05:34:45 pm

Excellent post! I love the student quotes and the winning robot video. Thanks for sharing all the details of the lesson. What a great way to bring coding to your students and tie it to your curriculum! Way to go!

Reply
Santha Walters link
11/20/2018 05:15:12 am

Thank you so much for your comment. The kids and I had so much fun. I loved their analysis of how coding was like writing and their enthusiasm gave me amazing new ideas for the next lesson. We could not have done it without the tech department's guidance and patience! Thanks to all the tech coaches who empower us to do these types of lessons.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Santha Walters

    I'm a technology curriculum facilitator, and I'm excited about integrating technology in the classroom.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • Santha
  • Doodles and Bullet Journal
  • Resume
  • Olli Classes