Meet Robo!
Activity Stages: I.
Lead-in: 4 steps - 5 - 7 min
II.
Guided Activity: 6 steps - 15-20 min
III.
Independent Activity: 15 - 20 min
IV.
Reflection and Feedback: 5-7 min
V.
Clean Up
● What is a robot? ● Why do people create robots? ● How do people control robots? ● Who studies robots?
Lead-in: activate and motivate students by asking about their previous knowledge and personal experiences. 4 Steps - 5 - 7 min 1. Questions and possible answers: ● Do you know what a robot is? (Robot - a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. Robots may be designed to look like humans, but most robots do not look like humans - they can come in many forms.) ● Why do people create robots? (Robots are created by people to help with many different tasks, which may sometimes be too complex, too dangerous, or simply too boring to do ourselves.) ● How do people control robots? (Robots can be guided by an external control device - such as a remote control - or they can be programmed in advance.) ● Who studies robots? (There is a special interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science, Robotics, which deals with the design, construction, operation, and use, as well the control of robots. Engineering, a subdomain of robotics, entails the process of creating and building technological solutions and
products by using math and science. An engineer is a person who does the engineering. Engineers solve problems with their inventions. People who study robots are robotics engineers.) â—?
Who has experience with using robots? What kind of robots are used in everyday life? (Smart vacuum cleaners or other smart home devices are used to make people’s life easier; remotely controlled police robots are used to check dangerous zones; robots in medicine are used to distribute medication to patients; robots work on factories to assemble cars...)
Meet Robo! This is Robo, a smart robot that has come to our class to be our friend and learn with us!
Lead in - 5-7 min 2. Tell Robo’s Story: Today, we have a special guest in our class! This is Robo, a smart robot that has come to our class to be our friend and learn with us! � Can Robo learn with us in our classroom? 3. Set the Lesson Goal: We will become engineers in order to assemble and control our first robot.
Keywords ● Robots ● Robotics ● Engineering and engineer
Lead in - 5-7 min 4. Discuss the keywords: ● Robot - a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. Robots are created by people to help with many different tasks, which may sometimes be too complex, too dangerous, or simply too repetitive to do ourselves. ●
Robotics - an interdisciplinary branch of engineering and science utilized in order to deal with the design, construction, operation, and use, as well the control of robots.
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Engineering, a subdomain of robotics, entails the process of creating and building technological solutions and products by using math and science. An engineer is a person who does the engineering. Engineers solve problems with their inventions. People who study robots are robotics engineers.
* Additional: You may watch some youtube videos about robots. ● Robots assembling cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw57O6xldbs ● A robot is cooking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQjXaTlGHIY Or any from the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLZmDKeT-mV4H3ToYXIFYg/search?query=robot
What’s in the box?
Guided Activity: 6 steps - 15-20 min 1. Explore RW Robotics kit: 1.1. Hand out the Robo Wunderkind boxes to students. 1.2. Open the boxes and briefly examine the modules, let students just touch them and try to predict their functions: ● Are the modules the same or different? How are they different? (Modules are different color and shape.) ● Are all the modules different? (No, there are two same blue modules, two same big green wheels; many same-looking Connectors.) ●
End with a question: “Which module is the biggest?”
It’s Robo’s brain! Outside: ● Switch on/off button ●
Speaker
Inside: ● Battery ●
Small Computer
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 2. Discuss the Main Block: ●
Which module is the biggest? (The orange module.)
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What can we see on this module? (Switch on/off button, the small light, speaker, USB port.)
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What can be inside? (Battery, small computer.)
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What do you think is the function of this module? Why is it the biggest module? (Battery powers the robot; the small computer inside the robot helps to control or program it. This module is robo’s brain, it makes the robot work.)
Conclude: The biggest module - the Main Block - is the most important one, it’s Robo’s brain. We can see the switch on/off button, the small light, speaker, USB port on the block and inside, there is the battery and a small computer. We need to connect the Main Block to the tablet in order to make it work. We also need the Main Block in each project in order to make all other modules work.
Remote control: Robo Live App
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 3. Discuss the need of a tablet to control a robot: ● How do people control robots? (Robots can be guided by an external control device - such as a remote control - or they can be programmed in advance.) ● What device do we need to control our robot? (We need a tablet.) 4. Introduce a keyword: Remote control - a device to control a robot from a distance. ●
Hand out the tablets and discuss the rules for tablets use.
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Switch on the Main Block on and connect it to the Robo Live App.
What’s on the screen?
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 4. Discover the Robo Live App: ●
My Robo menu - Here you can find all the information about your Robo – its name, battery level, firmware update, and the Module(s) connected. Ask students to share some information about their robots.
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My Projects screen - Here you can see all the projects that you will create.
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New Project button - Click on it to start a new project
What’s on the screen? Play / Edit button
Controls Menu
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 4. Discover the Robo Live App: ●
Controlling screen - Here, you will see the controllers you added.
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Side Menu - find all the information about your Robo: its name, battery level, firmware update, and the Module(s) connected.
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Controls Menu - see all the Controls available at the moment, drag and drop a Control to the Controlling screen to try it out.
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Play / Edit button - When you are ready to play, press the Play button and control your Robo; press the Edit button to go back to the editing mode.
Robo makes sounds
Sound Controls
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 4. Discover the Robo Live App: â—?
Add different Sound controls on the Controlling screen;
â—?
Press the Play button to to the controlling mode and try out different sounds.
Challenge: Explore Robo’s Modules!
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 5. Let students explore the Modules’ functions on their own, and then discuss how they work together: ●
Connect different Modules to the Main Block and see how they appear in the Controls menu, disconnect them to see how they disappear;
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Use Controls which appear in the Controls Menu to control Modules;
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Discuss that special green Connectors needed to connect some Modules;
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Discuss that the Disconnecting tool needed to disconnect the Modules.
Sum Up ● Who is our new friend? ● Which of Robo’s Modules do you know? ● How do we control Robo?
Guided Activity - 15-20 min 6. Sum up new information before the independent activity. ● Who is our new friend? (Robo - a smart robot which can be assembled from different Modules) ● Which of Robo’s Modules do you know? (Main Block, Connectors...) ● How did we control our Robo? (We used Robo Live App as a remote control to guide our Robo from a distance.)
Build and control YOUR Robo!
Independent Activity: 15 - 20 min Students work independently in pairs or in small groups; they can cooperate to make the common project with two or more robots. Teacher observes or helps students if necessary. The concrete tasks for the own project: ●
Build any variation of Robo and control it using the Robo Live App;
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Share the story of why you created this particular robot and how it will help you in your life;
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Use some materials to customize your Robo.
* Additional: Presentation of individual projects for the class.
Check for understanding What is a robot? ●
A machine that looks like a human
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A machine that is designed to help people
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A machine that can be controlled by people
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A machine that can think by itself
Reflection and Feedback - 5-7 min 1) What is a robot? ●
A machine which is designed to help people
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A machine which can be controlled by people
Check for understanding Who is our new friend? ●
It’s Robo - a smart robot
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I’s Robo - a robot from the future
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It’s Robo, who has come to our class to be our friend and learn with us
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Robo has modules and can be assembled differently
Reflection and Feedback - 5-7 min 2) Who is our new friend? ●
It’s Robo - a smart robot
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It’s Robo, who has come to our class to be our friend and learn with us
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Robo has modules and can be assembled differently
Check for understanding What is this block for? ●
It’s Robo’s motor
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I’s a Main Block - Robo’s brain
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It’s Robo’s eyes
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This block makes sounds
Reflection and Feedback - 5-7 min 3) The Main Block and its function ●
I’s a Main Block - Robo’s brain
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This block makes sounds
Reflection & Feedback ● Today I have learned… ● The tasks were… easy or complex,interesting or boring? ● Which part of the lesson was the most interesting? Why?
Reflection and Feedback - 5-7 min Ask students to make a short reflection on what they have learned today. Receive feedback: Were the tasks easy or complex? Interesting or boring? Which part of the lesson was the most interesting? Why?
Clean Up
Clean up: Teach students to take care of the devices they use - RW Modules and the tablets.
Thank you!