kimberly pascarella blocks to robots: an in-service for teachers

Robotic Manipulatives: How can they help our early childhood

classrooms?

A technology workshop for kindergarten teachers.

Presented By: Kimberly Pascarella

What are robotic manipulatives?• In her book, Blocks to Robots, author Marina

Umaschi Bers defines robotic manipulatives as “any construction kit for children involving two elements: construction in the physical world and programming that construction in the computer so it can become interactive and respond to stimulus in the world.”

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http://www.tufts.edu/~mbers01/

Classroom manipulatives: A brief history.

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are needed to see this picture.

Froebel_gifts.jpg



legos.jpg



http://www.citejournal.org/vol9/iss2/editorial/article1.cfm



http://blackgoku.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html



http://robotlego.wordpress.com/2009/05/

•In the mid 1800s Froebel developed a set of toys (known as Froebel’s gifts) to teach concepts such as color, size, shape, and number.

•In 1949, building bricks gave way to the first self-locking brick, produced by Lego.

•In the 1960s, Seymour Papert began developing the first robotic manipulative, called the “floor turtle.”

•In the 1980s MIT engineers and the Lego company collaborated to create a programmable construction kit.

•In the late 1990s robotic manipulatives were brought to the homes and classrooms of children through the development of Lego Mindstorms.

How do robotic manipulatives help in the early childhood classroom?

• Develop technological fluency

They……

• Incorporate project-based and cooperative learning into the classroom

• Foster problem solving skills

• Span across the curriculum

• Motivate students to learn complex concepts



http://pcsedu.com/blog/?paged=2

Setting up the Environment•To successfully set up an early childhood robotic learning environment, five physical stations should

be included in the design.

•Programming stations

•Building stations

•Design and art stations

•Floor space

•Walls

http://www.roboticslearning.com/kids.html











http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009/09/creation-station.html



http://www.share2learn.com/classroomtourk2.html

Robotic Construction Kits• There are two types of robotic construction, which are the most developmentally appropriate for Kindergarten students: Lego Mindstorms and Pico Crickets.

•Each program is alike in many ways, however, they also have unique characteristics that set them apart from each other.

•Each program can be used to reach different goals and objectives.



http://www.robotiq.co.uk/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F1802563&rnd=1648&rrc=N&affl=&cip=&act=&aff=&pg=cat&ref=nxt_products



http://www.picocricket.com/educators.html

Lego Mindstorms

• Uses software with a multi-level approach

• Builds upon a well-known material: the basic Lego building brick

• Uses the RCX programmable brick

• Used specifically to create robots



http://www.domesro.com/2009/01/tip-of-month-lego-mindstorms-nxt.html

PicoCrickets

• User friendly

• Easy to use for mobile projects

• Not limited to control only motors

• Extends students creative side



http://www.shapingyouth.org/?p=4772

How to get parents involved.

• Parents can work with their children at home.

• Parents can volunteer in the classroom.

• Parents can organize after school activity groups.

• Parents can serve as a connection between the school districts and the industries.



http://www.ros.org/news/robots/

Additional Resources•Here are some websites to check out for more information on robotic manipulatives.

http://www.legoengineering.com

http://www.mos.org/nctl/

http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/

http://www.legoengineering.com/

http://www.mos.org/nctl/

http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/

kimberly pascarella blocks to robots: an in-service for teachers

Education