Who knew coding could be so fun!! In our EDUC 405 class we experimented with Ozobots, not one but two times! We loved them so much! The use of Ozobots were such a fun way to incorporate not only coding but collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking.
Once we learned what Ozobots were and how to use them properly, such as how to turn them on and calibrate them, we got into the swing of things with using different codes. It was sort of like a think, pair, share lesson but hands on. We got in pairs and came up with our own unique circuit for our little robot to participate in (as shown in the picture below). We were given different materials in order to make the robot active such as markers (black, red, blue, and green) as well as a blank sheet of paper, the Ozobot itself, and a direction guideline which helps us come up with ideas for our Ozobot to do throughout the circle. Different movements included: turning left or right, zig-zag, or tornado. Once we completed designing our circuit it was showtime for our little robot as we did a gallery walk and got to see the various creations fellow classmates created. It was such a fun activity that I would love to one day bring into my own classroom!
We were asked in class to think about how the Ozobot activity connected to the seven principles of learning and here is what I came up with :
Principle 1 : The Ozobots were highly engaging and allowed for us to think differently in an experimental way.
Principle 2 : As we were asked to pair up with a fellow classmate it allowed us to collaborate and share our ideas and thoughts when creating our Ozobots circuit. (This also could be applied to Principle 4.)
Principle 3 : This activity brought out a lot of emotions for our class which included happiness, laughter, some small frustrations, excitement, and accomplishment. These emotions are connected with Principle 3 as that is the main idea of the specific principle!
Principle 5 : Using Ozobots for the first time, or specifically doing coding in general for the first time was sort of daunting. I am not very tech savvy so some steps along the way were frustrating or challenging (an example would be when my Ozobot wouldn’t continue the circuit on repeat, but with trail and error we found our mistake).
Principle 6 : With incorporating the gallery walk into our lesson we were able to see the different mindsets and ideas that our classmates had which was very interesting to see! It allowed for different understanding and perspectives of the activity.
Principle 7 : Ozobots were only the start for my coding journey! It showed that there are many different resources or ways of coding in the world of teaching and I can’t wait to see what is out there!
