This post
is part of a series of entries documenting the startup of our
Kids Who Code Coding Club at Hamiota Elementary.
The Kids
Who Code project at Hamiota Elementary School focuses on introducing computer
science and coding to young learners in engaging and meaningful ways. Using student-friendly coding tools, students
and teachers are learning how to code and exploring ways to build important 21st
century skills through coding. This
year, a noon hour coding club for grades 2-5 students is being offered. In one of their initial club meetings,
students set goals and shared their interests related to computer science and
coding. One common goal that students
identified was to explore robotics. Many
students expressed a strong desire to code robots and build robots. Thanks to a ManACE Seed Grant, students can
now act on those desires!
Since
learning about robotics was a student-identified goal, students have been
involved in the decision making for this project. The first step was to decide which robotics
products to purchase, so coding club members worked together to research
different options for educational robotics.
Students were asked to identify pros, cons, features and pricing for a
variety of products, including BeeBots,
Dash & Dot robots, Sphero and Cubelets.
Once students had completed their research, each club member voted on
their top two choices. Students felt
that the Sphero robots and Cubelets would be best for the club.
The
Cubelets and Sphero robots have now arrived, so students are exploring all that
is possible with these exciting new tools! Students will be reviewing their
robotics purchases to inform other students and schools, so be sure to check
back for more information in the coming months.
Our reviews will be posted on this blog and shared on
Twitter (@LeahO77).
