Coding with Ozobots
Students will learn some foundational programming concepts and develop computational thinking skills through several screen-free activities.
What You Need
Activity 1: Can you get the Ozobot to the Finish Line?
- 4 Ozobots (and charging cables)
- 8 Black markers
- 8 Blue markers
- 8 Green markers
- 8 Red markers
- Coding with Ozobots - Maze Worksheet
- Small strips of paper labels
- Example paths
- Activity #1 Task Card
Activity 2: Create your own Ozobot Path
- 4 Ozobots (and charging cables)
- 8 Black markers
- 8 Blue markers
- 8 Green markers
- 8 Red markers
- Blank paper - Could use a small sheet of paper, one per child or a large roll of paper
- Small strips of paper labels
- Example paths
- Activity #2 Task Card
Guide:
Safety Notes
Ensure you are familiar with Let's Talk Science's precautions with respect to safe virtual outreach to youth.
What To Do
Activity 1: Can you get the Ozobot to the Finish Line?
- Each child should get a copy of the maze worksheet. Task cards and markers can be put out for students to share.
- Get the Ozobot to the finish line by placing Ozocodes into the maze in the correct location. By looking at which way the Ozobot needs to go and filling in the blank squares, you can control the Ozobot’s direction of travel.
Activity 2: Create your own Ozobot Path
- Each child should get a blank piece of paper. Task cards, example paths, and markers can be put out for students to share.
- Using the Ozocodes (on the task card) and example paths as inspiration, create your own Ozobot path. Make sure that special move codes are placed in sections of the path that are black.
Discovery
Computers are unable to read and understand the English language like we can, so computer scientists or software engineers use code to turn a computer into a functional and useful piece of equipment. Code is a set of instructions written in a programming language that a computer can understand (e.g., Python, HTML, etc.). These programming languages are designed in such a way that they can be easily converted into zeros and ones (binary), so that a computer can understand them. A computer reads this code line by line and follows the commands that it has been given, just like how you follow the steps of a recipe when baking a cake! When a computer scientist or software engineer creates a large set of code, it is called a program. Programs tell computers how to perform certain actions, like how to use the internet, open a file, or play a game. Almost anything that uses electricity, from laptops to gaming consoles, uses programs to function!
Ozobots will introduce you to the basic concepts of coding. Instead of understanding only zeros and ones, Ozobots understand 4 colours (black, blue, green, and red). These robots will follow a path and perform actions based on the instructions (colour codes) you give to them. If your code is successful, the Ozobot will follow your path and perform the actions you planned. If it is not successful, it might fall off the path or perform the wrong action. When this happens, you can debug it by carefully looking at your code to figure out which step caused the error, then altering that step. This is similar to what computer scientists and engineers do, but their code is much more complex. They write code to make a program, try to run the program, debug their code, and then repeat those steps until the program works perfectly.
Did the Ozobot do what you planned? If not, where did the Ozobot go wrong? How could you change (debug) your code so that the Ozobot did what you wanted it to do? If you put your Ozobot on your path in the opposite direction, would the Ozobot do the same thing as before?
What's Happening?
Computers are unable to read and understand the English language like we can, so computer scientists or software engineers use code to turn a computer into a functional and useful piece of equipment. Code is a set of instructions written in a programming language that a computer can understand (e.g., Python, HTML, etc.). These programming languages are designed in such a way that they can be easily converted into zeros and ones (binary), so that a computer can understand them. A computer reads this code line by line and follows the commands that it has been given, just like how you follow the steps of a recipe when baking a cake! When a computer scientist or software engineer creates a large set of code, it is called a program. Programs tell computers how to perform certain actions, like how to use the internet, open a file, or play a game. Almost anything that uses electricity, from laptops to gaming consoles, uses programs to function!
Ozobots will introduce you to the basic concepts of coding. Instead of understanding only zeros and ones, Ozobots understand 4 colours (black, blue, green, and red). These robots will follow a path and perform actions based on the instructions (colour codes) you give to them. If your code is successful, the Ozobot will follow your path and perform the actions you planned. If it is not successful, it might fall off the path or perform the wrong action. When this happens, you can debug it by carefully looking at your code to figure out which step caused the error, then altering that step. This is similar to what computer scientists and engineers do, but their code is much more complex. They write code to make a program, try to run the program, debug their code, and then repeat those steps until the program works perfectly.
Investigate Further
Did the Ozobot do what you planned? If not, where did the Ozobot go wrong? How could you change (debug) your code so that the Ozobot did what you wanted it to do? If you put your Ozobot on your path in the opposite direction, would the Ozobot do the same thing as before?