Buildologie Bulletin
February 2019
On a Mission
Our students continue to persevere through their very challenging water-themed missions, and are starting to see some success. They're learning so much as well: testing and evaluating the robot's performance in order to go back and fix the code, placing the robot in precisely the same starting point every time, collaborating with their team, and so much more.
Coding is Collaborative
LEGO Mindstorms has its own language, and our students are learning to speak it. It always helps to have a second pair of eyes on the screen! (SEP 6, SMP 3)
Downloading a Program
These engineers are downloading their program from the Chromebook to their robot before they go test it on the playfield. (SEP 3)
Pre-Test at the Table
Rather than take the robot to the playfield, this team tested the robot while still connected to the Chromebook, which highlighted each block as it ran. This helped the team to see exactly what the code was telling the robot to do. (SEP 8, SMP 5)
Putting Out a Fire
Humans use water for so much more than drinking! In the mission below, students must turn the lever on the fire hydrant to put out the fire. The team in this video successfully puts out the fire, and must now work on returning back to Base afterward. One step at a time! (SEP 3)
Notice they are also using the coordinate grid to place their robot precisely in Base before running the program. (SMP 5, 6)
https://youtu.be/9sWfEt4fZzk
What's Next?
At the beginning of April, each class will have a showcase, where they'll invite parents and other classes to see their work. The following week, judges will come in and choose a finalist from each class. Each finalist will be invited to compete against all the others at this year's Play|Code|Compete, formerly known as the Scratch-Off.
Written by Heather Boling
Heather is AESD's Bytes & Bots Digital Learning Coach. She write curriculum, plans events such as Play|Code|Compete, works with mentors and teachers, and much more! She has recently also taken on Code Campus and AESD's new eSports curriculum, Nurturing Positive Competitors.
Email: hboling@anaheimelementary.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/anaheimelementary.org/buildologiestudent/home
Location: Digital Education Services, 313 S. Melrose St. Anaheim, CA
Phone: (714)517-7532 -- 4191
Twitter: @hcboling