P5 – 7 enjoyed the first of a series of Sphero Bolt workshops today.
What is a Sphero, you ask? Well, Sphero robots have many different internal parts that make them work such as motors, LEDs, encoders, processors, a CPU and Bluetooth communication module for connecting to phones, and a gyroscope that keeps it oriented. A small, wheeled robot inside the shell climbs up the walls and pushes them forward, causing the ball to roll.
Sphero programmable robots help kids learn fundamental STEM concepts through play-based learning and educational STEAM activities. You can use Sphero robots to play games, create programs, or complete challenges.
Our first club activities focussed on using Bluetooth to pair our devices, orientating our Spheros and using direction and speed to control the travel of our devices. The children quickly mastered the balance between speed and control and were then able to navigate obstacles with increasing accuracy. There was some fun racing the Spheros in figures of eight round cones, and people too. We had a play with adapting the colours of the led array so we could more easily identify our Sphero robot amongst everyone else’s.
Our next activity will bring in the skills of using a graphics Draw function to control the sphero’s travel path. We will ‘draw’ 2D shapes. As we are in the middle of Christmas mayhem, this will most likely be in the New Year.
UNCRC Rights of the Child – Article 29 Aims of Education
