Tuesday 15th January 2019
This week in digital technologies we were looking at using programmable toys to enhance learning. In particular we were working with the programmable toys called ‘Bee-Bots’. Our task was to create a grid which covered a particular curricular area (such as numeracy or literacy). We had to design the learning experience around some experiences and outcomes from the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). We also had to have a particular level in mind at which our grids were aimed at, although Bee-Bot is most commonly used at early and first level.
There are multiple reasons why programmable toys should be used within the classroom setting. Alison Lydon used Bee-Bots in her nursery class and gave very positive reviews on how the children were concentrated and engaged while also having great fun (Lydon, 2008). Hopefully if I were to use them within my classroom, I would see the same reaction.
Programmable Toys like Bee-Bot allow the children to have hands on learning. They are able to touch and move the Bee-Bot, pressing buttons and receiving feedback through the direction it moves and sounds it makes. The learner is in control when using Bee-Bot. It is not a task where they are following instructions but a task where they are giving them to the Bee-Bot to get a desired outcome. Using Bee-Bot grid games like we created also allows a fun challenge for learners and can help to develop learners problem-solving skills.
Programmable toys are good way to develop understanding of certain topics or curricular areas, while also reflecting today’s contemporary world (Janka, 2008).
In our session today when using Bee-Bot I noticed something I believed might confuse learners. Say you give Bee-Bot a wrong instruction and you want to change the direction he moves, you’d assume you just click the correct button and it will move that way instantly, wrong. You have to click the ‘clear’ button or else it will start the previous sequence and simply add the new instruction to the end. This could be a flaw as if a child was to make a mistake, they would have to enter all their previous instructions again (Janka, 2008). I agree with this, it can be confusing at first and result in some time being wasted if a long sequence is needing re-entered.
I worked in a group of three (myself and two other students), and we mutually agreed to focus on number, money and measure as our curricular area (particularly number and money). We also decided to aim this towards first level learning. We designed are Bee-Bot grid in the theme of a Supermarket. The children would be given shopping lists with various items and prices listed on them. They would have to program Bee-Bot to collect the food items and as they go along work out how much everything costs in total. At the end of the learning experience they would have to pick the basket with the correct total on it and are challenged to work out their change from a pound coin. This learning experience followed our chosen experiences and outcomes from the Curriculum for Excellence which were:
- I can use money to pay for items and can work out how much change I can receive. (MNU 1-09a)
- I understand the instructions of a visual programming language and can predict the outcome of a program written using the language. (TCH 1-14a)
We made our grid by measuring out a grid with 16 squares that were 15cm by 15cm. We drew a start square for the Bee-Bot on the bottom left. We drew and coloured our items of food on a separate piece of paper and blue tacked them on so they can be moved around for different game variations. We added ‘shopping baskets’ which were 3D as we made them out of card, these had various total costs on them and a card asking how much change they’d receive.
I’d say we were successful in creating our Bee-Bot grid as it allowed the experiences and outcomes to be fulfilled while also being colourful, appealing and fun. If I was to change anything, I’d perhaps create more shopping lists and food items so there was a wider variation of the learning experience. I would have also have liked to replace some of the unhealthier food with healthier food and perhaps link this to a health and wellbeing experience and outcome. If I was to use this in my classroom in the future I would laminate the pieces of food and shopping lists to ensure they stay in a good condition so it could be reused often.
Personally, I really enjoyed using the Bee-Bots. I learned how to use them and found them fairly easy to get the hang of. I believe they are a great resource that can allow learning and also reflect the modern technologies of today. It is really important I know how to use these programmable toys, as in today’s society it is highly beneficial for children to know basic programming skills like this as they are moving forward into a technology orientated world.
“Successful utilisation of digital technology depends not just upon sufficient access to equipment, tools and resources, but also on the availability of sufficient training, and knowledge and support networks for teachers. Providing teachers with this support will allow them to understand the benefits and applications of digital technologies and enable them to use digital technologies effectively.” (Education Scotland, 2012, n.p).
Bee-Bot can enhance a lesson, making it more interactive and fun while also benefiting the children’s learning and giving them the opportunity to use digital technologies.
REFERENCES
Education Scotland (2012) Literature Review on the Impact of Digital Technology on Learning and Teaching. [Online] Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/literature-review-impact-digital-technology-learning-teaching/ [Accessed: 19 January 2019].
Janka, P. (2008) Using a Programmable Toy at Preschool Age: Why and How? [pdf] http://www.terecop.eu/downloads/simbar2008/pekarova.pdf [Accessed: 18 January 2019].
Lydon, A. (2007) Let’s Go With Bee-Bot: Using your Bee-Bot across the curriculum. [pdf] Available: file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/Uni%20Work%20BA1/Digital%20Technologies/PROGRAMMABLE%20TOYS%2015TH%20JAN/ICTopus%20-%20Sharing%20Good%20Practice%20-%20Robots%20in%20Early%20Education%20%20.pdf[Accessed: 19 January 2019].
