In today’s Digital Technology class we were looking at programmable toys and their place in the classroom.
Starting off as a learner, I was first introduced to Bee-Bot on the iPad. This was a very bright and colourful app with an animated version of the Bee-Bot toy we would later progress to using. The app was easy to navigate and a quick way to display the concept of controlling and interacting with Bee-Bot.
We were then given our brief for the assessed task and a Bee-Bot toy. It is immediately obvious why Bee-Bot is liked so much by young learners. He is brightly coloured, has a happy face and is quite tactile. By that I mean his controls, simple to understand even at early years level, are raised and provide instant feedback to the user that they have been successfully pressed through a ‘click’ that can be felt with the finger and also heard. It is quite light and very robust.
Our task was to create a game that learners could play with Bee-Bot that had links to numeracy. In my group we opted for a game aimed at first level learners on the Curriculum for Excellence. This is broadly speaking pupils in primary 2 – 4. We created a game on a large grid with a money theme and called it “Bee-Bot at the Shop”. We also created cards to accompany the grid. One set of cards had pictures of food items you might buy at the shop and the other set had various amounts of money on them, the idea being these would be the prices for the food the player was ‘purchasing’ as part of the game. The expectation was that the player would program BeeBot to move from the start position to the various coins and/or notes that would be required to make up the value of the item from the card. As an extension we saw a number of options including a progression on to working out the change they would receive and showing at least one mixture of coins and notes that would make up that value using BeeBot.
We then tried out our game to assess if it was as engaging as we hoped. I felt it was successful and would be very engaging to children in first level, that being the age group we designed the game for. The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) experiences and outcomes that we were looking to achieve through this game were:
I can use money to pay for items and can work out how much change I should receive. MNU 1-09a
I have investigated how different combinations of coins and notes can be used to pay for goods or be given in change. MNU 1-09b
I am developing problem solving strategies, navigation and co-ordination skills, as I play and learn with electronic games, remote control or programmable toys. TCH 1-09a
I explore and experiment with the features and functions of computer technology and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-04a
From a teaching perspective, todays learning along with the assessment task was valuable as it displayed to me how the use of technology in the classroom such as BeeBot is so much more than just a bit of fun for the children. It is an excellent learning tool that allows for imaginative ways to teach subjects across the curriculum and aimed at various age groups. Indeed, in her article ‘Robots in Early Education (2008) Alison Lyden discusses how programmable toys such as BeeBot can be used even in nursery level classrooms. I feel that children are exposed to programable technology in their daily lives so this type of interactive learning tool is not beyond their comprehension even at early level. The pushing of buttons to make the toy do what you want it to is almost intuitive to them. Indeed in Lyden’s (2008) observation she noted that 12 of her class of 28 were able to use BeeBot without further adult assistance after the initial teaching input. That is almost half of her class so comfortable with the concept of a programmable toy they were able to work unaided from the outset. She went on to note that the children were also willing and able to assist those less familiar with the process. This demonstrates that not only is it a good tool to teach technology and subject like numeracy and literacy, it also branches in to encouraging social interaction. This is a notion that is also documented by the National Centre for Technology in Education (2012) where it notes the use of floor robots encourages group interaction, conversation and collaboration. For some children I feel the presence of the toy makes it more comfortable to express themselves in a group setting.
Further to this, Beauchamp (2012, p65) mentions “ICT (in the EY) is not just a computer with Early Years software installed. ICT is anything where you can press a button and make something happen, the beginnings of children understanding that technology requires programming and that they can be in control of making things happen.” So aside from the fun aspects of playing with BeeBot it introduces the early concept of programming to the learner. A foundation that will be built on as they progress through education and gives real world context to the learning.
I have been really impressed with the BeeBot and the breadth of uses it can have across the curriculum in a primary classroom setting. I look forward to making appropriate use of it in the future as my teaching career progresses.
REFERENCES
Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School From Pedagogy to Practice Pearson: Harlow, England
Lydon, A. (2008) Sharing Good Practice : Robots in Early Education [Online] https://oponoa-programmeertalen.wikispaces.com/file/view/BeeBot_article.pdf
[Accessed: 16th January 2018]
NCTE (National centre for Technology in Education) (2012) NCTE Floor Robots – Focus on Literacy & Numeracy. [Online] http://www.ncte.ie/media/NCTE_Floor_robots_focus_on_literacy_numeracy_primary_12-06.pdf [Accessed: 16th January 2018]
