Metro Reflection

 

    The drone and Lego activity at Metro Elementary was a great experience and a great way to allow students to see the complexity of technology. Teaching students about computational thinking skills is incredibly important in the current digital age. They were able to practice problem solving and an understanding of computer language. These activities foster CT and CS skills at an early age which gives students confidence and encourage creativity and their ability to problem solve in a technology driven world. It was interesting to watch them experiment with coding with only the brief google slides we discussed for vocabulary purposes. The students picked up on it much quicker than we anticipated. They were eager to practice coding on the drone simulator after experiencing the drone fly with a simple directed command that we came up with as a group. The simulator was a great tool to provide students with an experience they could manipulate without adult interference. I think the free range was a little frustrating at first for them, but after some support and encouragement that they could just reset the mission, they immediately became enthusiastic to attempt as many coded missions as possible.

    Some of the things I specifically enjoyed with this field experience was having the opportunity to work with students to relate these educational activities to real-world situations. I liked that we chose the rover as our Lego robot because it correlates with the drone in terms of how people might use these different types of robots for different careers or situations. We were able to discuss how we have had real rovers on Mars and then in the simulator they did an air mission with the drone on Mars. So different robots can be used in real life situations or events that are not realistic or ideal for humans to encounter for safety reasons. I think being able to relate the knowledge they are presented with for a real purpose is important in fueling their curiosity and encouraging interest for these fields of study.

Google Slide Team Teach:

WeDo2.0 Lego Activity:

Drone Coding Activity:

Standards Reflection-

Designer:

4d: Create CS and CT learning environments that value and encourage varied viewpoints, student agency, creativity, engagement, joy and fun.

Having differing viewpoints from a group of students allowed my partner and I to create an engaging environment for both the Lego and drone activity. We had two boys and one girl in our student group. The boys provided energetic over-the-top ideas for both the Lego rover and the drone. Whereas the girl student was calmer and more structured with her thoughts on how to go about both activities. The differing engagement provided a fun and interesting take on how to go about practicing coding.

Leader:

2a: Nurture a confident, competent, and positive identity around computing for every student.

Because both of our activities utilized a hands-on approach and inquiry based learned environment, I found my partner and I constantly reassuring students with affirmations. Trial and error learning can be frustrating for some students because they don’t like to be wrong and take failure harder than others. But encouraging them to continue trying and that failure is just another way to learn and grow it built their confidence to eventually come up with a code that established the command they were attempting to accomplish.

 

Facilitator:

5c: Use a variety of instructional approaches to help students frame problems in ways that can be represented as computational steps or algorithms to be performed by a computer.

By utilizing two different types of technology to teach coding it provided them opportunities to see coding in two different ways. One was a quickly built rover from Legos that could be instructed to travel on wheels with limited variability but was still mobile. The drone provided a more complex perspective of coding that allowed more difficult maneuvers and could tackle commands by air. We were able to discuss the different problems students might face that would be more beneficial for a rover on land or a drone in air.

Metro E Team Teach

For the drone coding activity, we are creating a quick slide presentation to go over the different terms they might see when exploring the drone simulator and to get them familiar with what to expect. We want to create an inquiry-based learning where they are asking questions and experiencing the lesson first-hand.

Drone Coding Activity

1.       We will begin by getting to know the students' background knowledge of drones. 

2.       We will ask questions to get them motivated about how this activity could be useful to society and potential careers. Whether it is for science, military or even something creative like videography.

3.       We will introduce the students to the Drone simulator and introduce code vocabulary they will see in the simulator.

4.       Next, we will show the students our drone video, and the code we used.

5.       If students have computers, they can start their own coding using the drone simulator. We want to immerse them in the experience by trial and error.

6.       Once students understand the drone simulator, and know what it means to create a code, we can create a code using the Drone Block app. to experience with a real drone.

7.       The students can collaborate to come up with ideas for different maneuvers and what blocks they need to use to establish that command in order to create a usable code for the Tello Drone. 

For the Lego activity we plan to print the visual building guide so it will be easier for students to collaborate with the building process of Milo. Similar to the drone activity we want students to experience trial and error with coding Milo. We will be there to support the students and answer questions, but we want to facilitate the lesson in a way where they are learning through experience and questions instead of direct instruction.

Milo the Lego Rover Activity

1.       We will begin by discussing what the students know about rovers. What is a rover? How might having a rover be beneficial to scientists? 

2.       Next the students will be shown a picture of what Milo the Rover should look like by the time they are finished with the activity. Then, they will work together when given building instructions to assemble the rover. The building instructions are visual only, which should provide a challenge that is engaging and promotes discussion throughout the build. 

3.       Once the motor is connected to the Smart hub and the hub can connect to the device, the students can begin exploring the program to code milo for actions. 

4.       The students will be instructed to use the first initial code to start the motor at power 8, go in one direction for 2 seconds and then stop.

5.       After students have successfully coded Milo for his simple task of moving, they will then be given the opportunity to change the parameters of the code to see what else they can code Milo to do.

 

Tello DroneBlocks Test

 Today we experimented with Tello Drones. First, my partner and I created a drone code simulation so we could demonstrate that we knew how to create a command for a real drone. After creating a drone command, we were given a real drone to connect to our device. To connect to the device, we simply connected our device to our drone through Wi-Fi. It took a couple tries to get the drone to connect but after a few errors we were finally able to connect. After connection we were able to have the drone take off from a table and fly in the shape of a square, get back to the take-off location, do a flip and land at the beginning location.

DroneBlocks Simulator Lab

For this week’s lab assignment, we worked with DroneBlocks app to learn about the coding of flying Tello drones. By working through various introduction videos to coding and drone simulation we were provided with knowledge on how to create commands for the drone through the app. The DroneBlocks simulator gave us the opportunity to work with different beginner codes to practice flying without utilizing a real drone. I could see this being very productive in teaching students how to utilize different codes with a drone.

            If the videos that I watched for DroneBlocks were used in a classroom or group setting I could see potential for confusion. These concepts are not exactly the easiest to understand and even as an adult I had to watch them multiple times and reread the instructions for the lab multiple times to understand how to work it. I think to utilize this for younger students there would have to be some videos or guidance in person to further explain and assist in teaching them the concepts of these codes or DroneBlocks simulator.

·       Which specific simulation tutorials were the most interesting to you? How did you try to alter the lines of code for what effects? What can you imagine for an engaging 5–10-minute simulator experience that encourages experimentation with lines of code?

The ability to group codes together as loops and create variables is interesting. I altered the line codes by combining different commands together such as the flips and navigation. I can imagine allowing students to experiment with the coding without any real direct instruction to see if they are able to figure out commands by trial and error. This could create motivation to find long commands that work.

ISTE Standard

5.3.c Plan collaboratively with other educators to create learning activities that cross disciplines to strengthen student understanding of CT and CS concepts and transfer application of knowledge in new contexts.

            I could see this activity working better if it is done collaboratively with a partner. Because coding isn’t the easiest to learn, I imagine having a partner or group together to troubleshoot any problems or confusion would be helpful. Especially after working on this activity asynchronously without a partner or professor in person to guide I had to rely on the internet to help me understand how to understand these concepts.

Screencast of drone simulation:

Mars Mission

Practicing code sequences:

Activity Guide for WeDo2.0 Lego Build- Milo the Rover

Students will be participating in Lego WeDo 2.0 learning activity. The purpose of utilizing these motorized Lego models is to build an interest in learning through science and engineering. This activity will also introduce them to simple beginner coding concepts to motivate them to expand their knowledge in coding technology. The Lego WeDo 2.0 activity encourages inquiry-based learning to encourage students to ask questions and collaborate with their peers through computational thinking and science. 

1.) We will begin by discussing what the students know about rovers. What is a rover? How might having a rover be beneficial to scientists? 

2.) Next the students will be shown a picture of what Milo the Rover should look like by the time they are finished with the activity. Then, they will work together when given building instructions to assemble the rover. The building instructions are visual only that should provide a challenge that is engaging and promotes discussion throughout the build. 

3.) Once the motor is connected to the Smart hub and the hub can connect to the device, the students can begin exploring the program to code milo for actions. 

4.) The students will be instructed to use the first initial code to start the motor at power 8, go in one direction for 2 seconds and then stop.

5.) After students have successfully coded Milo for his simple task of moving, they will then be given the opportunity to change the parameters of the code to see what else they can code Milo to do.

Meet Milo the Science Rover: 

Lego Lab WeDo2.0

Today my partner Reese and I created a Lego rover named Milo that can be given a function code to move forward. The instructions were fairly easy to follow even though they were pictures only. The great thing about Milo the rover is he has add-on motion sensors than be utilized after the initial build. Although he has two other features that can be added on to so other functions, my partner and I decided we would focus on the initial build because it could be time consuming for kids. I think I will learn how to do the other two add-ons in case we do have time to experiment with it further.

 In doing this activity students will be exploring how they can create a rover using Legos and practice their coding skills by making maneuvers the rover can demonstrate. The Lego rover is built using a picture guide and an app is downloaded to input codes to link to the rover. The function code is used to allow the rover to move at a speed of 8 for two seconds before stopping. The code can be altered to move longer or a different speed. Students are able to use the ISTE standard 5.3.b: Apply effective teaching strategies to support student collaboration around computing, including pair programming, working in varying team roles, equitable workload distribution and project management.

See Milo in action:

Milo Rover