I will present a list of tasks to the students, and they will have to create a table in their journals showing which tasks they feel are robotic tasks, human tasks, or achievable by both humans. I will also share various images of mechanical devices (robots) with the students and we’ll discuss what they feel defines the device as robotic.
Students will watch one of the provided videos to introduce the lesson. Students will then respond to a discussion question, “Can a computer be creative?” Once students have completed the question, we will discuss as a class, what tasks robots should or should not perform.
What is a robot? What makes a computer robotic: Students will be asked to draw what they consider a robot to look like. Students will then be shown various videos from the curriculum that shows what robots can do. Students will be asked to make a list of all the items in their homes and businesses they have been to that they consider to be “robotic”. Students will then share their lists with the class and discuss.
Day 1: What is a robot? What make a computer robotic?
I love the robotics Unit, but am not able to teach it this year. I believe that Lesson one is very essential to approaching the entire last unit. Even without completing the unit I have able to utilize this lesson with my students. We discussed robotic and human actions, what types of robots there are, and touched on many previous units. As an extension I worked with BoeBots with some students during a summer program that expanded on robotics. I think the best advice is to have fun and don’t be afraid to take a chance. It may be something new, but you can definitely learn with the kids.
Cindy Wilkins and I are going to share a lesson on Day 1 What is a Robot.
I will ask students this question… What is a robot? What makes a computer robotic? I will have students brainstorm in small groups and write down all of their ideas / thoughts. This can be changed along the way as they debate with each other. I will then ask the groups to share out all of the criteria they established for “robotic” and will create a master list to be debated as a whole class. We will modify this list until we come to as much of a consensus as possible. I will then give students a set of images with objects on them and ask the groups to put them into “robotic” or “not robotic” categories. I will then ask that they share as a class again and put a master set of images on the board based on these decisions as a class. I will then have them go back to their list of criteria and evaluate each individual picture to determine if the device / object meets all of them. As students do this process, there will be debate, critical thinking, changing of minds, etc to eventually determine what really makes something robotic. As another extension, I will ask student groups to create a simple, yet unique robot of their own using every day materials.
This sounds like a great way to introduce robots, similar to the what’s a computer. It sounds like some great discussions and a way to get students thinking beyond the traditional robots.
Students will be given links to show different types of robots, and what they can do. Students are given a link to look at robots that can be purchased now for the home, and decide if they could–would they purchase the robot or not.
Movie Review: We will view parts of the following movies: Flubber, I Robot, Artificial Intelligence, Robo-Cop, Lost In Space (robot), Jetsons (Alice) and Terminator. I want them to see Robots at it’s best and at it’s worst, in order to write a great blog post.
Class Blog - Students will blog- compare a “good robot” vs a “not so good robot”
Our class will use the handouts in order to identify what makes a machine a robot: Body, Control, Behavior.
Our class will identify what is not a robot, and explain why.
Students will work with Ozobots, and develop playgrounds. Once playgrouds have been created, we will start writing algorithm for deeper Computer Science lesson.
Good idea. Sending the students home to “look” for robots.
I will have students answer the following question in their journals: What is a robot?. Then students would work with their elbow partner to discuss their answers then share as a class. I will then have students work together to come up with a list of different robots we have access to. They can look these up online. Next I would like to get students thinking as to why we have robots and what they can be used for-now and in the future.
Sounds like a fun way to get the students looking at different types of robots. I love some of the old movies and having the students compare good vs not so good robot brings in ethics. Very clever.
I am going to have my students do some research into this question. I’m going to ask them to identify as many different types of robots that they encounter in their daily lives. How are robots used generally and how do they use robots. I want them to make their own working definition of a robot.
Thanks for sharing your idea to get students thinking about robots. I’m sure they’ll be surprised to find the different types of robots they encounter daily. It’d be fun to have a productive discussion to see if the class can agree on what they each think a robot is or isn’t based on a certain set of criteria.