Coding and Robotics

Meet Sammy. This cute little peanut butter and jelly sandwich is actuallya robot that teaches coding principles and skills to children in grades K-2. You don’t need a tablet, smartphone, or computer to program this robot;programs are created by simply laying down a sequence of physical code cards. As the robot drives over the code cards, an OID optical scanner on the bottomof the robot reads the code cards one by one and loads the program. Next,place the robot on a grid made of map cards, and the robot runs the program. You can program the robot to move in different directions, activate its outputgear, light up its LED, play sounds, and respond to different function cards. The integrated output gear makes it possible to build simple robotic creationswith arms or other moving parts that respond according to the program’sinstructions. This robot kit also teaches physical engineering and problemsolving skills through a series of building and coding lessons. The 30 lessonsare aligned with standards for computer science education developed by theComputer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the International Society forTechnology (ISTE) Education, as well as courses from Code. org. The lessonsprogress in complexity through the illustrated manual, allowing the kit to beappropriate for a child as young as four years with help from an adult and asold as eight years. The lessons cover these six key areas in coding:sequencing, loops, events, conditionals, functions, and variables. In additionto Sammy, there are five other stories, each with a series of model-buildingand coding challenges and lessons related to it: a mouse moves through a mazeto find cheese; a penguin wanders around a zoo; a soccer player moves a ballinto the goal; a fire truck puts out a fire; and a factory robot performstasks in a factory scene. A full-colour illustrated manual guides usersthrough the coding lessons and the assembly of the different models.