Ozobots: Your Next Center Addition

I originally published this post on FTEdTech

If you haven't tried out the ozobots yet with your class, then now is the time!

Ozobots are tiny little robots that work with markers.  Students draw thick lines on paper with black, red, green or blue markers.  They can create different color combinations to program the robot to perform a variety of moves from changes in speed to changes in color and more advanced turns and moves.

The simplicity of these robots make them a perfect addition for a center.  With little set up, and very little training students can be engaging in activities that meet the standards, help them practice skills and are fun!  This could be a great way to change things up as we head into the end of the year.

Right before Spring Break, I got the chance to work with Mrs. Perkins and her first graders at JES to test out some activities.

For the activity we used an Engage - Explore - Explain cycle. 

Cycle 1 

Engage
To begin the activity, students came to the carpet and sat in a circle. I showed the students the robot, and demonstrated how to turn it on and how to make it go by drawing a line.  I asked them to observe what happened to the robot if I changed the color of the marker. We also placed an image of the Ozobot code chart on the Smartboard so students could see different ways they could program the robot. We also talked about strategies for using good team work, since they had to work with a partner.


Explore
We used the 5 minute timer on ClassroomScreen to set a timer for students to explore with a partner. Students were encouraged to think about good team work skills and practice drawing different kinds of lines to see what worked best. They were curious to see how to make the Ozobot turn, if they could follow a squiggly line, and what happened if there was no line.  

Explain
When the 5 minutes were up, students had time to share out about what they had learned about using the ozobot. They also shared team work strategies that included things like taking turns for a certain amount of time, diving their paper into two and creating their own drawings then taking turns with using the robot.

Once students had some time to try anything we were ready to get into the next learning cycle.

Cycle 2

Engage
For the next phase of learning we used a Flippity spinner that had a number of different activities, aligned to things that the first graders were currently working on or aligned to skills that might help them use the Ozobot.

For the spinner we had

• Color - for this activity students would be challenged to make the Ozobot change colors using different codes
• Tornado - students would need to code the Ozobot to move in a tornado pattern
• Tell a Story (RL & RI 1.1, or W.1.3) students would need to work together to create a story or an informational piece that showed a beginning, middle and end.  They would draw images, and write words and then draw a line to lead the ozobot through the telling of the story.
• Math - for this activity, student partners wrote 3 math problems on one side of the page and mixed up the answers on the opposite side of the page.  They traded pages with another group and new partners solved the problems by drawing a line for Ozobot to match the problem to the answer.
• Spelling - students would choose a spelling word and practice writing it so Ozobot could follow the letters
• Symmetry - Students created a drawing that demonstrated symmetry
• Speed - Students were to use the color code chart to create speed changes with the Ozobots. 

We had enough time to spin the wheel three times with between 5-10 minutes between each spin. For this round, students were able to practice with Symmetry, Telling a Story and Math. After each activity, we paused so students could share their work and what they discovered during the activity.  

Explain

Students just recently learned about symmetry and had mixed ability to transfer their learning to their drawings. Some pairs came up with ideas right away. In talking through their drawings, they demonstrated quality reflection and were even able to discuss as a whole group which heart in the drawing to the left showed more symmetry.

This activity allowed for some evaluation of student learning and provided a fun way to reinforce the concept.  After practice and discussion, many more students were exploring the idea of symmetry.

The students also struggled some with the idea of creating a story in the beginning. As a group we discussed that they could show the different things that happened in their school day. After some discussion and modeling, I think the students would be able to repeat the activity in a more independent way. This would be good for having them retell the beginning, middle and end of a story using drawings and verbal retelling.

We ran out of time to fully complete the math activity. This might be more realistic to practice with teacher created templates, but I did like to see the creative thinking that went into developing the problems. 

Evaluation

You can evaluate a student's work in centers in a number of different ways. I used IPEVO Whiteboard app and the Apple TV to mirror the students' work on the smartboard and record it in one motion (video above). Students could use the IPEVO app to do the same thing, or they could take a video of their retelling and share it on a Flipgrid, through Seesaw or on Schoology.
 
As a wrap up I asked the kids which activity they liked best. It may go without saying, but many of them preferred the free time to explore. The rest of the activities were a bit of a tossup with the symmetry activity possibly edging the others out some.

If you want some more ideas for using Ozobots in your class, check out the Ozoblog.

You might also want to check out "5 Ideas for Implementing Ozobots" from Talkin Pinata Teaching. 

Want to add some engineering or creative fun to the mix? Encourage students to design an attachment for the ozobot to drag along with it or to create a costume for the ozobot that they could then write about. 

Need help?  Let me know!