Ozobots Bring Together Coding, Storytelling, and Art

Students start this exploratory unit by learning about what an Ozobot can do. The robots are shaped like a half-dome with blinking lights and tiny moving wheels on their undersides. They “read” code with sensors and follow lines and move in certain ways depending on the colors they perceive on the surface on which they travel. For example: 

Once students understood these concepts students were tasked with creating a character, setting, problem, and solution for their Ozobot story. They designed costumes to bring their Ozobot character to life. As they learned more about coding with their bots, they thought about which codes made sense with their story. For instance, a unicorn stuck in a windstorm can be brought to life with the “tornado code.” An animal fleeing from a predator might use “turbo boost.”

“The project took several weeks,” Keely explained, “but it’s finally coming together. It’s neat to see how they have learned so much along the way. They’re learning to solve their own problems and troubleshoot.” 

When a student had a robot that wasn’t behaving the way it should, friends quickly came to help. Their conversations sounded like this: 

In the fall students worked with Robot Mice as an intro to coding and team building. That formed a good foundation for the Ozobot project. What will students do next? 

“Our next project isn’t so much coding as robotics,” Keely said. “We will learn about LittleBits circuits. We have circuits that can make light, motors, wheels, buzzers, and speakers. The students will tinker with creating simple robots by using sensors - light, temperature, sound, and simple switches to activate their robot.”