Technical Education Post

News and Information for Technical Educators

Tool for Teaching Code

There’s a much broader group of students who presently don’t consider themselves suited to a technology field. We want to lead those students to discovering how technology can be applied to whatever it is they are interested in. That’s a very exciting thing about where we are today in the evolution of technology. Tiny, connected, low-cost computing devices are becoming ubiquitous – embedded in ever-broadening aspects of our lives. Music, sports,  arts, agriculture, transportation, energy, and just about everything else we do is being transformed by the IoT – “The Internet of Things”. Whatever your interest, the potential to creatively apply technology to it is here now – and it’s likely to transform some of the things you love. So why not be a part of that change?!

So how can we equip students for success in writing code? How about:

  • Powerful Tools – beginner-friendly coding and debugging.
  • Engaging Curriculum – hands-on, project-based, and standards-aligned.
  • Teacher Support – even for those with no coding or CS background.

CodeBot CB2 is the first ‘bot built to work effortlessly with CodeSpace. It connects instantly over USB, and you can start learning Python and writing code right away with nothing to install. There has never been an easier way to get started with robotics and real code.

The features you see above weren’t chosen at random! When we were designing CodeBot we started by outlining a set of projects we wanted to challenge students with. We wanted the robot to be inexpensive, so the mantra was “minimum feature set for maximum engagement.” But throughout the process our focus on building an awesome set of curriculum modules was at the forefront of each design decision. That led us to put extra care into many of the features. We wanted students to be able to work at multiple levels of abstraction based on particular learning objectives of each lesson. CodeBot’s capabilities had to be sophisticated enough to offer curriculum depth and accelerated projects for advanced students also. The 5-element Line Sensor array can be used in very simple ways for beginner lessons, but is capable of supporting very sophisticated algorithms too. Likewise, onboard sensors like the wheel encoders and accelerometer offer an open-ended range of educational opportunities.

So in contrast to the educational robotics platforms out there that seem to put the focus on creative mechanical contraptions, CodeBot is like a stock car where your code is the driver. Awesome performance is within reach if you can write the code to unlock it. A beginning driver can make it around the track, but as your coding knowledge increases you can really make it fly!

https://firialabs.com/

https://firialabs.com/blogs/lab-notes/why-another-robot-behind-the-scenes-with-codebot

 

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