Everyone.... I very much like the approach Mark is describing of developing the collection of exciting robot behaviors with small programs, that students can understand and then extend. The content/curriculum follows from the well-constructed set of examples. Yes.
I also agree with Deepak re: appearance of the robots. Yes, they should be customizable and fun! Lights and bells and whistles, please! Music and dance on robots is a great way to get into the more imperative stuff! (Better than the traverse-a-square activity.)
Taking a cue from toys my 5-year-old plays with ... the robot should come with a kit of stickers and pipe cleaners and fuzzy balls! (Check out the new PicoCricket kit... http://www.picocricket.com/).
For older kids, think cell phones. A lot of people decorate theirs for fun. Students should really be encouraged to make the robot their own.
Projects and personalization!
Everyone.... I very much like the approach Mark is describing of developing the collection of exciting robot behaviors with small programs, that students can understand and then extend. The content/curriculum follows from the well-constructed set of examples. Yes.
I also agree with Deepak re: appearance of the robots. Yes, they should be customizable and fun! Lights and bells and whistles, please! Music and dance on robots is a great way to get into the more imperative stuff! (Better than the traverse-a-square activity.)
Taking a cue from toys my 5-year-old plays with ... the robot should come with a kit of stickers and pipe cleaners and fuzzy balls! (Check out the new PicoCricket kit... http://www.picocricket.com/).
For older kids, think cell phones. A lot of people decorate theirs for fun. Students should really be encouraged to make the robot their own.