Human robots

Description

This activity provides a combination of physical and on-screen experiences for learners. This goal-based activity requires learners to plan, execute and debug (if needed) a sequence to move a robot towards a specific destination. This activity requires collaboration and communication between learners.

Steps

• Ask learner 1 to go to a specific spot in the environment, such as a far corner in the room.
• Ask learner 1 to act as a robot and only follow the Weavly program as it’s being spoken.
• Select a specific destination in the same environment.
• Open the Weavly coding environment.
• Moderator works with learner 2 to build a sequence of action blocks in the Weavly coding environment to bring learner 1 to the selected destination.
• Select the “Play” button to see whether learner 1 gets to the final destination or not.

Tips

• Start with straight paths before introducing turns.
• Reward both learners if they successfully complete the mission.
• Moderator can pause the program and help learner 2 to debug and replace action blocks that moves learner 1 away from the destination.
• In addition to the audio labels spoken by the program, the moderator can speak each action block as they are executed to reinforce the learning about directions.

Skill Development

• Directional
• Spatial
• Sequencing
• Debugging
• Social skills (i.e. turn-taking)

Level Up!

• The moderator and learners can switch roles. This time, learners get to control the moderator and bring them back to the desired destination.
• You can use some of the available objects in the environment, such as furniture as roadblocks so your learners can build more complex programs.
• If the “robot” is blindfolded, learners can notice the importance of clear and precise directions.