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Without it, humans would not have inhabited every corner of this planet. Risk-taking, leaping, trying again, and failing are part of our genetic material. Go #BeyondCode and enrich your learning experience with engaging STEAM activities that foster creativity and collaboration. But what if we allow students to fail in a safe space and make learning a personal endeavor? Oftentimes we can see failure, particularly in exams, as negative - one of the worst things we can allow students to experience. STEM skills grant students the 21st-century abilities needed to perform a wide range of both essential and highly-skilled jobs. STEM teaching is the hands-on exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts, and it’s becoming an increasingly important part of modern-day education. Critical thinkers can solve problems by keeping a clear mind and rational thoughts that will help you analyze a situation and make a sound decision. That’s the basic process of critical thinking. Using information available, combined with skills acquired, can help make good decisions. Adam is a Google Certified Educator and Edcamp organizer who loves incorporating technology into his classes.Sphero makes remarkably cool, programmable robots and STEAM-based educational tools that transform the way kids learn, create and invent through coding, science, music, and the arts.

(The challenges students to use the calculated speeds in combination with measured distances).Ībout the Author – Adam Stahl Adam Stahl is a grade 8 Science teacher at Lynnfield Middle School in MA. Features include: All new block programming experience. By coding the lights, sounds, and movements of indi, you can create unique mazes, play games, write simple songs, and ultimately learn the basic logic of programming. Program Sphero to knock over plastic cups arranged in a triangle. With Sphero Edu Jr you can connect to your indi and customize its behavior with simple yet powerful programming blocks.

“Multi-Directional Bowling” (adapted from Sphero’s SPRK community).

(This challenges students to compensate for Sphero’s inertia and momentum) Program Sphero to move away from the starting position for at least 3 seconds and return to the exact same point. Students create programs for Sphero to match pre-made Distance vs Time and Speed vs Time graphs.Īfter students completed their data collection, they were provided extra challenges: Lesson resources linked below:Īctivity #3 – Graphing Motion with Sphero Students program Sphero move through time trials and translate Sphero’s internal speed settings into meters/second. Sphero was then paired with their tablet and they practiced controlling their robots with basic block coding by programming a square with ‘crisp’ corners. To get students started using Sphero, they were tasked with setting up Sphero Edu accounts (formerly Lightning Lab). The classroom was filled with enthusiasm and anticipation as they worked in small groups to complete each activity. By changing to an ‘animate’ object like Sphero, students were fully engaged and excited about their learning. They record data of distance and time in order to calculate the speed of the objects. Students roll them across the floor or down ramps.

In the past, I have taught motion with inanimate objects tennis balls, steel and plastic marbles, and demo-carts. Teaching 8th grade science students about motion using Sphero SPRK+ robots added excitement, not to mention a serious infusion of coding to an otherwise ordinary physics lesson.

Re-Imagining Physics Labs with Sphero Robots Guest Blogger: Special thanks to Adam Stahl for the following guest post in which he shares his experience incorporating Sphero robots into his middle school physics unit.