Original post by Dan Edwards on June 21, 2018
Hello Everyone. For Assignment #1, I have investigated how coding activities have great potential for mobile technologies. I have looked at coding and the mobile app Sphero EDU. For this activity, I decided to take a different approach to making my presentation. Throughout my MET journey, I have created many videos and wanted to try something new for my last course. For A1, I have completed my presentation using Book Creator, an online ebook.
You can access it from the following link: https://read.bookcreator.com/3imqLrtnXqQ7T9n9ihbqP2FzUej2/T5YCQJTiQCqBk6WQhsXJ9A
Feel free to access it on your laptop or mobile device. For best quality viewing, please change the settings to view on one page and using full screen.
Overall, I enjoyed exploring this topic. I have found that coding activities can be a great way to engage all of my students in the classroom. Our school just purchased the Sphero SPRK+ and Sphero Mini balls this year and it has been amazing seeing how engaged students are in exploring programming activities. In fact, even those students who do not typically gravitate towards technology devices have enjoyed engaging in learning activities. Students have participated in designing mazes for their robots and are currently building battle bots to challenge their peers. I think that mobile apps like Sphero EDU (and the accompanying robotics) can be a great way to develop inquiry, critical thinking, problem-solving and collaborative skills.
I look forward to hearing your feedback!
Thanks!
I chose to include Dan’s post on Spheros for several reasons. First, I used them in my class right before Spring Break and it was instantaneous engagement from students. Their eyes lite up as soon as they saw them come out. I liked how the Spheros app was differentiated and the students were able to learn coding or explore the app for different features such as drawing a route for the Sphero to travel. The possibilities are endless as you can create video content, add music, change the light, and more. Spheros help cover the curriculum of coding and really bring it to life compared to the other coding sites out there. The only downfall is that Spheros are an investment for schools and I haven’t found them to be that durable. Some of ours already don’t move the same direction each time they are coded. But they were definitely a fun and alternative way to introduce coding.