Made It to the Fall Break

 Wow! What a year! I'm not just talking about 2020, but I am also referring to last school year 2019-2020 and the current school year 2020-2021. Last school year was my first back in the classroom after an amazing experience with the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program. I highly recommend this program, so please feel free to reach out with any questions. Not only was I back in the classroom, but I had shifted from a specialist teaching engineering to all kindergarten through fifth grade students engineering once a week to a general classroom educator teaching third grade students. Some big shifts but ones I looked forward to. In fact, I was having such a wonderful experience with my group of students that it was fairly devastating when school shut down in mid-March. I had events and plans that I was looking forward to sharing with the students that never came to fruition. I did my best to make lemonade out of lemons and continued on.

The week before school started for the 2020-2021 school year, I was notified that I would have to change schools and grade levels. I shifted once again from teaching third grade to teaching a first and second grade Gifted and Talented group. We started all virtual, so that gave me plenty of time to settle in. Then we moved to a hybrid schedule where we were all virtual on Monday and half the students came on Tuesdays and Thursdays while the other half attended on Wednesdays and Fridays. On the days students weren't attending, they worked independently on their assigned work. I have been using Seesaw for classroom management and assignments. Before the Thanksgiving break, we received word that we would be teaching all virtual again after break and at least through January 15. This time we could teach from home and report in to school as needed. The opportunity to teach from home makes it easier to do activities such as make pancakes to work on fractions and more STEM related activities. I will try to submit activities from the all virtual at home time.

I can't believe we have made it almost half way through the year. Although it wasn't a year I hadn't exactly planned for, I have enjoyed getting to know my students and their families. I have also enjoyed getting to know staff members at the new school. Even though so much of this year has been out of my comfort zone, I feel satisfied with what I have been able to accomplish so far. I am learning and growing each day, and I think my students are too. I couldn't ask for more from a school year, let alone, a school year in 2020.

Holiday Purchase Recommendations

I have never publicly given recommendations for coding purchases for students. Nevertheless, I often have families ask around this time of the year, what would be a good purchase for their student. In our classroom, we use both drag and drop, Scratch, and text-based coding, Junior Botball. With that in mind, I recommend to my families a tool that could do both. Drag and drop is nice to have for younger students who may get easily frustrated with text-based coding, but the text-based coding allows students to grow in their coding skills. You would need to decide what the goals are with your purchase.

This is in no way a comprehensive list, but just some of the ones I am familiar with. There are options beyond robots. I have listed a variety here. 

Robots

Makebot mBot - (different robots, both drag and drop and text-based coding) https://www.makeblock.com/mbot/

mBot is a STEAM education robot for beginners, that makes teaching and learning robot programming simple and fun. With just a screwdriver, the step by step instructions, and a study schedule, children can build a robot from scratch and experience the joys of hands-on creation. As they go, they will learn about a variety of robotic machinery and electronic parts, get to grips with the fundamentals of block-based programming, and develop their logical thinking and design skills.

LEGO Boost - (I don't think this has text-based coding, but I could be wrong. As a LEGO product, he could add on with exist building pieces at home.) https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/boost-creative-toolbox-17101

Bring your LEGO® creations to life with the new LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox—a fun and easy way for your 7+ builder to learn the basics of coding, engineering and robotics. Simply choose one of the 5 models available with the BOOST set, download the free, easy-to-use app and you’re ready to go! Choose between Vernie the Robot—a moving, talking robot; the M.T.R.4 (Multi-Tooled Rover 4)—a robust, versatile rover with 4 different tool attachments including a spring-loaded shooter; the Guitar4000—a musical instrument with pitch bend and sound effects; Frankie the Cat—an interactive robot pet that plays, purrs and expresses its mood; or the AutoBuilder—an automated production line that really builds miniature LEGO models! Then bring your creation to life with the app’s intuitive, icon-based coding interface and complete an array of exciting activities designed for each model. With LEGO BOOST, children learn about loops and variables, improve STEM and creative-problem solving skills and develop their imagination as they toggle between guided and open-ended play. The more activities you complete, the more coding blocks you unlock! The LEGO BOOST app is available for selected iOS, Android and Kindle smart devices. Please go to LEGO.com/devicecheck for a list of all compatible devices. The app offers regular updates with new challenges and coding options designed to encourage social play.

UBTECH JIMU Robot - (I taught virtual summer camps with this company's robots. They just donated 20 to the school. I do not think there is a text-based coding option, but I am not sure. I taught beginners.) https://www.amazon.com/UBTECH-JIMU-Robot-Builderbots-App-Enabled/dp/B07GQ7FWNZ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=jimu+robot&qid=1602291314&sr=8-9&linkCode=sl1&tag=teachyourkidscode-20&linkId=ba0f0a276797295509164589a27125fe&language=en_US

JIMU robots are interactive codable bots that help kids learn hands-on engineering by programming JIMU using Blockly code. JIMU robots can be programmed to navigate obstacles, pick-up objects, and much more! Some of the pieces and parts of this kit are proprietary and enhanced - which allows these bots to move more smoothly and sense things other bots on this list may not be able to. For the advanced builder/coder, this might be a very nice feature! You will need access to an iOS or Android-based device for this kit. The app that can help you build the robot of your choice can also work as a block-based drag-and-drop coding platform. If you are looking for a robotic kit that combines creativity, functionality, and education, you have found it!

Edison Robot 2.0 - STEM Customizable & Programmable Robot for Kids (Different ways of programming, but when I used them last, it wasn't as user friendly. That was four years ago and a lot could have changed.) - https://www.amazon.com/Edison-Educational-Robot-Kit-Education/dp/B0747THB7M/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=Edison+2.0&qid=1606169690&sr=8-6

Edison is one of the most affordable robot toys of it’s kind. It’s commonly used in classrooms across the country to teach kids coding. From drag-and-drop block-based coding to text-based coding with Python, one of the biggest benefits of Edison is the diverse robot programming skills available. Edison can be programmed using any of the robot programming languages. One of the best things about Edison is that it can be programmed right out of the box it comes in. When you unwrap your bot, the cardboard packing is actually your first code! Edison can scan barcodes as well as be programmed online with a device. All of the Edison learning documents are free and available online. This is one of the big reasons schools are making Edison a priority - free resources that cover learning from simply scanning codes to Python. 

Non-robots

Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit (can use Python or drag and drop, lots of add ons) - https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-400/?resellerType=home&variant=raspberry-pi-400-us-kit

Microbit (I haven't used these, but they are on my to-try list.) - https://microbit.org/

MakeyMakey - https://makeymakey.com/

Kano PC - https://kano.me/us/store/products/kano-pc

We also use the Ozobots in the classroom. We only use them in a basic way, but there are other ways to code them with a device. https://shop.ozobot.com/collections/for-home/products/evo The main robot we have been using is the Botball robot. https://botball-swag.myshopify.com/products/jbc-kit-1yr-curriculum-challenge-access

I hope this helps. There are a lot of choices, it just depends on interests and the goals for the item. My first instinct if I was purchasing them for my child would be to get the mbot or the Raspberry Pi kit. I haven't used the mbot but like what I see. You would want to do some research on user reviews for your top choices.