Root - a robot that helps children learn programming
It would be very good if children could master the programming skills even before they finish elementary school. But how to simplify the process of understanding the programming of children, which requires a lot of effort?
Root is a robot that allows anyone unfamiliar with programming to understand the often unintuitive nature of programming languages. It was developed by the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, it is a magnetic robot that slides on any smooth metal surface, draws and erases lines, scans colors, makes musical sounds and delivers various color, light signals, and this robot is controlled by a specially designed application for learning the basics of programming.
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You can control Root with Square. Square is an application for iOS tablets with various levels of complexity, its task is to help people learn programming principles. The first level of complexity uses graphic fields in which you need to make an action (for example, turning left) in order to see its implementation by the robot. The second level is more complex, it contains various variables that you manipulate. The third level is the most difficult, here you have to work in full with the code, to make the robot turn left, you will have to write a complete algorithm for the action.
Zivthan Dubrovsky, the head of the robotics group at Harvard University, noticed that you can switch between different difficulty levels as many times as you wish.
Switching between different levels of difficulty, Square allows you to clearly see how lines of code force the robot to perform various tasks.
There are many ways to learn programming, from hello world coding to a smooth transition to creating an accurate model of the solar system. There are many similar applications, for example, GameSalad, but they do not allow you to see the script you wrote as much as Root allows. There are entry-level languages ​​that use simplified scripts, such as Karel, but they are not as easy for children to understand as they might seem.
Root and Square combine these ideas into a single system, allowing students to study various aspects of coding. At the first level, Root provides an opportunity to get into the basics of object-oriented programming, everything is very similar to Karel, which is often an introduction for those who want to learn how to program in JavaScript or Python. This type of programming is a good starting point for beginners, and the ability to move from drag-and-drop coding to text coding is also an excellent way to show children how the code works.
On the first level of difficulty, Root can do some simple but funny things. You can program the robot to spell your name.
How would you program a robot to write the letter “M” on the track? Children need to understand how to program the robot, when it should lower the handle, when it should lift, how many degrees it should turn and where it should be at what moment. This is all much easier to think about when there is visual visualization.
You can also make a track for a robot and use its light sensors to stay within two lines. When you program a robot at the second and third level, the only restriction for you is the hardware capabilities of the robot. You can even play your own version of Angry Birds, drawing a motion path on a plane and programming the robot at a certain speed and behavior on a particular section of the drawn line.
The team conducted experiments among students from various schools. There is an assumption that in the near future the invention will become an integral part of the educational program of primary schools.
At the moment, you can reserve your mini-robot Root for $ 199 and join the mailing list about new updates and development work on this project.
Root is a robot that allows anyone unfamiliar with programming to understand the often unintuitive nature of programming languages. It was developed by the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, it is a magnetic robot that slides on any smooth metal surface, draws and erases lines, scans colors, makes musical sounds and delivers various color, light signals, and this robot is controlled by a specially designed application for learning the basics of programming.
')
You can control Root with Square. Square is an application for iOS tablets with various levels of complexity, its task is to help people learn programming principles. The first level of complexity uses graphic fields in which you need to make an action (for example, turning left) in order to see its implementation by the robot. The second level is more complex, it contains various variables that you manipulate. The third level is the most difficult, here you have to work in full with the code, to make the robot turn left, you will have to write a complete algorithm for the action.
Zivthan Dubrovsky, the head of the robotics group at Harvard University, noticed that you can switch between different difficulty levels as many times as you wish.
Thus, the program you have done on the first level can be converted to the second level, and if you switch to the third level, you will see its code written in JavaScript.
Switching between different levels of difficulty, Square allows you to clearly see how lines of code force the robot to perform various tasks.
Thus, when someone code in JavaScript, a visual understanding of what cycles, sequences, functions, priorities, and variables will be “generated”.
There are many ways to learn programming, from hello world coding to a smooth transition to creating an accurate model of the solar system. There are many similar applications, for example, GameSalad, but they do not allow you to see the script you wrote as much as Root allows. There are entry-level languages ​​that use simplified scripts, such as Karel, but they are not as easy for children to understand as they might seem.
Root and Square combine these ideas into a single system, allowing students to study various aspects of coding. At the first level, Root provides an opportunity to get into the basics of object-oriented programming, everything is very similar to Karel, which is often an introduction for those who want to learn how to program in JavaScript or Python. This type of programming is a good starting point for beginners, and the ability to move from drag-and-drop coding to text coding is also an excellent way to show children how the code works.
On the first level of difficulty, Root can do some simple but funny things. You can program the robot to spell your name.
How would you program a robot to write the letter “M” on the track? Children need to understand how to program the robot, when it should lower the handle, when it should lift, how many degrees it should turn and where it should be at what moment. This is all much easier to think about when there is visual visualization.
You can also make a track for a robot and use its light sensors to stay within two lines. When you program a robot at the second and third level, the only restriction for you is the hardware capabilities of the robot. You can even play your own version of Angry Birds, drawing a motion path on a plane and programming the robot at a certain speed and behavior on a particular section of the drawn line.
The team conducted experiments among students from various schools. There is an assumption that in the near future the invention will become an integral part of the educational program of primary schools.
At the moment, you can reserve your mini-robot Root for $ 199 and join the mailing list about new updates and development work on this project.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/304514/
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