When you start researching robotics for educational purposes, you encounter a lot of stuff. I'm making notes to help myself decipher what's most useful.
This document is evolving as I encounter more information.
Number 1 reason for robots (and maker activities in general) in classrooms is "Engagement".
Curriculum Supported
For robotics to be adopted significantly in classroom environments that don't have a robotics expert, they have to be supported by sound curriculum documents.
The following three systems have curriculum specific to their systems. All three also have competitive robotics leagues. Volume pricing doesn't really save you much money. I have not evaluated the curriculum for any of these systems yet.
All three of these systems use proprietary hardware.
- Lego Spike and Briq
- Lego has revamped their educational offerings so that the EV3 is no longer available. It has been replaced by primarily two product variations targeted at different age groups. The Spike product is the most similar to the EV3. It's targeted at higher grades (junior and up) and includes electronics and motors which allow it to be programed while the Briq has no electronics, so it's suited for mechanical exploration.
- Spike: https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/lego-education-spike-prime-set-45678 sells for $573 CDN (as of Feb, 2024).
- There are 29 lesson plans available for Spike.
- Tetrix https://www.pitsco.com/Shop/TETRIX-Robotics
- Curriculum docs: https://www.pitsco.com/TETRIX_Engineering_Mobile_Robotics_Teachers_Guide/&TXredir=1
- The have different product lines targeted at different age groups. Tetrix Prime for Junior High. Tetrix Max for High School
- $449 US / Max $595 US Many different price points and volume pricing
- Many of the components are steel.
- Programming environment appears to be pure Arduino.
- Tetrix sells kits that are just RC control without programming capabilities.
- Vex IQ https://www.vexrobotics.com/vexiq
- Starts at $430. Volume pricing.
- System is largely plastic and similar in approach to lego.
- Programmable in Robot C and VexCode which is a drag-and-drop language similar to scratch.
- Lego Mindstorms Educational EV3 Core Set (discontinued I think) https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-mindstorms-education-ev3-core-set/5003400
- $439 US. Volume pricing. They also have a consumer version which is a bit cheaper but doesn't tie to the curriculum documents.
- They have their own coding language. It is a completely drag-and-drop environment.
- Most of the components are platic, Lego Technic and are compatible with other Technic kit pieces.
Tetrix and Vex both have multiple product lines.
I believe both Tetrix and Vex are arduino based.
Others
MakeBlock
My first impressions review can be found here: https://mr.forler.ca/component/content/article/33-blog-hands-on-tech/157-makeblock-ultimate-2-0-system?Itemid=101 along with a time-lapse video of the first robot's assembly.
The MakeBlock Ultimate 2.0 system ($550-620 CDN) doesn't have complete curriculum and doesn't seem to have much market traction. It does have better pricing and is good value for the price. It is largely a metal system mostly made out of aluminum alloy.
For programming, it is Arduino based but has it's own scratch-based drag-and-drop language as well which produces Arduino code so you can edit either way. Apparently it is also possible to connect a Raspberry Pi to add more advanced control and programming capabilities.
Seem to be based in Asia where they may have more traction in the marketplace.
I purchased the MakeBlock Ultimate 2.0 system because I found a really good deal on it and building a robot gave us something to do as a family during the early days of COVID lock-down. The price has since gone up significantly (I think it's double what I paid). This kit is more complicated than systems like Lego Spike and as a result is more suited to secondary (or possibly junior high) students who will have more manual dexterity and more patience (hopefully).
I used the fully assembled robot in my grade 5/6 and grade 8 classes so that students only had to learn to program the robot and react to input from the distance sensor. All grades were capable of doing this but it would have been a much bigger challenge if they had to assemble the robot from scratch.
PiTop
Pi-Top makes a few products:
- Pi-Top 3 - a laptop that requires a Raspberry Pi 3 as it's internal engine
- Pi-Top 4 - a small form factor computer based on the Raspberry Pi 4 which is designed to be the hear of maker activities. It's designed to be physically compatible with Lego and Meccano. It has a small built-in screen for reporting data. It comes with a collection of sensors that have magentic mounts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm6LFquPMjk
This product may be possible to add on to a Mindstorm robot to add further control and more advanced programming using python.
BrickPi3
This product is designed to work with Lego Robotics EV3 and NXT systems. It provides a replacement for the Lego control brick so that you're using a Raspberry pi 3 instead. This opens up more programming capabilities with Python and supports using sensors and peripheral devices from other suppliers which are more economical than lego as well as the Lego sensors.
Open Source - Off the Shelf Hardware Solutions
MIT SEG - This is a small limited use proof of concept robot made of very economical materials
Harvard Kilobot - The Kilobot swarm is a thousand-robot (1024) swarm designed to allow one to program and experiment with collective behaviors in large-scale autonomous swarms.
RIce - R1 - A Robot System Design for Low-Cost Multi-Robot Manipulation
Thoughts on Curriculum
Robotics in the classroom only make sense if they address existing curriculum expectations rather than introducing new robotic or comuter programming specific expectations. These are just some general thoughts on cross curricular activities. I haven't dug into the specific curriculum expectations yet.
Language Arts
Reading - Students learn about the capabiliities of specific sensors and how to work with them through reading.
Writing - Reporting on their work and progress of their robot design, construction. Procedural writing (writing the code). Creating flowcharts of functionality.
Oral - Students can be expected to report on their progress and learning orally.
Media Literacy - Documenting what they do in various formats. Web site. Video. Podcast.
Science
Use of the scientific method in deciding what to do with the robot. Using sensors to collect data. Sensors can monitor temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, soil moisture, and soil PH. Depending on the grade, this may tie into the Understanding Life Systems strand.
Forces. Lever arms. Example, a servo may be able to exert a specific force. How long of a lever arm is necessary to move something of greater weight.
Mathematics
Ratios - working with gear ratios
Data management - data collected from sensors can be analyzed for patterns or trends, graphed, etc.
Angles: rotation of the robot, or arm.
Use Pythagorean theorem to calculate the length of a hypotenuse given the length of the other two sides. Next level is to calculate any missing side.
Related Research
Classroom Robotics and Acquisition of 21st Century Competencies: An Action Research Study of NineOntario School Boards http://ontariodirectors.ca/CODE-rob/Robotics_Final_Report_Sept_22_2017.pdf
Institute of Canadian Education Robotics https://www.linkedin.com/organization-guest/company/institute-of-canadian-education?challengeId=AQGbSqGduXa8hgAAAXG9yry70-1Tj5rQxKS8j8dMmkp0OJGm270WbTSW7RHLFEY0wUU8QhhObkRwkZrOvwV7QX7xnbsF8zigPw&submissionId=949182be-3ece-0916-b3be-fe7d14b80137
ICE Robotics offers OSSD credit courses through Icerobotics https://icerobotics.ca/
CanCode: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/121.nsf/eng/00003.html
*Teaching mathematical concepts using lego robotics: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/learning/tlc/report/63388/
There is no mention of robotics on the St Mary St. Cecilia Web site. https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/05/Robotics-St.-Mary-St.-Cecilia-report.pdf
Lesson based on Lego EV3https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/05/INTRODUCTION-TO-LEGO-ROBOTICS.docx
Basic Robotics Curriculum: An Introductory Unit for Junior High School Students
This is a PhD dissertation from 1987: https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=etd
2009: Robot Programming Integrated in a Junior High School Curriculum: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228680315_Robot_Programming_Integrated_in_a_Junior_High_School_Curriculum/link/573b1ea608ae9f741b2d7717/download
2019: Educational Robotics Is a Useful Tool in Education: ~~ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332401229_Educational_Robotics_Is_a_Useful_Tool_in_Education/link/5cb1dd0e4585156cd7948a85/download
NY Times article on industrial robots in schools: Taking the Future of Manufacturing Into High Schools https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/education/learning/high-school-manufacturing-robotics.html
Selecting the right robotics curriculum: https://www.robots.education/curriculum.html
Robots in K-12 Education: A New Technology for Learning https://books.google.ca/books?id=DDnH8uoEYlIC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=use+of+robotics+in+public+junior+high+school+education&source=bl&ots=uaxYvrLl5l&sig=ACfU3U3qRCaFqzH-AQ-BSQuN3YaJjc0MYw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiH7K7Po4vpAhWXmXIEHRgSCrI4ChDoATABegQIChAB#v=onepage&q=use%20of%20robotics%20in%20public%20junior%20high%20school%20education&f=false This is a 400 page document. Downloaded from UofO library.
Nurture interest-driven creators in programmable robotics education: an empirical investigation in primary school settings https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41039-019-0116-1
Robotics for Younger Kids (Dash and Dot)
Blue-Sky thought on addressing cost issues of introducing robotics in classrooms
Ontario is one of the largest education ministries in the world and it has a good international record of producing high quality graduates. The size of the ministry gives it substantial purchasing power but it also gives it substantial resources to address curriculum issues.
Ontario should produce its own robotics/maker program and curriculum spanning multiple grades.
Ontario should produce its own robotics kits to support it's program based on open source, economical solutions like micro:bit, Arduino, and Raspberry pi. Different devices could be employed for different age groups and some could be used in art or music related projects. Programmable LED devices like the NEO pixels provide creative opportunities.