Control Technology in the National Curriculum
Teaching control technology starts in Early Years. Many Early Years settings will have lots of role play toys such as microwave ovens etc. that have buttons to start timers, noises etc. Old “real’ items, such as old mobile phones also offer opportunities for important play and talk. Adults should draw attention to the “cause and effect” of pressing buttons etc., and also discuss the control switches, dials etc. on real-life machines and gadgets.
The most frequently seen “formal” equipment is the BeeBot which has a simple set of control buttons to make it move forwards, backwards, turn to right or left and make a sound. There are lots of accessories to add, such as additional shell tops to transform your BeeBot into a variety of different characters/colours, and play mats that encourage the planning of routes.
Play with BeeBots (and other programmable toys) begins in an experiential way. Structured, adult-supported activities are needed to supplement free play in order to develop the important sequencing strategies for making complicated actions in one go. With the addition of some support materials for planning or recording moves, children’s development in understanding of this technology can be extended greatly. This can be as simple as providing a set of teacher-made cards which match the buttons on the toy and setting them out in a sequence to show the buttons to press to complete a specific action.
Many schools also have ROAMER. This is more suitable for use with children in Y2 up – if they are to develop sequencing and programming skills they need to go beyond the one-move-at-a-time stage. In addition, Roamer can have procedures saved to memory to be called up later. Work with Roamer can be greatly extended by integrating it with RoamerWorld software – so Roamer can be programmed on a computer and the instructions downloaded to the toy for it to carry out the commands in the “real world”. Having the software on the network allows all children to work at programming, then turns can be taken to download their instructions to the robot. http://valiant-technology.com/uk/pages/roamer_rworld.php
The latest Roamers, RoamerToo can have additional activity behaviours installed (many are free downloads from Valiant) and the battery technology is vastly improved (this was a management issue with the original Roamers.) Valiant claim the RoamerToo is suitable for Early Years as well as older children because of these additional behaviours.
The Valiant website has an excellent research library section giving explanations of the pedagogy behind control technology – from Seymour Papert, the inventor of the Logo programming language, to topics on SEN etc.
There are other robots available, including Pippin (replaces PIP) and Pixie from Swallow Technologies, but BeeBots and Roamer are most likely to be in schools.
The next step in developing control technology is based on using versions of Logo on the computer.
In most schools children receive an introduction to control with Roamer or Beebot at Key Stage 1. At the beginning of Key Stage 2, they will probably move on to controlling the turtle on the screen using a version of LOGO. They will extend this work throughout the Key Stage to include the writing of repeat commands, procedures and subroutines. Towards the end of Key Stage 2 it is expected that some children experience the idea of monitoring external events by conducting experiments using data logging equipment. Very few children gain or are given any real experience of controlling external devices such as bulbs, buzzers and motors
What is Logo ?
Logo is a programming language specifically designed as a ‘thinking tool’ Originally developed by Seymour Papert at MIT, a number of versions of Logo have subsequently been developed. Papert’s early work is broadly ‘constructivist’ – he writes in his book Mindstorms:
There is no one de facto Logo standard, but schools can download free versions. Commercial companies produce versions too, usually with a range of scenarios included.
Examples:
MicroWorlds
Terry the Turtle
Super Logo
2Go from 2Simple
BlackCat Logo
The most frequently seen “formal” equipment is the BeeBot which has a simple set of control buttons to make it move forwards, backwards, turn to right or left and make a sound. There are lots of accessories to add, such as additional shell tops to transform your BeeBot into a variety of different characters/colours, and play mats that encourage the planning of routes.
Play with BeeBots (and other programmable toys) begins in an experiential way. Structured, adult-supported activities are needed to supplement free play in order to develop the important sequencing strategies for making complicated actions in one go. With the addition of some support materials for planning or recording moves, children’s development in understanding of this technology can be extended greatly. This can be as simple as providing a set of teacher-made cards which match the buttons on the toy and setting them out in a sequence to show the buttons to press to complete a specific action.
Many schools also have ROAMER. This is more suitable for use with children in Y2 up – if they are to develop sequencing and programming skills they need to go beyond the one-move-at-a-time stage. In addition, Roamer can have procedures saved to memory to be called up later. Work with Roamer can be greatly extended by integrating it with RoamerWorld software – so Roamer can be programmed on a computer and the instructions downloaded to the toy for it to carry out the commands in the “real world”. Having the software on the network allows all children to work at programming, then turns can be taken to download their instructions to the robot. http://valiant-technology.com/uk/pages/roamer_rworld.php
The latest Roamers, RoamerToo can have additional activity behaviours installed (many are free downloads from Valiant) and the battery technology is vastly improved (this was a management issue with the original Roamers.) Valiant claim the RoamerToo is suitable for Early Years as well as older children because of these additional behaviours.
The Valiant website has an excellent research library section giving explanations of the pedagogy behind control technology – from Seymour Papert, the inventor of the Logo programming language, to topics on SEN etc.
There are other robots available, including Pippin (replaces PIP) and Pixie from Swallow Technologies, but BeeBots and Roamer are most likely to be in schools.
The next step in developing control technology is based on using versions of Logo on the computer.
In most schools children receive an introduction to control with Roamer or Beebot at Key Stage 1. At the beginning of Key Stage 2, they will probably move on to controlling the turtle on the screen using a version of LOGO. They will extend this work throughout the Key Stage to include the writing of repeat commands, procedures and subroutines. Towards the end of Key Stage 2 it is expected that some children experience the idea of monitoring external events by conducting experiments using data logging equipment. Very few children gain or are given any real experience of controlling external devices such as bulbs, buzzers and motors
What is Logo ?
Logo is a programming language specifically designed as a ‘thinking tool’ Originally developed by Seymour Papert at MIT, a number of versions of Logo have subsequently been developed. Papert’s early work is broadly ‘constructivist’ – he writes in his book Mindstorms:
There is no one de facto Logo standard, but schools can download free versions. Commercial companies produce versions too, usually with a range of scenarios included.
Examples:
MicroWorlds
Terry the Turtle
Super Logo
2Go from 2Simple
BlackCat Logo
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