Classroom arrangement
If you are thinking about teaching robotics to children with Lego WeDo system, this post can be helpful. As you can imagine, there are a few things to consider before setting up a Lego WeDo 2.0 workshop. The following article will share my personal experience and the decisions I made having in mind the possibilities that I had.
The first thing you should decide is whether Lego WeDo is for you or not. This topic has been already discussed in this post. I guess your answer is yes, so let's continue.
You must get familiar with the tool you are going to use. I bought my first set to be sure I was going to feel satisfied with it in my classes. You can click on the picture to see the kit on amazon store.
Once I had decided this was definitively what I wanted to work with, I started thinking about the number of children I could manage, having in mind that they would be 7 and up. It is recommended to have a Lego set for 2 students, although some workshops work with 3 students per set. In my opinion, 3 students using the same set are too many, therefore 2 kids per set would be my choice. In order to supervise them correctly, I decided to limit the number of children in each group to 8, so I bought 4 kits in total.
The decision about which device we would use to program the models will be discussed in a separated post.
When I started my workshop with Lego WeDo 2.0 I needed a suitable space to make pupils and teacher comfortable. I found it at Pequeños Alquimistas, the place where my friend Almudena organises scientific workshops, courses, and events for children and kids.
The elements I have in this space, which I consider essential, are two:
- A big surface to work on. All students fit around the table and have enough space to build the models and work with the tablets.
- An empty space to test the models on the floor. We have plenty of room to organise races, place obstacles, make the robots fight... or any other ideas that could come up. And we do not have to worry about robots falling from heights.
As I mentioned, the children work in pairs. Each couple is named after a colour that matches the cover of their tablet and a little sticker placed on the smarthub. The smarthubs were also renamed, so when they connect the hub to the tablet they can easily identify the hub they are working with. To rename the smarthubs, follow the steps described here.
Lastly, I had to decide the duration of the sessions. The longer they are, the more you can do, however, some young children get distracted when the activity lasts more than one hour. My sessions last 75 minutes, plus additional time to show their parents what they have done.
These are the most important things that come to my mind when I think of my first steps on this adventure. I hope you find this post informative. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further details.
The first thing you should decide is whether Lego WeDo is for you or not. This topic has been already discussed in this post. I guess your answer is yes, so let's continue.
You must get familiar with the tool you are going to use. I bought my first set to be sure I was going to feel satisfied with it in my classes. You can click on the picture to see the kit on amazon store.
The decision about which device we would use to program the models will be discussed in a separated post.
When I started my workshop with Lego WeDo 2.0 I needed a suitable space to make pupils and teacher comfortable. I found it at Pequeños Alquimistas, the place where my friend Almudena organises scientific workshops, courses, and events for children and kids.
The elements I have in this space, which I consider essential, are two:
- A big surface to work on. All students fit around the table and have enough space to build the models and work with the tablets.
- An empty space to test the models on the floor. We have plenty of room to organise races, place obstacles, make the robots fight... or any other ideas that could come up. And we do not have to worry about robots falling from heights.
As I mentioned, the children work in pairs. Each couple is named after a colour that matches the cover of their tablet and a little sticker placed on the smarthub. The smarthubs were also renamed, so when they connect the hub to the tablet they can easily identify the hub they are working with. To rename the smarthubs, follow the steps described here.
Lastly, I had to decide the duration of the sessions. The longer they are, the more you can do, however, some young children get distracted when the activity lasts more than one hour. My sessions last 75 minutes, plus additional time to show their parents what they have done.
These are the most important things that come to my mind when I think of my first steps on this adventure. I hope you find this post informative. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further details.
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