New App Teaches Coding With Robots

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 08/03/15

Blockly

How can teachers push students to learn programming in the classroom through such endeavors as December's upcoming Hour of Code if they don’t know how to code themselves?

This question led to the creation of a new app that teaches students the basics of coding without much input from the teacher. Blockly, originally developed by Google, has been updated by Wonder Workshop to allow students to control robots through a simple drag-and-drop interface. Blockly for Dash & Dot Robots enables kids as young as five to instruct the robots to sound an alarm, work through a maze of objects and control one another. There are versions for iOS and Android.

Similar to MIT's Scratch, the open source Blockly uses visual programming blocks that students can put together like pieces of a puzzle to create a program.

This fall, the company will begin selling digital curriculum aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards for second through fifth grades. A handful of teachers who have worked with the robots have also begun uploading lessons to the freely available Wonder Workshop community.

"Our goal is to alleviate the pressure and anxiety teachers often experience when it comes to coding instruction," said CEO Vikas Gupta in a prepared statement. "Teachers don't have to do it alone. Coupling Blockly with our vetted curriculum allows educators to address this 21st-century skill without needing to research unfamiliar concepts, develop lessons, assemble products and page through manuals."

The company's products have been tried out in numerous schools, including John Muir Elementary (CA), Bloomfield Hills Schools (MI) and Anna H. Rockwell Elementary School (CT).

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • mathematical formulas

    McGraw Hill Launches AI-Powered ALEKS for Calculus

    McGraw Hill has added ALEKS for Calculus to its lineup of ALEKS digital learning products, bringing AI-powered personalized learning support to the calculus classroom.

  • laptop displaying a phishing email icon inside a browser window on the screen

    ED Grant Portal Target of Phishing Campaign

    Threat researchers at BforeAI have identified a phishing campaign spoofing the U.S. Department of Education's G5 grant management portal.

  • red brick school building with a large yellow "AI" sign above its main entrance

    New National Academy for AI Instruction to Provide Free AI Training for Educators

    In an effort to "transform how artificial intelligence is taught and integrated into classrooms across the United States," the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), in partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, and the United Federation of Teachers, is launching the National Academy for AI Instruction, a $23 million initiative that will provide access to free AI training and curriculum for all AFT members, beginning with K-12 educators.

  • young educators collaborate with AI tools on laptops and tablets

    Survey: Younger Educators More Likely to Embrace AI Tools

    While educators across the United States agree that AI has enhanced classroom engagement, enthusiasm for AI's benefits is strongest among young teachers, according to a recent survey from learning technology company D2L.