How many kids are in a group

22

How was the Matatalab robot(s) used?

During the first month of the year Tale-Bot Pro was use to introduce the accesibility topic to primary 1 students. They worked in small groups with different maps. For the activities, students needed to complete the maps facing three challenges: doing it without talking, without using their fingers on the robot and with their eyes closed. After each activity they reflected on how they overcome the challenges, in terms of difficulty and likeability.

The main map for the lesson was “my five senses” but, for the final activity they used the blank one, city and zoo map to code their own sequences. They practiced English vocabulary while completing the activities and review coding directions, such as moving and turning. The final reflection focus on how they felt during the activities and how they though we can help other people with special needs.
In Canarias, since there were more students in the class, they assigned roles to each pair inside the groups: speaker and listener. The speaker
told the instructions to the listener, who pressed the instructions on the robot.

What skills did it develop?

• Logical thinking.
• Observational skills.
• Creative thinking. – Social skills.

What worked best and what was challenging?

Students liked the mini-challenges organization of the lessons because it kept them engaged with the activities. They loved drawing on the blank maps and created their own designs with their classmates. Being able to change groups on each lesson also helped them to collaborate
and play with other friends. For the teacher it was challenging sometimes to know how every group was following the directions and if the students were working properly. But they usually helped each other and try to be open-minded to everyone’s opinions. During the first couple of lessons the students struggle to find the On/Off button of the robot and we placed a sticker on it to help them. Some of them suggested to paint it on different colors with markers.

How did students respond?

The first weeks they were really excited about using the TaleBot and they wanted to explore all the maps. In some groups it was hard to keep the students focus. Some students add a next level of difficulty while completing the mini-challenges, playing without seeing and without touching the robot at the same time. On the reflection part, some students expressed feeling ashamed while playing without using their hands. They liked playing without using their eyes because they had the chance to collaborate more, and it was fun to discover later if they
completed the path properly. All groups agreed that playing without sight and no helper was the most difficult experience.

Share your comments upon the class using Matatalab

Working with TaleBot in small groups was the right decision, because on groups with more than 4 students, not everyone could get the chance to practice sequencing movements. The charger availability was something to take into consideration every week since we needed to use all at the same time on each lesson. Students learned quickly how TaleBot worked and explaining concepts such as sequence, code and debugging was easy thanks to the colored buttons and the leds.