Materials required
- Meeting Otto slides
- One Otto robot
- One computer with internet and Bluetooth connection
For this lesson, the teacher will use an already built Otto to show students its functions and its potential as a learning companion.
Optional materials
- Meeting Otto worksheets
Learning Objectives
- Identify the key components of a robot and explain their functions.
- Recognize robotic systems in everyday life and be able to reason about how they help.
- Know that robots use algorithms to perform tasks.
- Analyse and debug existing code to identify and fix errors, and explain how the code works.
- Identify the problem to be solved and develop a plan to address it using the Otto robot components.
- Use an iterative design process to improve the robot’s performance.
- Work effectively in a small group to design, build and/or code a robot.
- Communicate ideas and results clearly and professionally to peers and teachers.
Connect students with Otto
The teacher will introduce the class to the goal of the day: explore the capabilities of Otto.
On the second slide, there is a video featuring Otto capabilities that the teacher can use to engage students further. After watching the video, the teacher will demonstrate a built robot to the students, showcasing its physical components and explaining how they contribute to its functionality.
To reinforce the explanation about Otto capabilities and features, on slides three and four there are some keywords and Otto diagram respectively to have a better visualization of the robot.
To further engage students, the teacher can connect the robot to the remote control app, demonstrating how to operate and control the robot using the app’s interface to perform actions such as moving, turning lights on, playing sounds, and measuring distance.
If you need help connecting the robot to remote control, check this community post about how to use the remote control.
Activity: Remote Otto
To further engage students, the teacher can connect the robot to the remote control app, demonstrating how to operate and control the robot using the app’s interface to perform actions such as moving, turning lights on, playing sounds, and measuring distance.
If you need help connecting the robot to remote control, check this community post about how to use the remote control.
Activity: Exploration with Otto
After seeing how the robot can be controlled using remote control, it’s time to show students how they can code the robot to perform automated actions. For this activity, go to the word blocks app and briefly introduce students to the concept of using block commands to give instructions to Otto to perform actions. Show them the word blocks interface, its options, and quickly demonstrate how to upload a piece of code (it can be any code of your choice such as lighting up or playing a sequence of sounds).
The coding guide can serve as a reference for exploring the basics of Word Blocks.
Now that students understand the concept of coding Otto to perform automated actions, conduct the following activity:
- Define a “route” in the classroom for Otto to move around. It could be a path on the floor or on a table. It’s important that the route requires the robot not only to move forward, but also to turn in some directions and avoid obstacles. It must have clear start and end points.
- With the help of students, start to create a sequence of moving blocks that allow Otto to complete the route from the start point to the end point. It’s important that students participate in the activity by suggesting what the next step Otto should take to complete the route.
- Once the code is completed, it’s important that students can visualize how Otto attempts to complete the path automatically from start to end after running the whole code.
With this activity, students will start to relate not only to the concept of coding robots to perform tasks (such as moving around automatically after coding the route) but also to the concept of “trial and error” by testing different movements to complete the route in the best possible way. This is something they will do many times while learning with Otto.
Within Word Blocks, in the Example Projects section, you can find some interesting programs to demonstrate Otto’s capabilities to students. Here are some good examples:
Starter demo
This program starts by making a sound, turning on the head lights with multiple colors, lighting up the eyes in green, and then moving both motors. Finally, it switches to “distance detection mode,” where every time it detects something in front at less than 10 cm, it changes the lights to red and makes a surprise sound. When nothing is detected nearby, it keeps the lights green.
Avoid obstacles
With this program, you can demonstrate Otto’s ability to detect and avoid obstacles in front of it.
Is Otto able to avoid obstacles that suddenly appear very close within its field of view? Are there situations where this program fails?
These are some of the questions you can ask during the demonstration process of this program.
Follow black line
With this program, we can demonstrate the last Otto component we haven’t tested yet: the line sensors. This program can follow a dark line on a light surface, such as any of the maps included in the Otto kit. You can use any of them to demonstrate the program’s capability.
Some exploration questions: How long does it take Otto to complete a line map? Are there times when it fails to detect a line, and why does this happen?
Now that students understand the concept of coding Otto to perform automated actions, conduct the following activity:
- Define a “route” in the classroom for Otto to move around. It could be a path on the floor or on a table. It’s important that the route requires the robot not only to move forward, but also to turn in some directions and avoid obstacles. It must have clear start and end points.
- With the help of students, start to create a sequence of moving blocks that allow Otto to complete the route from the start point to the end point. It’s important that students participate in the activity by suggesting what the next step Otto should take to complete the route.
- Once the code is completed, it’s important that students can visualize how Otto attempts to complete the path automatically from start to end after running the whole code.
With this activity, students will start to relate not only to the concept of coding robots to perform tasks (such as moving around automatically after coding the route) but also to the concept of “trial and error” by testing different movements to complete the route in the best possible way. This is something they will do many times while learning with Otto.
Lesson Evaluation
- Students observed the physical components of Otto and understood their functions.
- Students understood the concept of using block commands to code Otto.
- Students participated in defining a route in the classroom for Otto.
- Students suggested steps for Otto to complete the route, demonstrating understanding of coding sequences.
- Students experienced the concept of „trial and error“ in coding as they tested different movements to optimize the route.
- Students can explain how they contributed to coding Otto to complete the route.
- Students can relate the activity to the concept of coding robots to perform tasks.
- Students demonstrated an understanding of iterative testing and improvements in coding.
