Activty:My Robotic Friends

This activity teaches computational teaching in a fun way!

You can watch this quick video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaW3PAzHxCU

Goal of the Game

Students will use a limited set of symbols to write a "program" for their "robot friend" to interpret, with the goal being to stack cups in a specific pattern. Students can only use a limited set of symbols to instruct the robot.

Set-up

1. Split students into groups of 3 or 4 (3 is ideal, so if you have 12 students, split them into 4 groups).
2. Give each group the following:
   • 6 Cups
   • 1 Cup Patterns sheet
   • 1 Cup-Stacking Algorithm worksheet

Instructions

Review the Rules

1. Explain the rules of movement to the students. There will only be 6 "commands", written using symbols:
   • Pick Up Cup
   • Put Cup Down
   • Move Cup Left ½ cup-width (see diagram)
   • Move Cup Right ½ cup-width (see diagram)
   • Turn Cup Right 90 Degrees
   • Turn Cup Left 90 Degrees
2. Choose one student from each group to be the robot. The other students will be the programmers.
3. Send all robots to another part of the room (away from the programmers) where they can practice the movements.

Programming

Tell the programmer students to choose one of the cup-stacking patterns. Using the algorithm worksheet, have programmers work together to write the cup-stacking algorithm. Remember, you can only use the 6 symbols available! No numbers or letters allowed.

• Have students work together to through the problem:
  • How many cups will we need?
  • How many steps for the first cup? The second?
  • Are any cups upside down? How do you get the robot to flip a cup?
• Once these questions are answered, the programmers can use the symbols to write their code on the worksheet.
• The programmers should review their code to see if it makes sense for the stack before calling their robot.

Once the program is written, call your robot back to the group.

Running the Code

Place all 6 cups in a single stack on the table.

Now that the robot is back with the group, everyone should be silent. The groups should not attempt to use words or gestures to influence their robot’s behavior.

The robot should only operate according to what the arrows tell them to do. If the group finds a mistake, they are allowed to halt the program, send the robot away, and fix the error before bringing the robot back to complete the challenge.