CHES Robotics Lesson Follow-up Report 1

CHESのアフター・（卒園生限定）クラスで始まったRobotics Lessonの続報です。

しばらくの間は、ブロックを組み立てながらモーターや各部位がどのように「動くのか」を確認してきましたが、いよいよprogrammingの授業が始まりました。programmingを学ぶことで、自分たちのイメージ通りの動きをブロックに伝えることができるようになるはずなのですが…

さてさて、試行錯誤の始まり、はじまりぃ～♪

Programming Lesson 1: Scratch Basics!

The robot is the body, and the computer is the brain! With programming, we would be able to tell the machine to do something, just like talking to a person! However, we need to speak the language that the computer knows. In this case, we would use a language called “Scratch”. Scratch is simple to use and popular for many Japanese schools, too.

Programming Lesson 2: Making a Connection

Now that we had the basics of the Scratch programming language down, today was our opportunity to try coding for ourselves.

After learning how to use the iPad, we took out our robots that we made last week. We looked at the serial number on the Bluetooth chip, and were able to connect our iPads to our own robots. Now we could control them! We used the built-in commands in the correct order. For example, we would tell the robot to move forward with 100% power for 5 seconds. Then, stop!

With those four commands, we could remotely move our robot. Then, we played around with the code, changing the direction, power, and time. In no time at all, we were experts at it.

However, we could only make the robot go backwards and forwards. How could we make it turn? We thought about that, and decided that we needed two motors.

Next week, we will adjust the robot and try controlling two motors at once. Look forward to that!

Programming Lesson 3: On The Rails 🚃

We had a new task this week before we could try making our cars turn. We changed our cars into trains, and had a challenge to make the train stop and pick up passengers before returning home.

There was no exact guide, so each group found different ways to make the train work. We had to consider how long the train would drive between stops, what speed it would go at, how long it would wait, and more. Then, we had to actually program it!

When all the groups were finished, we moved on to the next lesson: moving left and right. We looked at the robot, and quickly built it. It is quite simple, but this time, it has two motors.

Next week, we will try to code it to turn.

Programming Lesson 4: Left and Right

This week, we were finally able to start building our own complex code. We had already built the robot with two motors, so now it was time to try learning how to make it move.

The lesson was a combination of understanding how cars move, and also understanding how to tell the computer. Programming is just telling a robot to do something!

We began by testing the robot and seeing what we could make it do. We had three variables we could change: power, direction, and time.

1. If we increased the power, the wheels would turn faster.
2. If we changed the direction, the car would move backwards.
3. If we increased the time, the car would drive for longer.

Now, we had two separate motors, and each variable worked independently. Now we could make one wheel move clockwise with 100 power, and one wheel move backwards at 50 power. What would that make the robot do? We needed to practice!

After learning how to make the robot spin in place and turn left and right, we were given an exercise. We needed to maneuver the robot around the table, stopping on the different flags and avoiding the blocks. It required a lot of thought! We had about 45 minutes of free time to code.

We were able to get the cars moving little by little! The code was easy at first, but with so many different movements, it became complicated. The best way to program is to have a plan, and then work on the plan piece by piece. That way, you won’t get confused.

We will continue to work on understanding how to make complex code over the next couple weeks. Let’s do our best!

International Preschool CHES
English Teacher Berridge Sean

【関連記事】

👉The First Step into Robotics! 🤖

👉Making Moves at the end of January 🚗🚗

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