Sphero Edu
Cool robots and creative play make programming irresistible
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Sphero Edu
Pros: Block- and text-based code and an engaging community make programming accessible to all.
Cons: The learning curve may frustrate some kids, and teachers will have to be creative to fit this tool into their curricula.
Bottom Line: Hub for Sphero robots draws crafty kids who love making into coding, and it empowers them to be collaborators.
Teachers, media specialists, and makers can best use Sphero Edu to help kids embrace STEAM philosophies. When they work together and build on each other's programs, students experience the collaborative nature of careers in science and technology. Kids learn that engineering is a creative process when they thoughtfully make a program for their robot and persist when that program fails.
Teachers can sign up for an instructor account and assign activities for students. Start with the provided introductory modules to help students learn how the robot works. After they see the potential of the Sphero robot, let them loose to plan their own projects. Kids will be clamoring for paint, water, glue, and cardboard to build environments for their robot to navigate. Whether your budding programmers are working in a school library or a classroom, be prepared for some highly productive noise and mess.
Sphero Edu (formerly SPRK Lightning Lab) is an app that lets kids program their Sphero robots from a tablet or phone. Beginning coders use block-based programming to direct and control their robot. A text-based code viewer is also available so kids can see how their block code translates into actual code. This gives experienced programmers more flexibility and is a scaffold to help students scale up their coding skills.
Sphero is a water-resistant robot shaped like a ball. It can be programmed to roll around, jump, and change color as kids "drive" it through environments they create. Preset activities are provided through the app, like creating a moving solar system model with multiple robots. Sphero Edu also provides a digital community where kids both create and collaborate.
Sphero Edu inspires future coders by pairing creative play with programming. Sphero is inviting to a large audience of kids with its playful ball shape and large variety of applications. Students who aren't normally into science or math can get hooked by programming Sphero to paint a beautiful picture or have a dance party. Sphero Edu instigates friendly competition as kids challenge each other to build mazes or obstacle courses for the robot to navigate.
The sharing hub provides authentic ways for students to experience a collaborative design process. As they share programs, they will get ideas from others, then modify them to make them their own. There's definitely a learning curve to using this device; kids may get frustrated if their program doesn't work right away because the ball is slipping on certain types of surfaces. Orbotix sells Nubby covers that provide extra protection and give the smooth robots traction. Even with the Nubby covers, the Sphero robot does not move that well on grass.
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Robots in ELA!
This project is a great way for students to dialogue with an archaic text. It's another way to modernize Shakespeare and make it relevant for the students. Students also get the opportunity to "own" Shakespeare's text by directing the robots and performing a Shakespearean production. This option is helpful for students who are shy about speaking and performing in front of audiences. I think that Sphero has great potential as a storytelling tool in various capacities. It offers students an opportunity to "author" or "write" or "perform" stories in a new and inventive way. If your students aren't very familiar with block coding it takes extra work and preparation to be able to use Sphero in the classroom initially, however, once they are familiar with the fundamentals, they can experiment with the coding and movement and be creative.
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