Sphero: OrbBasic Lesson 2

Here is my last post regarding the educational lesson plans one can get for free after receiving/purchasing their Sphero.  Essentially, what the Sphero is, is a robotic ball, that a person can program to move in any direction and light up in any color.  Also, there are a bunch of educational apps, games, and augmented reality activities one can do.   Did I mention that it's waterproof too?

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloadable worksheet.

Objective (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Create an OrbBasic program to roll Sphero in a circle once, using a variable to store the heading
• Modify the program w/ an if/then statement to fix an error and make it go in a circle indefinitely
• Modify the program w/ an if/then/else statement to light up one color half the circle, and another color the other half
• Modify the program to increase the size of the circle at the end of each cycle

Programming w/ OrbBasic

Students will need to make the Sphero roll in a circle by programming it using the OrbBasic (free) app.  It will need to move a short distance and increase the heading by 5 degrees.  It uses the variable called h which starts at 0 and keeps getting larger.  When it hits 360 an error message occurs because the values must between 0-360.  This causes the Sphero to roll in a circle once then keep going in a straight line.  To fix the error, students will add a new line w/ an if/then statement which checks to see if the h variable has a value of 360, and if it does it will set it back to 0, causing the Sphero to roll in a circle indefinitely.

Adding Color

In this lesson students will learn about if/then/else statements, which will do one command if something is true, and another one if it is not.  For this example, it checks to see if h is < 180, and if it does then it lights up one color, if it's not, it lights up a different one.  Students will use the LEDC command in OrbBasic to light up a color by selecting a number.  The student guide has which number relates to which color, as well as breaks down all programming codes.

I highly recommend checking out Sphero for education by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on the Sphero click here.

Sphero: OrbBasic Lesson 1

Sphero is a wonderful and innovative programming ball/orb that can be used for countless activities in education.  In earlier posts I covered how the Sphero can be programmed to change color, travel distances, figure out linear equations and more.  This post will cover a new and free app (OrbBasic) that uses the Sphero to explore Computer Science concepts such as program flow and variables.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloadable worksheet.

Objective (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Create a short OrbBasic program that rolls Sphero out a distance and back, and then stops
• Modify the OrbBasic program to add a goto statement that goes back to the beginning
• Modify the OrbBasic program to add a variable that holds the delay time
• Add a line to increase the delay variable after each time out and back
• Modify the program to decrease the delay variable each time out and back

Creating a OrbBasic Program

Students will need to download the free app OrbBasic by clicking here.  The OrbBasic goroll command does not have a delay so a student will have to have follow that w/ a delay command.  OrbBasic roll speeds range from 0 to 255.  Students must keep in mind that the code must be exact or the Sphero will not read it.  Once the student has successfully completed having the Sphero move out and return, they can change the code to make the Sphero follow that pattern indefinitely.  All codes can be found in the free downloadable Student Guide.

Variables

A variable is a space in the Sphero's memory that holds a number.  Student's will use these variables to hold the amount of delay time.  Have students add a new variable called d and set it to 2000.  Then if they change the delay times to d, that variable if changed on the first line will replace it in the rest of the code.  For example, if they change the variable to 3000 it will now run for 3 seconds instead of 2 or 2000.

Also, a student can modify the code by adding a delay time or add (500) to d.  Now when the students run the program it will have the Sphero roll away and back half a second more.

I highly recommend checking out Sphero for Education by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on the Sphero click here.

Sphero: Percentages

Sphero the innovative and fantastic programmable robotic ball is something I've posted about in the past.  This is a great Ed Tech "toy" that can be used w/ kids of all ages for a wide variety of purposes. However, Orbotix has worked w/ educators to create STEM related lesson plans for 4/5th grade students.  This latest lesson has students using the Sphero to explore percentages using speed and color.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloadable worksheet.

Objectives (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Create a one-line program that moves the Sphero at a steady speed for a specified amount of time
• Perform measurements to determine the distance traveled 
• Perform division to calculate speeds
• Perform division to calculate percentages
• Create a two-line program to display a color for a certain length of time
• Have Sphero light up in primary colors (red)
• Have Sphero light up in colors that involve two primary colors (yellow and orange)

Speed

To start out students will create a new macro (program) using the free app MacroLab, then add a roll command and set it to move at 100% speed for 3000 milliseconds (3 seconds).  Once the Sphero stops rolling and starts sliding a piece of masking tape will placed there.  They will then measure from the masking tape (to where the Sphero first stopped) to where it finally ended up.  They will then calculate the speed by dividing the distance by time (3 seconds).  Then students will repeat this process by modifying the macro for the speed at 50% and then at 30%.  At the end they will divide the distance from the 50% experiment by the 100%, and also the distance from 30% experiment by the 100%.  Students should have values of close to .5 and .3 and convert those into percentages.

Color

This is a very fun activity that has students mixing colors to light up the Sphero (FYI, mixing colors w/ light is very different then mixing colors w/ paint).  Students will create a macro (program) by adding a color (RGB) and a delay command.  The color will be set to 100% red and a delay to 3000 msec (3 seconds).  Then they can modify the macro to use 50% red and to make the colors yellow (100% red & 100% green) and orange (100% red & 50% green).  

A fun challenge will be to have students create two different colors using all three primary colors.  Through experimenting they will be asked to make the colors: white (100% red, 100% green, 100% blue) gray (50% red, 50% green, 50% blue), and purple (70% red, 0% green, 100% blue).

I highly recommend checking out Sphero for Education by clicking here!!!

For my Pinterest board on Sphero click here.

Sphero: Polygons and Angles

This is my second post in a series that will cover the educational lesson plans from the SPRK (Schools Parents Robots Kids) program.  In this lesson (designed for 4-5th graders) students will use Sphero to draw polygons and learn the relationship between heading angles and the number of sides in a polygon where all sides are equal.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloadable worksheet.

Objectives (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Learn about how the Sphero has a heading that goes from 0 to 360 degrees, and it determines in which direction it will roll.
• Students will write a program to make the Sphero draw a square, where each side of the square is a different color.
• Students will write a program to make draw a triangle, determining the heading angles from clues.
• Students will write a program to make draw a pentagon, determining the heading angles from a formula.

Square

To start out the students will create a new macro using the free MacroLab app.  They will do this adding a color (RGB) command and then a roll command.  They will then repeat this step but w/ a 90 degree heading.  Again they will repeat this step w/ a 180 degree angle and finally a 270 degree heading.  Of course it is vital that students test these commands by running them to see how the Sphero reacts and adjust accordingly.

Triangle

After having the Sphero draw a square they will draw a triangle.  After discussing why 360 degrees in a circle is divided up into 4 equal parts at 90 degree angles forms a square students will divide 360 degrees into 3 equal parts at 120 degrees.  Students will create a new macro and add a color (RGB) command w/ a roll command of a heading of 0.  They will repeat this step w/ a 120 degree heading and a stop command delay of 255.  Finally, they'll add another macro w/ a color (RGB) command, w/ a 240 degree heading, and a stop command w/ a delay of 255.  Finally, they modify their macro by adding stop/delay commands at the end of each side of triangle.

Fun Challenge

This challenge is to see if the students have understood the concepts by having a Sphero draw a pentagon.  They'll need to figure out that a pentagon has 5 sides and heading directions will be 360 / 5 = 72 degrees.  Their macro will need to look like this... 

1. Add a RGB command for red and roll w/ heading of 0.
2. Add a RGB command for green and roll w/ heading of 72.
3. Add a RGB command for blue and roll w/ heading of 144.
4. Add a RGB command for yellow and roll w/ heading of 216.
5. Add a RGB command for purple and roll w/ a heading of 288.

For my Pinterest board on Sphero Apps click here.

Sphero for Education

Last week I was lucky enough to receive a Sphero from the generous people of Orbotix.  Kelly Tenkely just recently reviewed her Sphero which you can read all about here.  Basically, the Sphero is a programmable orb that can be used to play games, as a controller, or even integrate into education.  BTW, did I mention that it is waterproof too, and already has over 25 mobile apps to download.  This post is going to be the first in a series that focuses on the SPRK (Schools Parents Robot Kids) program.

The lessons in the SPRK program focus on Math, Physics, and Computer Science and are designed for 4th-5th graders.  Of course, these lessons use the Sphero robotic ball to complete a variety of educational activities that can be done in groups and are easy to integrate into any classroom.

The Sphero itself is a ball that can roll at a given speed (that can be programmed), can light up in any color (can be programmed), and connects to almost any mobile device via bluetooth.  Syncing of the Sphero is quite simple and just requires enabling blue tooth and rotating your finger on the device until the blue "tail" light of the Sphero is pointing directly at you the controller.

There are four educational apps (iOS/Android) for the Sphero that are listed below...

• Sphero - This is the basic app of using Sphero to do updates as well as just drive around for free play.
• Draw and Drive - A user draws a shape in a certain color on their device and the Sphero lights up in that color while following that pattern.
• MacroLab - Uses a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to program the Sphero using simple commands/macros.
• orbBasic - Uses a text based interface for more complex features of programming the Sphero.

Sphero has an excellent web page for free downloadable lesson plans (5) that can be used by teachers and students.  It includes a teacher guide, student guide, as well as a worksheet.

MacroLab Lesson #1 - Rate and Time

The first lesson is for students to use the Sphero to show that there is a linear relationship between time, speed, and distance.  Students will do this by programming the Sphero using the MacroLab app to travel at a particular speed for a certain amount of time and then measure the distance (using a tape measurer).  They will then use division to find out the relationship between speed, time, and distance. Afterwards, the students will be given a task to have the Sphero move to a given location and then return to them using their knowledge from the MacroLab lesson.

*All data will be recorded by the student in the downloaded worksheet.

Objectives (aligned to Common Core Math Standards)

• Create a one-line program (macro) that moves Sphero at a steady speed for specified amount of time
• Perform measurements to determine the distance traveled
• Perform division to compare different measurements
• Create a two-line (macro) program that moves the Sphero to a certain position and then moves it back to where it started

In starting out the teacher will provide the data for the student to use in their macro for programming their Sphero.  Using MacroLab is pretty straight forward, launch the app on the mobile device, create a new macro, add a roll command, set the roll to move at 20% speed for 3000 milliseconds (3 sec).  Finally, add a stop command to have the Sphero stop after completing the action.  Anybody familiar w/ DOS or programming using Scratch or Alice should have no problem picking this up.

A student will then put a piece of masking tape on the ground and place the Sphero there before tapping Play in the MacroLab.  Once the ball is done moving they will measure from the tape to the ball.

The second test will have the student modifying the macro to run at 6 seconds and then at 9 seconds recording the results.  At the end they will divide the distance of the 6 second experiment w/ the 3 second experiment, and also the distance of the 9 second experiment w/ the 3 second experiment.

Students should be able to notice that when something travels at a particular speed if it goes twice as fast it will goes twice as long forming a linear relationship.

Speed and Distance

For the second experiment the students will modify the macro to run again at 20% speed and 3000 milliseconds (3 sec) and record the data again (it should be similar to the first time).  Then they will modify it to run at 40% speed and 3000 milliseconds and run the test again recording how far it goes. Finally, they will modify the macro to run at 60% speed and run at 3000 milliseconds to see how far it runs and record the data.  At the end they will divide the distance from the 40% experiment to the 20% experiment, and also the distance from the 60% experiment by the 20% experiment.  

Again students should notice that if something travels twice as fast it should go twice as far again showing a linear relationship.

Fun Challenge

After the students have completed the previous two exercises a teacher can then give them a challenge to see if they can program the Sphero to go a certain distance and then have it return to them.  

To do this the students can modify the macro to roll for 40% speed and a delay of 5000 milliseconds (5 sec).  Then to modify it to roll at 20% speed w/ a heading of 180 degrees (which will cause the Sphero to return from the direction it came).  Finally, they need to add a stop command so the Sphero stops and then see if it has returned to them.  

The students have to determine what the correct value is for the delay to have it return exactly to them.

For more information on using Sphero in Education click here!!!

Stay tuned for my follow up post on 2D Geometry.

For my Pinterest board on Sphero click here.