Preliminary reading: Stoeckelmayr et al (2011). As well as learning something about programming, what else might young children learn through working with Bee Bots? Programmable toys are very common in early years settings and key stage 1 classrooms, with practitioners and teachers showing lots of imagination in how these can be used meaningfully across the curriculum. We look at some of the models available and you create and record a role play of a classroom based activity based around these. Task: Working in a group, you plan a learning activity involving Bee Bots (or similar) and then role play this as teacher and pupils. You record your activity and upload this to your blog. Resources: The Lulham ICT suite has a small stock of Bee Bots, Pro Bots and Roamers, as well as more advanced Lego WeDo and Mindstorms robotics kit. There is a rather good Bee Bot app available for iOS. Free versions of Logo, a simple programming language, can be downloaded from the web, eg http://www.softronix.com/logo.html, although Scratch (see Session 7) is easier to use and increasingly popular. It interfaces directly with Lego Wedo.

4. ICT in schools 2008–11
An evaluation of information and communication
technology education in schools in England 2008–11
Most of the Key Stage 1 pupils observed were
able to learn programming through devising and
testing sequences of instructions for floor
robots. However, in Key Stage 2, pupils in the
majority of schools visited had insufficient
opportunities to develop their understanding and
use of programming, and data logging and
handling.

5. Schema
“Experience of objects plays,
naturally, a very important role
in the establishment of dynamic
structures”
From Piaget (1961) A genetic approach to the psychology of thought

6. Accommodation and
Assimiliation
“All exchange between the organism and the
environment is composed of two poles:
A) of the assimilation of the given external to
the previous internal structures, and
B) of the accommodation of these structures to
the given ones.”
From Piaget (1961) A genetic approach to the psychology of thought

7. ATHERTON J S
(2009) Learning
and Teaching;
Piaget's
developmental
theory.

8. Play and Exploration
 Children learn through first hand experience in activities they
have chosen
 Play allows children to test their ideas
 Play lets children learn from mistakes
 Play fosters imagination and flexibility of mind
 Rich, enabling environments are provided
 Allow children to dictate the pace, length and focus;
interventions should be supportive
 Recognise children’s fascination with and curiosity about what
is going on in their worlds.
EYFS: Effective practice: play and exploration

9. Bee-Bots

10. Roamer

11. Probots

12. On the web…

13. There’s an app
for that

14. Some practical work
 Play with one of the robots or
apps!
 Working with a partner, plan a
directed play activity for
children in Reception using
your robot or app.
 Use a Flip video camera to
capture this as role-play
(you may wish to join forces
with another pair)
 Upload your video
 Post some reflective
commentary

15. For next week…