It's Not That Hard!

I always make it a point that my students know that we don't "play with robots."  I like to tell them, "We don't play in Mr. Dunlap's room.  We work really hard doing really fun stuff."  As my 5th grade class wrapped up for the day, one of my girls made it a point to tell me that, "it's not really that hard."  Whatever... 

I thought about the kids in the room who struggled (and learned) how to construct Cubelets robots to drive through a maze or the ones who labored with Sphero code to learn how to make it drive in a rectangle.  I can't even describe to you the amount of deep thinking that goes into rising to new challenges with robotics.  Sure, it comes easier to some kids than others, but I love celebrating with them when they meet the challenge head on and conquer it.  (We celebrated, but I forgot to take pictures.)

One of the girls in my room has been a rock star for me for years, and I handed her the loaner Finch I have in my room.  "Here, see what you can do with this."  I would check in on her every once in a while and give her a nudge in the right direction.  By the end of Thursday, she figured out how to draw a square and play "Hot Cross Buns."  Friday, she thought out loud, "Can I make a circle?" -- a thought that I have never had.  We worked together and came up with a solution.  We were both super proud of ourselves when we produced a few circles.  

 

I love what I do! Yes, it's a blast and it feels like playing, but I love it when the kids accomplish a task that seemed impossible just an hour earlier.