Summer SAVY 2018: Session 4, Day 2 – Intro to Coding and Robotics (Rising 1st)
Hello SAVY Parents!
We had a very insightful second day of our Coding and Robotics class! We started the day by reviewing yesterday’s vocabulary words (“algorithm” and “persistence”) and introducing three new vocabulary words to our class discussion. What is sequencing? What does it mean if my code has a bug? How can I efficiently debug my code?
We discussed real-life algorithms (a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, for example) and created our own algorithms for making paper airplanes. Students then exchanged their algorithms with a classmate to see if they too could craft the same airplane.
We continued working on our Angry Bird puzzles, and we also continued working with our Sphero robots.
Students were then introduced to the concept of systems using an aquarium as an example. Like Ms. Byrd mentioned in her previous post, systems have boundaries, elements, inputs, outputs, and observable interactions.
We had a day full of FAILs which, naturally, resulted in frustration. But that is OKAY! Scholars must persist! We are confident that students will return tomorrow eager to problem solve, and to have fun while doing so.
Parents, we suggest checking out this awesome video! A team from MIT developed a robot that, in short, can learn from its mistakes! With your SAVY scholar, discuss the word “algorithm”. What real life obstacles do machines have to overcome in different environments? We will build on these ideas tomorrow when we discuss the Thai soccer team trapped in (and recently rescued from) a cave.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2018/07/07/mit-cheetah-3-robot-abc-orig-vstan.cnn
While this feat of technology saved lives, as many technological advances do, we must once again raise the question: what should we be using technology for? What tasks can and should be taken on only by humans?
Looking forward to an AWESOME Wednesday!
-Maya & Mrs. Byrd
Our Objective and One of Our Corresponding Activities
