WeDo 3 hour workshop details
Remember to take good pictures. Examples can be found here: http://coweb.cc.gatech.edu/ice-gt/2242.
Ages: 3rd grade to 6th grade
Equipment: 1 laptop per two students, 1 WeDo kit per 2 students, a set of 4 manuals per kit (the building instructions are also on the laptops in the WeDo software). Use Scratch to program the WeDos. Also, include balls for ball-kicker.
Resources: Instructions for programming many of the activites in Scratch are here. There are other ideas at http://wedodev.k12engineering.com/category/activities/
WeDo and Scratch materials http://info.scratch.mit.edu/WeDo
Wireless issues- call 404-478-7310 for any problems with Wandering Wi-Fi
Before each workshop
During each workshop
10 minutes:
Do pre-surveys.
5 minutes:
Do introductions and show http://www.dotdiva.org/profiles/macherie.html and say you can combine jobs in computing with many other fields such as art, and computers and sensors can be used to help people and show http://www.dotdiva.org/profiles/yolian.html
30 minutes:
Show the kids how to hook up the USB hub and connect the distance sensor and tilt sensor to the USB ports. Be sure to snap them in all the way on the USB ports. Connect the USB to the computer and start Scratch 1.4. Go to Sensing and find the "slider sensor value" and change it to "distance sensor value" (you don't have to drag it into the script area). Click the checkbox next to the "distance sensor value" and it will display the current value. Let the students try the distance sensor out and ask them what the minimum value is and what the maximum value is. See http://info.scratch.mit.edu/WeDo/Tutorial. Ask them what is the value when something is close to the sensor and what is the value when something is far from the sensor. Do the same thing with the tilt sensor and ask what value does it display for flat, tilted left, tilted right, tilted up, and tilted down. Also let them experiment with the motor (the blocks are in the Motion category in Scratch).
1 hour:
Have every other group work on the "Ball Kicker" and "Goal Keeper". The pair them up to see how many balls the "Ball Kicker" can get throught the "Goal" in 10 seconds. Give a prize to the "Ball Kicker" group that scores the most goals and a prize to the "Goal Keeper" group that has the least goals.
1 hour:
Work on their own project using the WeDos and Scratch. Let them pick what they want to do or encourage them to create own project. If you have extra time they can do more than one of their own pick activities. Have them show off what they did as well to the group.
Last 15 minutes:
Do the post-surveys! We must have a post-survey for each pre-survey!
After each workshop
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