LITERACY LOVES ROBOTICS: ISTE Expert Webinar "Literacy + Robotics = Innovative Storytelling "

Literacy + Robotics = Innovative Storytelling /
March 24, 2020 @ 10:00am Pacific Time

Link to Webinar Recording...

in two parts (there was a mid-webinar crash... however, the recordings of both halves are provided here):

Part one: https://iste.zoom.us/rec/share/z-YyLIDh7WVJb6fGs332d7BmIp_0X6a8gCEZ-acOyho--V3J5lRUKlA9EsG81Oay?startTime=1585069245000

Part two: https://iste.zoom.us/rec/share/z-YyLIDh7WVJb6fGs332d7BmIp_0X6a8gCEZ-acOyho--V3J5lRUKlA9EsG81Oay?startTime=1585070826000

Registration  Link: https://www.iste.org/events/webinars
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Resources on the Webinar's Theme:

Literacy Loves Robots (ISTE Literacy PLN)-March 2020

Compiled by Mark Gura

Copy of the slide deck from the webinar Literacy Loves Robots

Literacy/Robotics Cross Curricular Connections

This is an area to be explored much further. The field has barely scratched the surface here. Robotics is an area of student activity that is very rich in the need for communication, the literacy skills that enable that. Some examples of how this plays out currently

I) Robotics Connections Across the Traditional Literacy Curriculum

The acts of designing, building, programming, prototyping, testing, of robots involves student collaboration, communication and literacy skills in abundance. Here are some examples of deep connections:

Note Taking, Journaling, &  Recording and Communicating the Robotics Creative Engineering Process

Robot Build Journal From – Smithsonian Materials for Instruction 
templates for student note taking and reflection on the processes of conceiving, designing, and building robotics. –

Robotics activities prompts and reflection suggestions :
https://www.tweentribune.com/grade-6-7-clean-our-streets-one-robot/lesson-4-6-build-test-and-improve/

and

Templates for student note taking and reflection on the processes of conceiving, designing, and building robotics – forms for students to concretize ideas in text with illustrations and to communicate their work.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NdXqT23ovRUYdimn6gJ8c51HeRCDynf3uI2gMA3ZnMs/edit

Student Robotics classes, clubs, and teams have a natural, ‘built in’ need to document, share, and announce their activities 

Facebook pages (example 2Train Robotics – Morris High School/Bronx N.Y.

https://www.facebook.com/2TrainRobotics/

Blogs - traditional blog format web presence (Boone Country 4H Robotics Club)

https://flamingmonkeys.org/blog/post/ready-set-robots

Another Student Robotics Blog (Lake County Lutheran High School)

https://www.lakecountryhs.org/lcl-blog/developing-innovative-leaders-engineers-and-entrepreneurs-a-student-perspective-of-lightning-robotics

One very popular area of student robotics activity is the organization FIRST (Robotics) which offers a series of activities and involvements around a central completion activity.

FIRST however, in addition to having student “teams” design and build robots to solve real-world problems, has the teams ‘present’ its ‘project’ and, importantly, the thinking and research and experimenting behind it, in a face to face presentation…

Examples: FIRST Project Presentation

https://www.first-lego-league.org/en/season//research-project.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi7LRI4IBJU

Learning about language through focusing on Coding

Learning Coding (a language that enables humans to communicate with and direct robots) can foster insights on English Language and its applications in inter-human communications! In other words, if students learn this new (additional language) of Coding can they understand English better by observing the rules, mechanics, conventions, applications, etc. of Coding? More on this, including activities, prompts, professional reading lits…

II) Robot Story Telling (Some think of this as Readers Theater on Steroids)

Using Robotics to develop characters, plots, dialogue, and story elements.  https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/Primary/Literacy/GrammarandSpelling/WordsmithLiteracyService/Structure/LEGOEducationStorytales.aspx

III) Analysis of Literature  - Robot Theater
Analyzing literary works in order to illustrate them, recreate and interpret them through robotics https://www.birdbraintechnologies.com/hummingbirdduo/teach/project/robot-theater-where-poetry-comes-to-life/ 


Humingbird Robotics Kit – Bringing Poetry to Life
https://youtu.be/6EXF-xwwQQw

Finch Robot – Telling a Story
https://youtu.be/BXYuIUmjREg

Materials Referenced in the Webinar
LEGO Robotics Kits
- WeDo https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-wedo-2-0-core-set/45300
- Spike Prime https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-spike-prime-set/45678#product
- Mindstorms (EV3 / NXT) https://education.lego.com/en-us/shop/mindstorms-ev3

Kinderlab’s KIBO Robotics Materials https://kinderlabrobotics.com
and their Teacher Materials https://kinderlabrobotics.com/teacher-materials/

PITSCO/ SMART Buddies https://www.pitsco.com/shop/coding/smart-buddies

Makey Makey https://makeymakey.com/

also see video “MaKey MaKey and Hummingbird Robotics Kit” (together) https://youtu.be/OV0xApwWJ28

EdTech Digest’s The State of Student Robotics: An Educators Guide
https://edtechdigest.com/2018/11/30/the-state-of-student-robotics-an-educators-guide/

Further Reading and Listening
edutopia: Technology Integration - Student Robotics and the K-12 Curriculum

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-robotics-k-12-curriculum-mark-gura

eSchool News – “3 ways to tell stories with robots”

https://www.eschoolnews.com/2018/11/07/3-ways-to-tell-stories-with-robots/

Nevada Today – “Robotics and literacy: a means of teaching students academic language”

https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2019/robotics-and-literacy

ISTE Literacy Network PODCAST: LEGO WeDo Robotics for Literacy
http://literacyspecialinterest.blogspot.com/2013/07/episode-7-robotics-and-literacy.html