Ozobot

A few months ago, I did some research on robotics kits for pre-schoolers. Since that time, I've been to the NSTA convention and actually had a chance to play with several of them. I already own LEGO's WeDo set (which I love), but I think it's a little advanced for 4-year olds (my target audience). The 4M Tin Can Robot from Walmart turned out to be a nightmare to put together - too many tiny little screws and flimsy plastic parts (though it seemed fairly durable once we finally got it together). Some robotic kits are a bit pricey (like Dash & Dot); some are a little complicated for a 4-year old's fine motor skills (like Meccano). I was leaning toward Ozobot, but the reviews were somewhat mixed, especially in the area of customer service. I finally decided to take a chance on the Ozobot, but buy it from Amazon since they have an excellent return policy if anything went wrong. And I am so pleased with my purchase.

I opted for the Ozobot 2.0 Bit Starter Pack. It was only $5 more than the Ozobot alone, and came with a set of markers (saving me a trip to the store). What I didn't realize was that it also came with an assortment of activity sheets, color codes, puzzles, stickers, and skins. Some of the activity sheets are pre-printed routes with color codes interspersed along the black lines. Some have blank sections requiring students to use markers or stickers to designate the color-coded action. Still others are like puzzles, requiring students to enter a specific set of color codes to accomplish a goal. Overall, I think this is an excellent way to introduce programming to 4-year olds who have not developed an extensive reading vocabulary. And once they get a little older, they can write more traditional programs with OzoBlockly and download them to their robots.

Because the Ozobot is so small (notice the penny in the photo), it can also follow lines on an iOS or Android tablet. It even worked on my old Kindle Fire, following lines I drew with the SketchBook app. The team at ozobot.com is hard at work developing interesting apps to trigger the imagination of your students, such as OzoGroove - an app designed to have your Ozobot execute dance moves. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.