The Role of Robotics in Teaching Kids to Code

The idea of having robots in the classroom might feel a little dystopian, evoking images of learning creches reminiscent of Huxley’s Brave New World. But, thankfully, we’re a long way from robots replacing the human teachers who play such an essential role in developing our young people’s learning.

However, robots can bring the more abstract concepts of coding to life for young minds. And classroom robots aren’t just for the wealthy or the private sector; with brands like LEGO and Raspberry Pi, bringing robots into classrooms is very affordable for all learning environments. 

In this article, we’ll explore how kids can learn coding with robotics that are accessible in all classrooms. 

Ready? Let’s go. 

What is robotics?

It might seem like an utterly obvious question, but sometimes, the best questions are the ones we’re afraid to ask. Of course, we’ll all have concepts of robots from sci-fi movies, but how do those relate to what can help kids learn in the classroom?

The field of robotics is multidisciplinary. It combines science with engineering, extending technology’s ability to interact with the physical world. It uses specially designed interfaces (such as computers and smart devices) to build, operate, and control robots for a wide range of real-world applications. 

Robots allow us to automate tasks or functions that are laborious, difficult, or dangerous for humans and are used in many industries, such as:

• Manufacturing — welding, assembly, etc
• Logistics — warehouse management, material handling
• Healthcare — performing surgery, assisting rehabilitation, and calculating research models
• Exploration — surviving in space and underwater for extended periods

What types of robots might our children use in education?

There are many types of robots, most of which could find their way into the classroom:

Sphero

Your kids are probably already familiar with the Sphero brand of programmable, app-enabled robots. The company produces a range of robots, including the classic Sphero BOLT and Mini, which are ball-shaped robots that respond to instructions from smart devices such as tablets and smartphones. 

Sphero also offers four-wheeled robots that come with excellent STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) applications designed for hands-on learning environments.

This innovative brand enables kids to get creative with coding, play games, develop programs, and complete fun challenges. Their products are accessible to all learners and are great fun for kids of all ages.

Sphero robots can help kids discover a love for coding — the company provides hundreds of free classroom lesson resources, making them a good choice for teachers and parents hoping to spark a passion for coding. 

LEGO Boost

Most kids love playing with the classic LEGO bricks — they’re a rite of passage for most young people’s creativity. 

In the 1980s, LEGO introduced the Technics range, which incorporated motors and remote controls, allowing kids to build moving structures like trucks and cars. LEGO Boost takes that technological edge further,  enabling kids (of all ages) to create fully functional robots while learning the basics of coding, robotics, and engineering. 

There are currently five models available in the Boost range:

• Vernie the Robot — a talking, moving robot that can dance, beatbox, shoot the target, use a hockey stick, and play a range of fun games.
• MTR4 — a robust rover unit with tool attachments, including a spring-loaded shooter that offers a range of missions and battles with other rovers. 
• Guitar 4000 — a fully playable musical instrument with a range of fun sound effects and pitch bends that help your child learn how to play a song. 
• Frankie the Cat — an interactive pet robot that expresses its mood, purrs, and plays games
• AutoBuilder — a production line module that builds mini LEGO models by developing and troubleshooting code.

The LEGO Boost app

The Boost range comes with a free-to-download app, which puts the user in control of their completed model. 

This is where the Boost range really comes to life. With an icon-based coding interface similar to CodeMonkey’s user-friendly interfaces, the app provides kids with multiple activities designed exclusively for each model. 

And just like CodeMonkey’s coding platform, the Boost system enables children to explore loops and variables, developing their problem-solving skills.  

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has sold 68 million single-board computers since launching in 2012. They launched in response to a decline in Computer Science applications at the University of Cambridge’s Computer Laboratory. Their ambition was simple: to build low-cost computers that help schoolchildren develop a passion for programming, mainly inspired by 1980s domestic computer systems like the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore 64.

Since then, Raspberry Pi has become a popular platform for learners, offering fully operational PCs for as low as $35.

Using Raspberry Pi in classroom robotics

The Raspberry Pi platform is ideal for a wide range of robotics projects, from entertaining obstacle courses to complex image processing and object recognition applications. 

One of the most affordable kits on the market is Learn Robotics with Raspberry Pi. This affordable package teaches a child how to build a robot, starting with a two-wheeled unit programmed using Python. Through guided activities, the learner can improve their robot’s functionality, mastering the art of programming instructions and recognizing objects using computer vision. 

The basic robot is fully customizable, featuring add-ons such as LEDs, speakers, and even a webcam. 

Vex-IQ

Vex-IQ is an educational platform that produces a wide range of buildable robots, making them ideal for classroom learning and educational purposes. While being relatively more costly than the other options we’ve explored, Vex-IQ offers a learning ecosystem that can truly bring robotics to life in the classroom, with established learning units and activities that teachers can use straight out of the box. 

Some Vex-IQ classroom activities

From scavenger hunts to algorithm building, Vex-IQ’s physical and virtual robots can complete a whole range of tasks, offering learners a range of ways to develop their coding with 

Why are coding and robotics necessary for kids?

We don’t know what the world of work will look like for our kids, just as our teachers and parents couldn’t have predicted what our professional lives would look like. Therefore, modern learning is about adapting to the world rather than learning by rote.

Children learn coding at school to help them interact with the technologies likely to be part of their professional lives. However, coding does much more than prepare children for their future careers.

Coding for broader learning 

Coding helps learners develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It helps spark their creativity, and by encouraging logical thinking, coding helps kids create innovative solutions and develop their ideas. 

Working with robots requires some coding skills, and the payoff is evident in tangible outcomes. They learn to control the robot, and that skill facilitates their ability to interact with technology to complete tasks.

What’s the ideal age for children to start learning code?

There is no minimum age, but a child can begin their coding education as soon as they start learning to read and write. Just as bilingual children grow up with an innate understanding of their native language, introducing a coding language to a child from a young age gives them a similar sense of how code works. 

So, whether a child learns block-based or text-based coding, robots bring coding to life in a tactile way, thereby extending the reach of coding into the physical world. 

Robots allow kids to see how their coding affects real-world scenarios, extending their screen time into real-life situations. 

What skills do robotics and coding teach a child?

In a nutshell, code is a set of precise instructions that enable the completion of a specific task. An experienced programmer builds code section by section, breaking down the task into logical steps. 

So, essentially, learning to code teaches children how to:

• Think logically, recognizing the necessary steps required to complete a task
• Think critically, identifying where the code fails and trying better ways to complete it
• Solve problems, overcoming errors, and finding alternative approaches  

How to use robotics in teaching

Teachers might find the prospect of introducing robots into the classroom intimidating. Here are some fun starter activities to get the ball rolling. 

1. Make a Bristlebot

There’s not a lot of coding involved in this mini-robot project, but it’s a great way to demonstrate how simple on and off instructions affect real-world objects. 

You’ll need 

• A coin-type battery cell
• A mini vibrator motor
• The head of a toothbrush

To make the bristle bot:

1. Snip the head off the toothbrush.
2. Attach the battery to the back of the toothbrush head using a double-sided sticky pad. Bend the battery wires back so they look like antennae. 
3. Stick the mini vibrator motor behind the battery on the toothbrush head.
4. Finally, attach the red cable on the battery to the red cable on the motor by twisting the exposed wires together. This is the OFF state.  

Now, when you connect the black cable to the black or blue wire on the motor, the bristlebot will vibrate and move around the table on its own. 

While this approach doesn’t directly incorporate coding, it teaches a child the fundamentals of closed and open circuits, which will be helpful in more complex tasks later on. 

2. Build A Bristlebot Maze

Once the learner has built their bristle bot, they can use them to complete a wide range of activities:

• Build a maze—learners can construct cardboard mazes, essentially creating open-topped tubes (from U-shaped, bent cardboard) for the Bristlebot to navigate. 
• Build a maze from code (and v.v.)—ask learners to design their mazes using coding language, then construct their maze from those instructions. Do they work in real life?

Help your learners develop the basics of coding with CodeMonkey’s Hour of Code games, which are free to access and play. Once they’re happy with the basic concepts, they can use those same commands to navigate their Bristlebot around a maze in the real world.  

3. Navigating a map with Sphero

Using a Sphero robot, ask your students to design their own maps in small groups. They can make them as straightforward or as complex as they like, and add a few obstructions along the way. 

Then, using the Sphero app, have each group work together to code instructions for the Sphero to navigate around the map without hitting the obstructions. 

Extend this game by asking groups to swap around and navigate each other’s maps. Or even suggest that groups place obstructions on each other’s maps for an extra challenge. 

This is an excellent way for children to develop their skills in instruction, troubleshooting, teamwork, and challenging each other. 

4. LEGO Boost challenge

LEGO Boost requires learners to construct their robot before learning to code for it. This gives the learner insight into the component parts that enable a robot to respond. 

From constructing the robot, they will learn:

• How to follow visual instructions—an essential skill for life; think of all that flat-pack furniture they’ll have to construct in their lifetimes!
• To recognize the components—from wiring a motor to a limb to installing a remote control sensor. Learners observe how each part contributes to the robot’s movement, operation, and overall functionality. 
• Tactile functionality—exploring the fun of building, from selecting the correct parts to physically putting them together.
• Problem-solving and communication—whether they’re working alone or in a group — they will encounter problems along the way. So, they can work together or with assistance from a teacher, asking for help to establish solutions to problems as they explore.  

Once they have built their robot, they can put it to task. Along with map navigation games, they can use their robots to complete tasks. Give your learners free rein to find the most creative ways to use their robots. 

4. Have Robot Races

All kids love a bit of competition, so consider using your in-class robots to encourage some fun games that challenge kids to use their brains. 

Whether you’re using Sphero, LEGO Boost, or VEX IQ bots, challenge your learners to apply their programming skills to navigate obstacle courses and mazes. 

This is a real test of a learner’s ability to solve a problem efficiently. Those who get to the finish line first are likely to use more advanced coding or can translate their thoughts into code more efficiently. 

Codemonkey game-based learning

I hope we’ve provided some practical ways you might incorporate robots into the classroom. But you don’t need physical robots to nurture a young person’s coding prowess. 

CodeMonkey offers a wide range of fun and immersive courses that help your kids learn the art of coding. Explore our free Hour of Code games to discover what we offer kids of all ages, helping them develop valuable real-world coding skills. 

Thanks for reading.