Programming and control

              Joe marshall week 4 blog

This weeks long awaited blog revolves around the subject of control and programming

My reaction on hearing I have to teach programming

Our lesson today initially worried me. As i have said before " I am a technophobe" and the prospect of having to teach children computer programming sent a cold shiver down my spine. However, my mind was soon put at ease after it was explained how we use programing on a daily basis. Inside the home we programme our washing machine, dishwasher, TV remote control, burglar alarm and the microwave. These are just a few of the household items that require the user to input instructions to attain the desired result. Programming is just entering a set of instructions into a machine which causes it to operate in a specific manner.


To facilitate our understanding we were given the oppurtunity to experiment with Beebots. Beebots are programmable bumble bees that follow a simple set of instructions entered by the user; forward, back, left and right with the option to enter distances. In our lesson we were put into small groups and given the task of designing an activity to highlight the functions of the Beebot. Our group consisted of the three men, therefore, we designed a football game.

A happy beebot

The game we designed is something that I would definately take into the classroom when teaching. It involves putting a small ball in front of a goal with a series of obstacles blocking the direct route from the Beebot to the ball. The children have to programme the Beebot to avoid the obstacles and push the ball into the goal.

Other useul  Beebot website links can be found below

http://www.bee-bot.us/
Beebot video clip
Beebots line dance