The purpose of this blog is to provide educators with information about how to integrate low cost, informal learning opportunities within their classes. This is not a new concept by any means, however this blog will focus on the use of robotics and the Google Blockly programming language in an integrated, informal learning environment.
I am an educator who has experience integrating technology into classrooms and working with students on projects that are built around their interests. I see many posts on social media sites like Twitter that comment on the need for students to be prepared for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). These posts often refer to how new innovations such as robots, drones and artificial intelligence will change the way people work and live in the future. As a result of these changes, students need to have access to courses and training that will prepare them for these new technologies. This is where schools enter the picture.
Robotics and STEM education can be integrated into any other subject area. The ability to integrate these learning opportunities is what makes them so unique. For example, in my classroom after my students are done with a science experiment they will not only record their data but also program a robot (EV3) to duplicate the experiment by using a mathematical algorithm. The goal is for students to understand that there is more than one way to solve a problem.
Most of the classes I teach are hands on and project based. I want my students to learn by doing, not simply by listening or reading about what they are supposed to be learning. Another great example is when we were studying about the different types of ancient Greek pottery. Students learned about how most ancient Greek pottery was made out of clay and was decorated with images of people performing daily activities, religious figures, and Greek mythology. While we were studying this topic I taught my students how to use Google Blockly and had them create an algorithm that would draw an image of their own creation as if they had made it in ancient Greece. My students enjoyed this activity because they love drawing images on the computer (especially if it involves historical figures). They also liked the fact that they could see what they drew in real time; they didn
While it may not be obvious at first glance, Google Blockly is a great tool for many different classes and opportunities. At the beginning of the year, I was hesitant to use Blockly with my robotics class because I was concerned that it would mimic the other classes that they were taking. After all, it was just another programming language and they were already taking AP Computer Science. The problem was their skills in coding weren’t really aligned with their knowledge of Java. They could write code, but couldn’t really explain what the code did or why.
My mistake at first was trying to make Blockly work like Java. As soon as I started to use it as a tool for explorations in physics and math, it began to have value for them. In fact, I found that sometimes students would pick up on my mistakes before I did.
I’ve heard from other teachers who are having trouble getting their students excited about programming. While there are many different languages and tools that can be used for coding, blockly seems to be accessible to almost anyone — even those who do not consider themselves as programmers.
In my own classroom, we have started using Google Docs (and Google Apps) as a way of sharing our work electronically
Google Blockly is an online tutorial and how to guide for Google developers. Although not designed as a learning platform, it integrates with many other platforms like Arduino and Unity, allowing people to create games on their computer (not just on the internet). The main goal of this tutorial is to help all those who are interested in programming learn how to do it through a fun, interactive way. It’s the perfect introduction to programming and technology as it shows you how easy it is to get started using Google Blockly.
Google Blockly also helps children understand how computers work, which is something that most parents will find useful. With this tool, they can start out by learning basic programming skills and then move on to more complex languages like HTML5 or Java. This means that parents don’t have to worry about finding the right books for their kids because the tutorials are already written for them!
There are currently two tutorials available: one for beginners and one for advanced users. Both of these tutorials use Google Blockly so you don’t need any additional software; however, if you do need some help making sure that everything works properly, there is a support forum available online where people answer questions about Google Blockly.
Google Blockly is a visual programming language developed by Google for their Hour of Code initiative. It is simple to use and great for teaching the basics of coding.
The way this program works is that students drag blocks from the left side of the screen and drop them in the white workspace on the right side of the screen. Each block has a different function such as repeating something a set number of times or displaying text on the screen. Students can customize each block by changing colors, numbers, and text. When you are finished stacking blocks you can run your program either in the browser or download it to your mobile device. In addition to using these basic functions students can also create their own custom blocks with these same functions which allows them to develop more complex programs.
Google Blockly supports several different programming languages including JavaScript, Python, Lua, PHP, Dart, and XML. This allows students who complete beginner projects in Blockly to move on to more advanced programs using languages they have already learned.
Google Blockly is a visual programming language (VPL) that is intended to be easy to learn, and can be used across different subject areas. VPLs are a type of computer programming designed to help those without prior coding experience.
Google Blockly is an editor for Visual Programming Languages. The Google Blockly app allows users to create programs using a block-based interface. The blocks represent code statements, and users combine them together to form complete programs.
The application has been designed so that it can be adapted for any platform or environment and is currently used in several projects.
The project page on GitHub contains detailed instructions on how to get started with Google Blockly, as well as some links to example applications.
Blockly is a library for building visual programming editors. It is a project of Google and is open source under the Apache 2.0 License.
Blockly is used in many products including App Inventor and ScratchX, the experimental extension platform for the Scratch programming language. Blockly currently has interfaces to the languages Python, JavaScript, PHP, Lua and Dart.