Workshop for family and school. Completing first programmer’s lab

It’s common to talk about skills needed for coding and programming, but today we’d like to focus on necessary equipment for it. A little software studio for students – what’s worth having?

To my generation, computer science classes are associated with occasional programming in Logo language, but only with the simpliest commands. The rest is devoted to operating on MS Paint and playing Deluxe Ski Jump.

Nowadays curricula is constantly being refined, but why not make them even more varied? We have some suggestions today, including for private schools and programming studios where learning is in full swing. Interest in the state of education in Botland does not decrease and schools are always close to us, so today we have prepared for you as many as six ready-made kits for studios under the sign of Abilix Krypton, DJI and MakeBlock.

What is Abilix?

PartnerX, as a leading educational robotics company, provides not only rich teaching robots, but also systems-based training programs that meet the demands of STEM education. 

Abilix robots, which it has been manufacturing since 1997, have been focusing on educational robotics and customizing STEM projects for more than 10,000 schools in 50 countries for 20 years. In addition, Abilix is the exclusive sponsor of the World Educational Robot Competition (WER), which is held around the world and makes a significant impact on the industry by attracting more than 300,000 participants each year. Abilix plans to continue to dedicate itself to the global development of educational robotics to develop better and more comprehensive projects.

Programming lab set – Abilix Krypton 4 with mat & lessons scenarios for 16 students

Featured Abilix Krypton 4 set was created for primary and secondary schools. It can be used in grades 4+. What does it contain?

• 4 units of Abilix Krypton 0 robots,
• 15 lesson plans for beginners and intermediates,
• Task mat measuring 1.2 x 2 metres (3 ft 11 in x 6 ft 6 in).

One robot can comfortably serve two students, so the set was designed for simultaneous use by eight young programming adepts. This kind of Abilix Krypton 4 v2 self-assembly educational robot consists of 943 blocks, 3 motors (2x small drive motor, 1x large drive motor) and 14 sensors including 4x for position detection (built in the motor), 1x ultrasonic, 1x color, 3x gray scale, 2x touch, 1x gyroscope and 2x speaker. Everyting connected to the controller, which can be programmed with 4 different methods:

• Drag & Drop – a simple, graphical programming language meant for beginners, 
• Scratch – the most popular programming language in schools aimed at intermediate learners,
• Flow-chart – a language based on flowcharts and algorithms for intermediate users, too,
• Text C – a way to program a robot for advanced users with well-known C language.

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Abilix Krypton as mounted educational robot

Assembling an Abilix Krypton robot is another activity that teaches basic mechanics. Building it yourself in the case of Abilix Krypton 0 model means connecting the 409 components properly. 

Abilix Krypton 0 has received Polish trade award Zabawka Roku 2018, which represents choosing the Abilix Krypton 0 as  the toy of the year 2018 in a prestigious event supported frequently by celebrities in Poland held by zabawkowicz.pl website.

We also have to mount 2 small motors and 4 sensors for position detection, gray scale and collision, and connect a controller that we program in one of 3 languages with varying levels of difficulty and specificity – previously mentioned Drag & Drop method, Scratch and Flow-chart.

Programming and robotics course

And what about the scenarios? Among the lessons in the kit, you’ll find descriptions of their topics and solutions to teacher assignments, a student workbook, manuals for assembling blocks, applications and programming languages. Technical support and guidance show Abilix users the ways of finding more online training materials. Everything was gathered in .pdf worksheet format. Abilix really makes it easier to understand how the robot “hears, sees and thinks”. Grasping these concepts and mastering the theory, as well as putting ourselves in robotics context, is crucial to any subsequent work with robots. 

And there’s even more to come.

Final addition – Abilix educational mat

Added mat allows performing 10 collective tasks. These include tracing lines, rotating by a given angle or recognizing colors by the constructed robot.

The set came in four versions with different robots:

• 4 x Abilix Krypton 0
• 8 x Abilix Krypton 0
• 4 x Abilix Krypton 4 v2
• 4 x Abilix Krypton 4 v2

Abilix Krypton 4 v2 is a new version from the kit. The Krypton 4 V2 kit contains 7 sensors (3 x gray scale sensor, 2 x collision sensor, 1 x color sensor, 1 x ultrasonic sensor), 1 large motor, 3 small motors and all the necessary mounting hardware. Sets are basically everything what robotics laboratory equipment needs.

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Development kit – DJI Tello Edu Combo with lesson scenarios

Krypton is a land robot, while drones offer to take the learning to the skies. The Abilix kit featuring drones from renowned manufacturer DJI is aligned with the Polish core curriculum and a 45-minute lesson hour  It will prove useful in educating children over 8 years old as Polish educational program for primary schools craves for including the concepts of exploring and investigating individually. Plus it’s the really great reason for outdoor lessons.

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DJI Tello Edu drone

In the case of the Combo kit, the main star is not the robot, but the drone. The DJI Tello Edu was created in cooperation with the DJI brand. It allows to fly indoors and outdoors, at a range of up to 100 m (328 ft) with a speed of up to 8 m/s (17.8 mph). The set includes 4 DJI Tello Edu Combo drones packed in covers, additional accessories and 5 lesson scenarios. 

It’s not only about learning how to code in Scratch, Python and Swift, but also learning how to control a drone. The kit teaches effective use of available resources, consideration of action alternatives, search for cause and effect relationships, and analysis of situations.

DJI Tello Edu is equipped with a 5 MPx camera. The drone allows you to learn programming in Scratch, Python, Swift. After proper programming, you can create a swarm of drones that can be controlled by a single device. The exact specifications can be found on the product page. The license for the courses with DJI Tello Edu is perpetual. 

What is MakeBlock?

Makeblock Co., Ltd is a global STEAM education solution provider. Targeting the STEAM education and entertainment markets for schools, educational institutions, and families, Makeblock provides comprehensive hardware, software, content solutions, androbotics competitions, with the aim of achieving deep integration of technology and education.

Makeblock robots and other products are sold in more than 140 countries. According to official website, global users had surpassed 15 million and continue to grow. Makeblock products are used in more than 25,000 schools around the world, as well as by families, for STEAM education.

Programming workshop kit – MakeBlock mTiny with book

Next set is aimed at the youngest users of programming labs. mTiny robots from MakeBlock are included in the set. The graceful and friendly teddy bear allows children over 4 years old to learn coding and can be successfully used during classes in kindergarten. What is important, coding is done entirely without the use of a screen, and is arranged using cards. The set includes 4 robots and a printed booklet.

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In addition to lessons based on learning logical thinking and problem-solving skills, fun and learning with the Makeblock robot is recognizing and expressing feelings. This is an aspect no less important in such early child development.  Kinesthetics, or learning by touch, uses tangible elements to engage muscle memory. Physical blocks and maps are enhanced with stories, and book-like scenarios take the form of adventures. Full specifications for the robot can be found on the kit page, but it’s worth taking a peek at the one specifically dedicated to it.