One way we use programming is to control electronic devices, such as microwaves and dishwashers. It is also how we tell robots what we want them to do. Some robots are like in films. They look like mechanical human beings. Others are machines that work in factories doing jobs where the same thing has to be repeated in exactly the same way time and time again.

We began the lesson with a sheet of 2×2 grids. The students had to work out how many different paths they could find along the lines to get from one corner to another. We then wrote these out as instructions using Forward, Left and Right. Some of the students gave a number of degrees to turn by. One route was:-

Forward 1

Right 90

Forward 2

Left 90

Forward 1

Next we marked out grids on the floor with masking tape and tried out our instructions, taking it in turns to be robots being programmed. It was sometimes hard to use the correct words, and to ignore the wrong ones.

There were also some more complex routes involving diagonal lines so we had to work out that half a turn was 45 degrees.

We had a short break then tried out what we had learned on some ‘real’ robots.

This is Ritchie the Robot. He works by remote control. He is only a toy really, but he moves and turns when you press the keys. It could be quite hard to get him to go to where we wanted him. It was easier if you stood behind him. We couldn’t really program him.

This robot is  a Bluebot. You program him by pressing a sequence of buttons on the top then pressing the ‘Go’ button in the middle.

He would follow the same route every time because the instructions didn’t change – just like a real robot.

Some of us also tried out the Beebot app to make him go follow the correct path on an iPad.