Monthly Archives: October 2018

Using Cubetto to Teach Algorithms.

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Cubetto is a friendly wooden robot that will teach children the basics of computer programming through adventure and hands on play.

Over the course of a few sessions we had a group of 6 children with a variety of special needs. One had visual impairment, one was in a wheelchair and 2 were on the autistic spectrum. The others had global delay. Our learning intentions were:

  • to describe uses of technology
  • to understand how robots are used
  • to explain what computer programming is
  • to understand and create simple algorithms
  • use symbols for direction and turn in a simple program or sequence of actions.
  • identify obvious errors in a sequence and correct them
  • program a robot to travel round a map or maze.
  • to see patterns and begin to understand loops
  • to use procedures.

We had spoken about robots and how they work, how they need to be programmed and we talked about all the jobs that robots can do (building cars, overhead photography, drive cars etc)

I had been teaching the group about giving instructions. One of our colleagues had donned a special hat and become a robot that the children programmed. And they had a try at programming each other. We gave our “robots” one instruction at a time and then tried giving more instructions in a list. After playing for a while actually being robots (on foot or from the wheelchair) we moved to using the Cubetto.

We made friends with the Cubetto and looked at the map we were going to make him travel round. We talked about the instructions we might need to give him and then had a good look at the tiles to determine what separate instruction each tile could give. We tried out our instructions verbally as we put the tiles into place in a sequence. Then we tested our sequence of instructions, debugging as a group if the Cubetto didn’t go where we wanted him to.

The children took turns to create sequences of instructions but the group helped with de-bugging.

One other activity we did was taking turns to give the instructions to someone who would then put the appropriate tiles into the control panel. They had to listen to each other carefully and had to formulate their sentences clearly as well.

In another session I taught the children about iteration: repetition of part of the algorithm. Using the function block the children could see that certain parts of our algorithm could be repeated easily.

Another time we discovered how, using the function block, we could embed a little bit of code into the main algorithm.

Cubetto is made of wood and is lovely to hold and use. It works easily with very little explanation; the children could use it by themselves.  Teachers and TAs supported by encouraging the children to take turns and to speak to each other clearly.

Numbershark provides many ways to learn

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What is it?

As the name suggests, this is the maths based equivalent of the better known Wordshark, and it shares many of the features.

There are a large number of games and activities – designed in quite a quirky, retro style, that enable the same concept to be learnt in a number of different ways. Topics are listed in such as way as to be easily searchable, with main headings such as Counting and sequencing, Division, Mixed operations and so on, which are then broken down into sub sections, like ‘Easy adds to 100,’ or ‘Counting in tenths.’ These can also be viewed as the National Curriculum 2014 KS1 and KS2 to aid classroom planning, and can be enabled with automatic progression so the level of challenge increases with mastery.

Once a topic is selected the system offers a list of Recommended games to be played, but there are other lists given, too, such as ‘Counting and Ordering,’ or ‘Place Value,’ as means of organising them.

The teacher can assign activities to learners, or they can select them themselves. A recording system means the teacher can later review how they got on, which includes errors made.

Who is it for?

Whilst it is largely thought of as a teaching tool for working with children and young people with special educational needs, it is full enough and flexible enough to be used more broadly than that, particularly in  primary schools, where all learners will benefit from the opportunity to practice mathematical skills in fun and engaging ways. In secondary schools it will probably be more appropriate for those learners who need additional support to master mathematical concepts.

How do I use it?

The content covers the entire primary school maths curriculum, however,  this is a resource to be used as part of a wider intervention. The activities can be used as a reinforcement to build on what has been taught. The multiple approaches to each concept, or area of maths, means that a degree of repetition can be achieved without pupils becoming fed up or bored.

There is also a need to generalise, to transfer the skills and knowledge learnt whilst working on screen into other areas of the timetable. Sometimes pupils can become proficient in the area of focus whilst using the Numbershark games, but then not be able to perform the same tasks with pencil and paper, or by doing mental maths.

The recording system means it is theoretically possible to ‘plug in’ the learner to the machine then walk away whilst they get on with it, but there is a need to engage with the learner whilst playing the games to support their understanding. Otherwise they might see the gaming element without appreciating just what they are learning.

What else is there?

There are many edtech maths resources available. However, Numbershark is different because of the variety of activities that are offered for any particular area of the maths curriculum. Teachers may decide to only use one activity with a pupil, or have them do half a dozen, to approach it in different ways. The flexibility is there for the teacher to decide how this resource can fit in with the wider approach taken with a learner.