Introducing Ozobots and Listening to the Productive Buzz that Accompanies Student Engagement

I purchased three Ozobots for our Library and introduced the fourth graders to them last week. 

I could only buy three at this point and our average class size is about twenty-four students, so that's a pretty big ratio. The students in my school are generally good at collaborating and cooperating, but I admit to being a bit nervous about introducing such a cool learning tool with an 8:1 ratio. I did not need to worry. There was not one disagreement over the intervening three hours as the four classes came through. The library was a buzz of activity, that incredibly wonderful productive buzz that accompanies the deep thinking of exploration and experimentation.

Have a look and listen:

I started with the pens for programming, but have downloaded the app onto the iPads and will include those for programming as well. For this introduction, I wanted the students to fully understand how to use the codes and reproduce them. The trial and error that occurred was just the kind of learning experience I wanted to the students to have. The were problem solving on the go! They drew and redrew lines and codes. They fixed errors. They talked through ideas. It was brilliant. I can't wait to see how these tools continue to help them learn.