Project 1 (Year 6) Creating a startup sequence.

In this project Year 6 students program the robot to perform a combination of actions as a creative startup sequence.  I first introduced this by discussing other startup sequences we are already familiar with such as the one on an iPhone or iPad.  This startup sequence will warn others that the robot is about to do something.

I demonstrated the use of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT software and how to connect the USB cable from the computer to the robot itself.  We also discussed the importance of naming and saving files correctly.  Here is the demonstration program I made:

A worthwhile extension activity for this project is to create a flow chart in Word which describes the startup sequence visually.  Here is the corresponding flow chart for my program:

Note: Normally I would teach the designing and flow chart creation before we started programming but for this first project I found it worked better this way: it is easier for the students to understand the flow chart's meaning after they have had some experience with the robot.

Students name the robots.

Following our successful trial of the NXT we bought and assembled three more to use with a class of 16 Year 6 students.  I found the ratio of four students to one robot works quite well in the classroom.  Next I wanted to individualise the robots somehow so I held a naming competition in which students submitted suggestions anonymously and then voted as a class.  Each robot has a different coloured lamp and matching scarf tied around its “neck” which influenced the vote.  This makes identifying them much easier (in case of breakage, low battery, etc.) and adds a sense ownership for the students.  In the end we settled on the following identifying features:

1) Rusty – red lamp, red scarf
2) Cabbage – green lamp, green scarf
3) Vector – yellow lamp, purple scarf

4) Sparkle – white lamp, white scarf

Note: You can set the name to display on the robot’s screen using the software application!