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!