The first class

After discussing topics such as choosing Lego WeDo 2.0 to teach robotics and managing a group of kids, this post will help you to learn everything you need to know to start your classes.



First things first. Likely, if you are reading this you are trained in technology or science. You must know what you are doing before presenting the activities to your students. Besides, only if you feel passionate about what you teach you will be able to motivate your students.

Secondly, you must master the materials you are going to use. Remember, the Lego sets are just a tool, one among many others. You need to spend some time learning how the system works and what you can do with the suggested projects, keep in mind that, although it is presented as a child game, its possibilities are huge.

Good news is that you are not alone. There are plenty of resources. I recommend starting watching the videos of the Lego e-learning platform. Once you have finished you will have a very comprehensive idea of what Lego WeDo offers. You will discover that this is not only about building robots, you can also discuss environmental topics, biology, astronomy...

Lastly, you must learn a new language in order to program the models with the Lego app. The programming blocks are described in this document. This is the weakest point of the system, in my opinion, since the software is not very versatile. However, it is possible to program with scratch or other platforms depending on the devices and operative systems you have.

Give yourself an hour on your own and have fun with the first project, 'Milo the science rover', as if you were one of your students. Once you have built it you will know the challenges your pupils will face, and you will be able to prepare additional ideas to customise your class. You can take notes, they will be useful for future sessions.

Once the preparation is done, it is time to go to the class. The first contact is very personal so I will not tell you how to introduce yourself to the students. But what I can tell you is that you will find people who cannot wait to start building their first robot.

As an introduction to the topic, I always try to connect our project to real machines that children already know, or imagine with them fantastic solutions to everyday problems. After that, we assign the roles to each child. I work with groups of two pupils. One of them is the builder and the other one is the supervisor. I always remind them that if anything goes wrong the responsibility will be on the latter. This way I keep them focused even if they are not using their hands. When they reach half of the building steps they switch roles. For me, teamwork is really important. Nowadays any technological achievement is made by a well-coordinated team.

Once they have finished they can program their model. This part can be done by each student separately since it is possible to code several programs in the same project by adding an additional Start block. Run either Student A's program or Student B's in order to test it.
Two programs coded in the same project

When my students face a problem I never give them the solution. Instead, I make them notice where the mistake is. Sometimes they get upset at the beginning, but when they realise they can solve the problems by themselves, they gain self-confidence.

At the end of your first session, you will have some Milos rolling around. If you have time you can suggest some variations on the original project, such as make the rover lighter, or faster. You can try to climb a slide and see what happens. I always let some free time and encourage my students to experiment and try their own ideas. Sometimes these ideas fail. That should not be an issue, on the contrary, we can learn a lot from mistakes.

I hope these tips are useful and help you to make the most of Lego WeDo 2.0. Have fun!

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