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"There have been complaints leveraged against out of the box robots like Dash and Dot, Ozobot, Hummingbird, Sphero. The complaints usually revolve around the canned and prescriptive nature of their uses and programs, that they lack creative engagement by the younger users. I personally love the excitement my learners have using these robots. As with all tools and technologies and with creative framing, though, they can be used in creative and imaginative ways. Mention robots to many English teachers and they'll immediately point down the hall to the science classroom or to the makerspace, if they have one. At many schools, if there's a robot at all, it's located in a science or math classroom or is being built by an after-school robotics club. It's not usually a fixture in English classrooms. But as teachers continue to work at finding new entry points to old material for their students, robots are proving to be a great interdisciplinary tool that builds collaboration and literacy skills. (How Robots in English Class Can Spark Empathy and Improve Writing) This past term, I had my 2nd through 4th grade students work on their robot-enhanced creative writing and stories. In small groups, students were asked to create a fictional storyline and use StoryboardThat.com to create both the physical scenes and the accompanying narrative. As part of their directions, they were told that they were going to create a 3D setting out of cardboard boxes, foam board, LED lights, and other craft materials; and that they would use Wonder's Dot with the Blocky App and Ozobot as the characters in their stories. Preparation time was divided between storyboarding, creating the scene, and learning how to use/code the robots. Because of all of the preparation and practice, the recording actually went quite quick and smoothly. Here is a break down of the learning events that learners were asked to complete:"

"On June 5th at WWDC, Apple unveiled the new content that is now part of the Swift Playgrounds app. Thanks to our new partnership, you can now program real world robots including Sphero's very own SPRK+."

"Cardboard Creations Maker Education Camp utilized no technology (except for projecting images of example projects on the whiteboard) and low/no cost materials. Many of the discussions about and actions related to integrating maker education into educational environments center around the use of new technologies such computer components (Raspberry Pis, Arduinos), interactive robots for kids (Dash and Dot, Ozobots, Spheros), and 3D printers. These technologies are lots of fun and I facilitate Robotics and Computer Science with my gifted students and at one of my summer camps. The learners engaged in these high tech learning activities with high excitement and motivation. Such high excitement, engagement and motivation, though, were also seen at my low tech/low cost maker education camps: LED crafts, Toy Hacking and Making, and Cardboard Creations."

"Mention robots to many English teachers and they'll immediately point down the hall to the science classroom or to the makerspace, if they have one. At many schools, if there's a robot at all, it's located in a science or math classroom or is being built by an after-school robotics club. It's not usually a fixture in English classrooms. But as teachers continue to work at finding new entry points to old material for their students, robots are proving to be a great interdisciplinary tool that builds collaboration and literacy skills. "For someone like me who teaches literature by lots of dead white guys, teaching programming adds relevance to my class," said Jessica Herring, a high school English teacher at Benton High School in Arkansas. Herring first experimented using Sphero, essentially a programmable ball, when her American literature class was studying the writing of early settlers. Herring pushed the desks back and drew a maze on the floor with tape representing the journey from Europe to the New World. Her students used class iPads and an introductory manually guided app to steer their Spheros through the maze. Herring, like many English teachers, was skeptical about how the Sphero robot could be a useful teaching tool in her classroom. She thought that type of technology would distract students from the core skills of reading, writing and analyzing literature. But she decided to try it after hearing about the success of another English teacher across the country."

"Some people think that K-12 computer science requires a large budget, a classroom full of tablets and robots, and an experienced tech teacher. We are pleased to dispel those myths--and introduce you to SAS CodeSnaps! CodeSnaps is a collaborative coding environment requiring only one iPad and one robot. The app takes advantage of tangible, printed coding blocks, allowing students to prepare programs together on a shared work surface without a device. After students scan the blocks with the app, commands can be executed on the connected robot (compatible robots include Sphero, Ollie, SPRK, and SPRK+). "

"Sphero balls have become a staple part of many schools Makerspaces and mine is no different. They really do offer amazing creativity and deep learning through visual programming with strong links to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Maths) problem solving skills and computational thinking.  CompNow ran a competition this year to promote the use of Sphero's in education and in particular how they can be included in all areas of the curriculum. It was timely that the Olympics were recently held in Rio and provided an interesting cross curricula topic."

"Sphero painting has become a SPRK community favorite. Whether students are programming geometric shapes and painting with Spheros or replicating Jackson Pollock paintings, adding paint makes programming more realistic as kids can see their programs in action on paper."

"Learn how to use long exposure photography to take pictures that capture an image over time. Then use Sphero to draw with light."

"Two years ago, my school obtained a grant from the Sphero Robotics company that brought 10 Sphero Robots to our school. At first, we used them in math and science. However, this year, we expanded our use of robotics and acquired Ozobots, SPRKS, bb8s, and BeeBots. My elementary faculty impressed me with their ability to use these 21st-century robots in a variety of subject areas including language arts and humanities. Here are four examples of how A. Harry Moore teachers used robots to teach lessons in English, Language Arts, and Humanities classes."

"It may be best known for the BB-8, but Sphero's robotic toys have uses well beyond Star Wars. Aspect Hunter School in Sydney, Australia is a school for children on the autism spectrum. The school is attended by 130 kids, beginning at age four, as well as around 30 Spheros."

"What are great tools for a makerspace? What materials should I get? Show this list of awesome stuff to your students and makerspace steering committee and see what your makers are interested in before making purchases. (Read more about starting a school makerspace from scratch) Curious about how to get funding? Read my makerspace buy-in post here (coming in May 2016). *What if I can't get it all? Decide how you want to run your space. Do you wanna have workshops or challenges? A challenge lasts a lot longer, so you could buy 10 sets of Makey Makeys and run a challenge for a few months. Or get 10 Spheros and do a different Sphero challenge each month. Just keep stretching your ideas and see where your imagination can take you, but don't get bogged down ordering a lot of stuff you do not know how to use.  Buy a set of something and see where it takes you! Also, don't wait until you know how to use it before using it with students! Learn ALONGSIDE your makers!"

"In this activity students will move the Sphero ball across a grid system, while describing, using math terms, the movement and location by coding the sequence."

"Having an iPad in my classroom and home has clearly helped me become more productive and have more fun. iPads are engaging and they are powerful. I have downloaded some great apps but one of the most overlooked aspects of the iPad are the awesome accessories you can connect to it. Here is my list of the five coolest things you can connect to your iPad:"

"To celebrate Computer Science Education Week, students around the world are participating in the Hour of Code.  This global event brings computer science into schools to allow students, for one hour, to learn basic programming and coding to nurture problem-solving skills, logic, and creativity. My class spent some time designing an Iditarod Trail course for students to travel using round Sphero robots.  What is a Sphero?  It is simply an app-enabled ball that students code or program to move.  It can jump, change colors, and roll in any direction up to 4.5mph. Our robots represented an Iditarod dog team in the 2016 race.  Students used the free Sphero app for programming its movement along the course we created.  "

"I have been asked to return to teach summer enrichment classes on maker education for elementary-aged learners at a local school during the summer of 2016. One of the new classes I am designing is called Coding and Bots. The description is: Learn how to code first by playing games and then by coding some bots including Sphero, OZOBOT, and Dash and Dot. All ages are welcome but the child should have basic symbol recognition/reading skills. Two things to note about this class are, first, I learned last summer not to underestimate the learning potential of very young kids. These classes are mixed ages ranging from 4 to 10 year old kids. For most of the maker education activities, the very young ones could perform them, sometimes better than the older kids. Second, I am a strong proponent of hands on activities. Although I like the use of iPads and computers, I want elementary aged students to have to directly interact with materials. As such, I am designing Coding and Bots to include using their bodies and manipulating objects. This translates into having all activities include the use of objects and materials excluding and in conjunction with the iPad - not just using the iPad and online apps/tools to learn to code. The activities I plan to do follow:"