Lesson 12
Programming with the Blue-Bot App
Students will use the Blue-Bot app to engage in a variety of programming challenges, including navigating around obstacles on a Bee-Bot mat, programming with a limited number of Blue-Bot commands, or reverse engineering a pre-written Blue-Bot program. Students can connect the app to a Blue-Bot to program the actual Blue-Bot using the app, too!
Agenda
- Ask: What strategies did you use to create a program that navigated the Bee-Bot through a complex maze?
- Activity: Programming Challenges with the Blue-Bot app
- Reflection & Close-Out:
- What was a challenge that required you to use perseverance today?
- What bugs did you find and fix in a program today?
Materials
- Blue-Bots
- devices with the Blue-Bot app installed (see Resources for download links)
- Mats and mat cards (optional)
Vocabulary
debug: find and fix errors (bugs) in programs
decomposition: breaking down a problem into smaller pieces
program: a set of instructions written in a language that a computer understands
sequence: a set of instructions that follow one another in order
Additional Resources
- Blue-Bot App Windows/Mac / iOS (iPads) / Android
- Getting Started with the Blue-Bot App guide
- Blue-Bot Instructional Guide
- Bee-Bot Team Roles poster letter / tabloid
- Technology Brain Break: choose a video from this list!
Standards
CA CSS: K-2.AP.12 Create programs with sequences of commands and simple loops, to express ideas or address a problem.
CA CSS: K-2.AP.13 Decompose the steps needed to solve a problem into a sequence of instructions.
CA CSS: K-2.AP.14 Develop plans that describe a program's sequence of events, goals, and expected outcomes.
CA CSS: K-2.AP.16 Debug errors in an algorithm or program that includes sequences and simple loops.