Workshop Plan
Each session should start with a fun, engaging communication or connection game. These games do not have to involve technology of any kind. The focus of this section of the workshop is to use an icebreaker to practice communication skills and allow the participants to connect with each other.
Here is a list of fun icebreakers that can be used:
Charades
Would you rather?
Pictionary
Graph Paper Coding where instructions are written down and then passed to another person to recreate what was instructed
Exact Instructions Challenge: https://youtu.be/cDA3_5982h8. ( similar to Graph Paper Coding Exercise )
Two Truths and 1 Lie
A game where one person is given a word that relates to an object such as the word “apple”. That person then has to communicate to the other people how to draw such an item. For example the person with the word could say to “draw a circle, then make a rectangle at the top of the circle, on the edge of the rectangle make an oval with a line running horizontally through it”. This is a fun game that demonstrates the importance of specificity as well as fun to see the variety of drawings that come out of such instructions.
Then a Sphero Project Demonstration should be done to demonstrate the cool things you can do with Spheros. Note that each of the projects involves a level of communication in order to continue the development and connect with the communication theme of these workshops.
Graph Paper Programming
Sphero Squares
Rock Paper Scissors
Super-8 Ball
SuperBingo
Battleship Sphero/ Four Corners where everyone picks a number/corner and Sphero picks a number. The number and people that are in that corner are out and the cycle repeats until one person is left standing.
More information and access to Sphero Project Demonstrations resources can be found on the Tech Connects website: https://sites.google.com/view/techconnects/
Next a concept of computer science should be explained through use of the videos in the YouTube Channel. Here is the link to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj65LnVrQd6rvR3WuuwJuSQ
***Each participant of the workshop could follow along with the videos or they can work on creating their programs after the videos which would allow them to pursue their own ideas and creativity. The participants should be divided into pairs for collaboration and communication during their discoveries. Additionally, the participants should be given time and space to explore and implement their own thoughts and ideas.