Stimulate STEM in your classroom with SPHEROS

What are SPHEROS?

A sphero is a spherical robotic that students can program with ease using apps for the iPad or Android device.  The Sphero is highly engaging with its ability to roll at various speeds rolling. It also has engaging colour changing and sound features.

Using SPHEROs for learning

This durable, highly engaging robot provides a great entry point for inquiry,  inventive thinking and learning using coding in the following curriculum areas:

• Mathematics in determining speed, distance, geometry
• Geographical location and directions
• Design new vehicles incorporating the sphero 
• Create artworks
• Problem solving

Target student audience
Sphero can be used initially by students who may not know how to program and then  that learning can be extended to further develop the students' coding ability. We see that the sphero can be used in the early years but is probably best suited to learners in Years 3-6.

Programming the Sphero 
The main app for use with the Sphero is Lighting Lab but there is also the opportunity to use other apps such as Tickle and Tynker. When programming the Sphero

• Beginners can use the drawing tools to program a pathway for the Sphero to travel.
• Intermediate coders use block coding in a drag and drop environment, while
• Advanced users can utilise text based programming

Sphero Olympics - a case study from OLOR Kellyville:

Recently Stephen Bamford and his Year 6 students participated in a Sphero Olympic Challenge. For inspiration they used Nathan Jones iBook Sphero Olympics, available on the iBookstore. Thereafter the ideas flowed. The students were organised into twelve teams representing a range of countries - a Sphero Olympic Ceremony was devised. Competitive events included sprints, chariot racing, swimming, sailing, archery and also a Gymnastics floor routine event. Overall the Sphero Olympics proved to be an engaging learning experience for students which helped students engaged in coding to meet outcomes from both Science & Technology and Mathematics. Some videos from the challenge are available on Steve Bamford's Youtube Channel.

Planning your STEM integration at school

Are your thinking of getting started with STEM at your school?

If so, rather than jumping in and buying a whole lot of equipment, start a planning process to have a coherent strategy that you can take to your leadership and teachers to get them on board.

Plan
St Andrews Primary Marayong under the guidance of their technology coordinator Matt Haynes have developed a planning document that provides a continuum of STEM resources and how they might be integrated across each stage and across a 3 year period.  Links are also provided to support documents and lesson ideas for teachers.

Consult
Working with a small team of initially interested staff they then sought some advice about their strategy and elicited ideas around best ways to support teachers for the process and discussed initial ideas about curriculum integration.  Based on their strategy a number of STEM resources were purchased.

Involve the teachers
The next step St Andrews did was to present to staff.  "After running through a Keynote and discussing the importance of STEM (also giving them a chance to list concerns), the staff had a huge unboxing and just over an hour of play.  The staff were really responsive and keen for some change. "

Explore 
"The play really helped to settle any concerns and as a result all the staff are onboard for next year, with a lot of staff/grades already planning, and learning all about STEM during their RFF and in their own time. Some are teaching themselves coding (Scratch, Code.org), and developing units based around the 4 C's. There was a tonne of small talk about STEM and what they had found out on their own. 5 of the 7 grades chipped in and after discussion, a class set (15) of Blue-Bots and 3 good quality 3D printers are on order.  Teachers are also finding resources for their classes/grades and borrowing some of the grade resources purchased by us so they can teach themselves over the holidays. There is a really good buzz in the air".

Connections with curriculum

Their next step is to plan some professional learning around use, connection and integration with curriculum.
St Andrews recognise that "PD will play a huge role in the successful implementation next year to ensure the move from transmission to transformational learning."

Click on the image below to access the full document

Techgirls using their coding powers for social good

Three of our Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta schools out of 75 entries were finalists in this years national 2016 Tech Girls Superhero Challenge .

NSW Winner: Nagle College, Blacktown
Runners Up: Our Lady of Nativity Lawson ( Primary) ; St Patrick’s Dundas ( secondary)

The TechGirls challenge is for female students in years 4-12. Teams consisting of 3 to 5 young women identify a problem, create an app to solve it, code the app, build a company to launch the app in the market, and pitch their plan to experts­­ all in 3 months. 

This project­ based computer science and entrepreneurship curriculum reinforces digital representation of information, algorithmic thinking and programming, and emphasises the societal impact of information and information technology. It teaches girls life skills such as how to identify problems, design and test solutions, collaborate in a team and communicate to different audiences.

The 2016 theme for the challenge was:

Solve a problem in your local community: technology for social good. 

Nagle College Blacktown pitched and created a prototype App called 'Amuse' to reduce stress for teenagers.  See their pitch video here.

Our Lady of Nativity Lawson pitched and created a prototype App called Mountains Adventurer to help families and children find things to do in the Blue Mountains. See their pitch video here.

St Patricks Dundas Marist pitched and created a prototype App called Appletic to help sports team manage participants and interact and check details with each other.  See their pitch video here.

To get involved, teams registered for the Next Tech Girl Superhero and submitted a pitch (through video) and other deliverables. After this, teams chose to enter the global 2016 Technovation competition to pitch against others internationally. School girls will learn skills to be a tech entrepreneur by working through set tasks to build an app. All teams are matched with a mentor.

Read all about the Finalists, runners up and special mentions here.