Storytellers and engineers in early childhood: developing technological fluency

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Storytellers and engineers in early childhood
developing technological fluency by making
robots
Marina U. Bers Dept. of Child Development Computer
Science Dept. DevTech Research Group Tufts
University Marina.bers_at_tufts.edu
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What is robotics?

Mechanics and Electronics Building and
Programming Designing and Implementing

Engineering and Storytelling
Cultural identity and SMET
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Little storytellers
Little engineers
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Engineering and Storytelling
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Why robotics in early childhood?

New generation of building blocks Appropriate
for todays context Child-centered
curriculum Engage both little engineers
little storytellers

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Robotics curricular web
science cause and effect life cycle physical
world earth and space
literacy reading writing literature
extensions story telling
ROBOTICS

technology/engineering design process simple
machines mechanics programming
social studies mapping geography history family
arts music dramatic arts dance/movement visual
arts collage/sculpture
math graphing measurement block building number
sense geometry patterns
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Powerful Idea Description
Computer Programming This is the fundamental idea that robots are not living things that act of their own accord. Instead, robots act out computer programs written by human beings. Not only that, children can create their own computer programs to control a robot.
Command Sequences Control Flow The idea that simple commands can be combined into sequences of actions to be acted out by a robot in order.
Loops The idea that sequences of instructions can be modified to repeat indefinitely or in a controlled way.
Sensors The idea that a robot can sense its surrounding environment through a variety of modalities, and that a robot can be programmed to respond to changes in its environment.
Parameters The idea that some instructions can be qualified with additional information.
Branches The idea that you can ask a question in a program, and, depending on the answer, have a robot do one thing or another.
Subroutines The idea that you can treat a set of instructions as a single unit that can be called from other parts of a program.
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Positive Technological Development (PTD)
interventions
Assets
Behaviors
Technological Tools
Communication
Outcomes
Collaboration
Self Improvement
Before
After
Community- Building
Contribution to society
Content Creation
Creativity
Choices of Conduct
Personal development trajectory within a socio
cultural context
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Project InterActions families with young
children culture

• Families create a robotic project that represents
  their cultural identity
• chose a culture to explore,
• decide the materials to use,
• manage the resources and time-frame,
• resolve the technological challenges (both
  programming and mechanics),
• create narratives around the final project
• Make a website documenting the experience

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Tangible Kindergarten
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Want more ?

Marina.Bers_at_tufts.edu
http//www.tufts.edu/mbers01/
Blocks to Robots Learning with Technology in
the Early Childhood Classroom. Marina Umaschi
Bers Teachers College Press, 2008