From 2020, programming education that has been decided to be compulsory even in elementary schools. It is being promoted and promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology against the background of the shortage of human resources in the IT industry in the future. Information technology is indispensable in modern society, even if not all children will become programmers in the future. Opportunities that require communication at work or school may increase in the future, assuming that you have a basic knowledge of programming. In addition, “logical thinking ability” and “problem-solving ability” that are nurtured through programming learning will be required in the future.
Did you know that many IoT goods that can be learned are on sale as programming education becomes compulsory? Here are two robots that are ideal for learning programming.
▼ Learning robot that can be customized with paper craft
This is “Kamibot” whose name is derived from “paper” and “robot”. It is a robot that you can set a paper craft and learn programming while having fun playing.
The main body is equipped with a drive system motor, an IR (infrared) sensor that recognizes black lines, and an ultrasonic distance sensor that measures the distance to obstacles. When connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth 4.0, remote control such as turning and speed control is possible from the dedicated app.
The programming learning you care about consists of two stages according to the difficulty level. “Level 1” for 6 years old to the lower grades of elementary school aims to familiarize yourself with the operation of the robot and facilitate later learning. In “Level 2” for the middle grades of elementary school and beyond, full-scale learning using programming languages is possible.
There are various types of compatible apps, such as “Kami Card” where you can learn the basics of programming with cards designed with symbols, and “Kami Block” where you can combine colorful blocks to create programming. It seems that it can be used properly according to the age and learning stage of the child.
In addition, the above-mentioned paper craft can be downloaded for free from the official website. The lineup of various characters such as robots / animals / vehicles is also attractive. If you change the design regularly, you will have more fun learning programming.
▼ Programmable on a web browser!
The “Woolbot LED” that I will introduce next is a robot-based microcomputer board. Neodymium magnets mounted on the back of the main unit allow you to freely drive on magnetic whiteboards and refrigerators. This also supports remote control with the smartphone app, and the automatic driving mode that follows the black line is programmed from the initial state.
The platform “mbed” that uses a cloud server is used for programming. You can easily start programming learning on a web browser without installing the dedicated software on your computer. Let’s freely customize the 16 x 16 dot LED display and the pattern during automatic driving.
“Woolbot LED” that allows you to check the created program from the operation. It can be said that it is the best teaching material for understanding the mechanism of programming. It is also recommended for fathers and mothers who want to start programming learning with their children.
How was the robot that supports programming learning? If you are interested in the details, please visit each product page.
