Stopping at the black line

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

Years 5 and 6 programmed their robot to move forwards over a white ground and stop at the black line. This involved finding a threshold value of % light reflected. This was done using the view menu and measing the amount of reflected light that came from white and black. These values were averaged and this value was used in the program. Here is video.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

Follow That LIne

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

Years 5 and 6 programmed their robots to follow a black line using a light sensor. The secret was to follow the edge of the line. The student sued the view menu and maths to calculate the threshold value for the % of reflected light. The program used a switch to make the robot turn into the line when it sensed white and turn out when it sensed black. Have a look at the video.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

Stage 3 and the Battle of the Sumo Bots

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

This week we had the grandfinals of the stage 3 Sumo-Bot challenge.

Students worked in teams of two to design and build their Sumo-Bot Robots that:

had a downward facing light sensor and stayed within the black rectangle
Had a motorised offensive/defensive arm
had protective/ attacking non motorised structures
turned 180 degrees to start the battle.

Below are our class finalists

The grandfinals were watched by all the students in Years 5 and 6…and it was very exciting and lots of fun.

Below is a video and lots of photos…enjoy.

Here are some photos of the event and the impressive Bots

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

4S Create An Amusement Park

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

4s employed their: coding skills, creativity, ability to design and make, team workmanship and more as they created an amusement park.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

3A Amazing Mechanisms

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

3A created some amazing mechanisms in class this term….well done.

Here is a video of the work created and programmed by our talented students in 3A.

Please note this link will be active until November 1 2016

Woops… one of our talented teams did not get videoed….sorry girls.

Here they are in their own little show.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

GEPS go to the NSW State Robocup Competition

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

Last week, 4 teams from Gordon East Public School competed in the NSW State Robocup Competition. The event spanned two days and was at the University of NSW. There were 45 Primary School entries from around the state and 8 proceeded to the finals. Two of our teams: ‘Simply Amazing’ and ‘Dance Bots’ were finalists.

Here is a video of our teams. Unfortunately my video footage of ‘Simply Amazing’ did not work…I am so sorry about this.

Let me introduce our teams.

The ‘Disco Dancers’ had well dressed dancers spinning on a special disc designed to sit on their robots’ third motors.

The team encountered some difficulties when they were caught in a torrential rainstorm when travelling home from school and their props were ruined. They showed great resilience, team work and tenacity as they rebuilt the items.

‘Nanobots’ had a pirate themed performance with rocking boats, shining silver swords and dramatic battles at sea.

‘Simply Amazing’ had three robots, two carried out synchronised dancing while the third precariously circled around a small centre stage.

‘Dance Bots’ had a dance off between two bots with a talking referee.

Here is a close up of the ref.

The teams were judged on their robot performances and interview. Please see the marking guidelines below.

Here is what some of our wonderful teams members had to say:

‘I thought that RoboCup was hard but I enjoyed it and would definitely do it again’……Jack

‘I loved the experience of writing a journal. I also liked how you got to see how other people’s robot went and got inspiration from them. I also really liked how I could learn what I could improve on in the competition’…….Risa

Thanks for calling by

4S Ferris Wheels

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

In term1 4S embarked on a major project of building, programming and modifying Ferris Wheels in their Amusement Park.

Here are some of the students’ programs.

The SELF PACED unit of work had a SECTION TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL TEAMS which included:

a research project on ferris wheels to: introduce the unit, connect pupils with their previous knowledge/experiences and to increase their knowledge so they could build on it throughout the unit.
following clear, sequential instructions to build a ferris wheel that was fully functional, sturdy and well balanced.
following clear programming guidelines so that the Ferris wheel would would turn until the motion sensor detected a passeneger car assembly and then it would stop to let the passengers on and off.
written activities completed by all, involving key learning areas such as Maths, English, Visual arts, Science and technology. These included: calculating the cost of the passenger car assembly, explaining the flow of energy throughout the system, using technical language, drawing clear labelled diagrams, translating the coded program into words explaining what effect it had on the ferris wheel, breaking down complex system into simple parts, measuring the size of the passenger car assembly and the width of the A frame and analysing the relationship between the two.

For the faster workers there were EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER. These included:

Teacher directed extension activities were included in the booklet such as designing and building passenger car assemblies that could hold more than one person but must cost less than the original design. The weight of the final design had to be considered so the assemblies were not too heavy, or modifications had to be made to the gearing so the Ferris wheel had the capacity to turn the new design.

********************************************************

Open ended student centred extensions included the challenge to improve on the design of their ferris wheel in any way the students’ deemed possible. Many pupils enjoyed gearing up their Ferris wheels so that their rides moved very quickly. Some embarked on building a nice ticket box with many associated luxories.
Open ended student centred extensions to improve on the programming. Some students programmed their ride to continue for a set amount of time before stopping when the motion sensor detected the passenger car assembly and stopped to let the passengers on and off. Backgrounds and sounds were added and keyboard commands to change the direction and /or speed of the motor programmed. Countdowns with attendant sounds and displays were included. Pupils loved adding text to the background and creating signs. The letter coming in one at a time to spell words was much loved.

********************************************************

Reward and further student centred extension activities for the fastest workers who had achieved a high level of work in all the above areas. Pupils were invited to write a script and video their ferris wheel in action.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

REFLECTION AND FOLLOW UP

Watching the videos. The show casing of these work samples allowed all students, including those who only completed the compulsory section, to see and partake in a discussion of an excellent project.
Student discussion including: what did the pupils like about their ferris wheels, the program and activities in class. What did they find most interesting? How did they work as a team? What could they improve on and how? If they did the activity again what might they like to do differently and why? What tips might they give to students starting this activity. (As the other Year 4 class is carrying out the ferris wheel unit of work next term, I invited students to write down their tips and I handed them onto the next class)

Have a look at the photos below.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

4L Carousels

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

The SELF PACED unit of work with a COMPULSORY SECTION TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL TEAMS This included:

a research project on carousels to: introduce the unit, connect pupils with their previous knowledge/experiences and to increase their knowledge so they could build on it throughout the unit.
following clear, sequential instructions to build a carousel that was fully functional, sturdy and well balanced.
following clear programming guidelines so that the Ferris wheel would would turn until the motion sensor detected a passeneger car assembly and then it would stop to let the passengers on and off.
written activities completed by all, involving key learning areas such as Maths, English, Visual arts, Science and technology. These included: calculating the cost of the the horse and car seats , explaining the flow of energy throughout the system, using technical language, drawing clear labelled diagrams, translating the coded program into words explaining what effect it had on the carousel, breaking down complex system into simple parts and understanding how the remote controlled tilt sensor control worked.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER

Teacher directed extension activities were included in the booklet such as designing and building the horse and car seats that could hold more than one person but must cost less than the original design. The weight of the final design had to be considered so the assemblies were not too heavy, or modifications had to be made to the gearing so the Ferris wheel had the capacity to turn the new design.

********************************************************

Open ended student centred extensions included the challenge to improve on the design of their ferris wheel in any way the students’ deemed possible. Many pupils enjoyed gearing up their Ferris wheels so that their rides moved very quickly. Some embarked on building a nice ticket box with many associated luxories.
Open ended student centred extensions to improve on the programming. Some students programmed their ride to continue for a set amount of time before stopping when the motion sensor detected the passenger car assembly and stopped to let the passengers on and off. Backgrounds and sounds were added and keyboard commands to change the direction and /or speed of the motor programmed. Countdowns with attendant sounds and displays were included. Pupils loved adding text to the background and creating signs. The letter coming in one at a time to spell words was much loved

Some interesting programs included.

Here are some videos of the carousels in action.

2CT visited and the students from 4L demonstrated their models, explained the programs and answered questions.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

A new students at GEPS…….a ‘Robotic Boy’.

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

As teachers it is always thrilling to see children taking their everyday lives.

One very talented boy from Year 4 spent many intensive hours at home industrious creating his ‘Robotic Friend’.

Below are some pictures and a video of his creation.

Thanks for calling by

Mrs Garlick

4L Ferris Wheels

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jennifer Garlick

Dear Bloggers,

In term1 4L embarked on a major project of building, programming and modifying Ferris Wheels in their Amusement Park.

The SELF PACED unit of work had a COMPULSORY SECTION TO BE COMPLETED BY ALL TEAMS which included:

a research project on ferris wheels to: introduce the unit, connect pupils with their previous knowledge/experiences and to increase their knowledge so they could build on it throughout the unit.
following clear, sequential instructions to build a ferris wheel that was fully functional, sturdy and well balanced.
following clear programming guidelines so that the Ferris wheel would would turn until the motion sensor detected a passeneger car assembly and then it would stop to let the passengers on and off.
written activities completed by all, involving key learning areas such as Maths, English, Visual arts, Science and technology. These included: calculating the cost of the passenger car assembly, explaining the flow of energy throughout the system, using technical language, drawing clear labelled diagrams, translating the coded program into words explaining what effect it had on the ferris wheel, breaking down complex system into simple parts, measuring the size of the passenger car assembly and the width of the A frame and analysing the relationship between the two.

For the faster workers there were EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED IN ORDER. These included:

Teacher directed extension activities were included in the booklet such as designing and building passenger car assemblies that could hold more than one person but must cost less than the original design. The weight of the final design had to be considered so the assemblies were not too heavy, or modifications had to be made to the gearing so the Ferris wheel had the capacity to turn the new design.

********************************************************

Open ended student centred extensions included the challenge to improve on the design of their ferris wheel in any way the students’ deemed possible. Many pupils enjoyed gearing up their Ferris wheels so that their rides moved very quickly. Some embarked on building a nice ticket box with many associated luxories.
Open ended student centred extensions to improve on the programming. Some students programmed their ride to continue for a set amount of time before stopping when the motion sensor detected the passenger car assembly and stopped to let the passengers on and off. Backgrounds and sounds were added and keyboard commands to change the direction and /or speed of the motor programmed. Countdowns with attendant sounds and displays were included. Pupils loved adding text to the background and creating signs. The letter coming in one at a time to spell words was much loved.

********************************************************

Reward and further student centred extension activities for the fastest workers who had achieved a high level of work in all the above areas. Pupils were invited to write a script and video their ferris wheel in action.

REFLECTION AND FOLLOW UP

Watching the videos. The show casing of these work samples allowed all students, including those who only completed the compulsory section, to see and partake in a discussion of an excellent project.
Student discussion including: what did the pupils like about their ferris wheels, the program and activities in class. What did they find most interesting? How did they work as a team? What could they improve on and how? If they did the activity again what might they like to do differently and why? What tips might they give to students starting this activity. (As the other Year 4 class is carrying out the ferris wheel unit of work next term, I invited students to write down their tips and I handed them onto the next class)

Have a look at the photos below.