Week 2: LEGO Robotics

In-person, Jan 30, 5pm-7pm

imaginative sketch of early lego robot

Goals: We will learn how to program the latest generation of LEGO robotics. We will pick up key engineering and programming techniques, practice our design skills, and consider other academic applications of robotics.

Readings due:

read before class

Papert, S. (1999, March 29). Child Psychologist Jean Piaget. Time.
Papert, S. (1980). The Gears of My Childhood (forward). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. Basic Books, Inc.
Papert, S. (1991). Situating constructionism. In I. Harel & S. Papert (Eds.), Constructionism (pp. 1–10). Praeger.

Background

Papert’s Constructionism research studied children learning the LOGO programming language. To make the ideas of programming more concrete, Papert’s team developed a physical turtle robot that could be controlled through LOGO code. In the 1980s, this turtle evolved into the “programmable brick” – a computer built into a LEGO brick.

Agenda

Welcome
Discuss readings
LEGO Robotics Catapult Lab

Resources

LEGO Spike Prime. Web based IDE.

Readings Out

Papert, S. (2002). Hard Fun.
Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The Standard Definition of Creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 92–96.
Culpepper, M. K., & Gauntlett, D. (2020). Making and learning together: Where the makerspace mindset meets platforms for creativity. Global Studies of Childhood, 10(3), 264–274.