Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs

STEM Labs are designed to be the online teacher’s manual for VEX 123. Like a printed teacher’s manual, the teacher-facing content of the STEM Labs provides all of the resources, materials, and information needed to be able to plan, teach, and assess with VEX 123. The Lab Image Slideshows are the student-facing companion to this material. For more detailed information about how to implement a STEM Lab in your classroom, see the Implementing VEX 123 STEM Labs article.

Goals and Standards

Goals

Students will apply

Using the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards together in a project to make the 123 Robot perform different behaviors based on the color detected by the Eye Sensor.
Using the "Go to start" Coder card to repeat a project to create a 'Wolf Detecting Algorithm'.
Taking turns with a partner to build, test, and iterate on a project with the 123 Robot, Coder, and Coder cards.

Students will make meaning of

How to code a robot to solve a problem, such as performing different behaviors depending on the color of an object that is detected.

Students will be skilled at

Waking the 123 Robot.
Connecting the 123 Robot to the Coder.
Inserting and removing Coder cards from the Coder.
Sequencing Coder cards in a project.
Using the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards in a project.
Using the "Go to start" Coder card in a project

Students will know

How the Eye Sensor on the 123 Robot can be used to detect the color of an object if it is red, blue, or green.
That the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards work together with the Eye Sensor to make the robot perform different behaviors based on the color detected.
How to use the "Go to start" Coder card in a project to have the 123 Robot repeat the project forever.

Objective(s)

Objective

Students will collaborate in groups to work toward a common goal.
Students will identify that the Eye Sensor can detect the color of an object if it is red, green, or blue.
Students will use the "If red", "Else", "End if", and "Go to start" Coder cards to develop an algorithm that makes the 123 Robot drive until an object is detected, and perform different behaviors depending on the color of that object.

Activity

During Play Part 1, students will collaborate in their groups to build and test their projects using the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards. They will take turns placing the 123 Robot and the red Wolf and starting the Coder each time. During Play Part 2, students will work together to test their algorithm to both scare away the Wolf and get to Grandmother's house.
During the Engage section, students are introduced to the "If red" Coder card, and how it can be used in a project to make the robot perform a behavior based on the color detected. During Play Part 1, students build a project using the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards to have the robot perform different behaviors depending on the color detected by the Eye Sensor.
During Play Part 2, students build onto their project from Play Part 1 to add the "Go to start" Coder card, so that the robot continually repeats the behaviors of driving to an object, detecting the color, and performing a different behavior based on that color, so that the robot can both drive and scare away the Wolf, and drive to Grandmother's house successfully.

Assessment

In the Share section, students will share their projects and describe how they collaborated to test their 'Wolf Detecting Algorithm', and tell the story of what their robot is doing in relation to the Little Red Riding Hood story.
In the Mid-Play Break discussions, students will identify the decision that the robot is making based on the color detected. As the teacher steps through the project, students will make predictions about the robot's behavior, and will justify their predictions based on what they have learned about the If-else conditional in their projects.
During the Share section, students will discuss how their 'Wolf Detecting Algorithm' functions to allow the robot to detect the difference between the Wolf and Grandmother's house, so that they can effective scare away the Wolf and get to Grandmother's as the algorithm runs.

Connections to Standards

Showcase Standards

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

ISTE - (7) Global Collaborator - 7c: Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

How Standard is Achieved: Throughout the Lab, students work with their partners, taking turns to build, test, and iterate on projects to code their 123 Robot to drive and detect a Wolf and Grandmother's house. In the Play sections, students will take turns in their groups setting up the Little Red Robot and the red Wolf to test their projects using the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards. In Play Part 2, they will build upon their projects to test out their 'Wolf Detecting Algorithm', taking turns to setup and test the project, and to choose additional Coder cards to add to their algorithm to make the Little Red Robot react differently to the red Wolf and Grandmother's house.

Showcase Standards

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

1A-AP-10: Develop programs with sequences and simple loops, to express ideas or address a problem.

How Standard is Achieved: During the Engage section, students learn that the Eye Sensor on the 123 Robot can also detect the color of an object. In Play Part 1, students build on their projects form the previous Lab, to incorporate "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards to code the 123 Robot to drive until an object is detected, and perform different behaviors based on the color detected.

During the Mid Play Break, they identify the decision that is being made in the project. They are then introduced to the "Go to start" Coder card and how it can be used to create a loop. Students add the "Go to start" Coder card to their projects to create a 'Wolf Detecting Algorithm' that can both scare away the red Wolf and announce their arrival at Grandmother's house.

Additional Standards

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA)

CSTA 1B-AP-10: Create programs that include sequences, events, loops, and conditionals.

How Standard is Achieved: In the Engage section, students are introduced to the "If red" Coder card to see how adding the condition to their project affects the robot's behavior. In Play Part 1, they use the "If red", "Else", and "End if" Coder cards to build a project that uses sequences and conditionals to have the robot drive to an object and perform a different behavior depending on the color of the object detected. In Play Part 2, they add the "Go to start" Coder card to add a forever loop in their project. With the addition of the loop, students create a 'Wolf Detecting Algorithm' that will repeatedly check the color of the object detected in order to both scare away the Wolf and drive successfully to Grandmother's house.

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