Lab 1 - Collect a Martian Rock Sample
Main Focus Question: How can I use the Electromagnet on the Code Base to collect a Disk?
- Students will be introduced to the role of a Planetary Geologist, and how they use the tools on the Mars Rover to help them collect and study samples. They will build the Code Base 2.0 - Eye + Electromagnet to act as their rover in the Unit.
- Students will build a project in VEXcode GO to use the Electromagnet to collect a Disk and return it to the base. They will first build the project with their teacher, and then will iterate on it in their groups to collect a Disk from other locations.
- Students will share their projects and discuss how the Electromagnet functioned in their projects to carry the Disk to the base location. They will also share how they solved the challenge of driving the Code Base to new base locations.
Lab 2 - Study your Martian Rock Sample
Main Focus Question: How can I use the Eye Sensor with the Electromagnet to collect a Disk and sort it by color?
- Students will be introduced to how the Eye Sensor on the Code Base can be used as a tool to help their Code Base rover sort the samples that it collects, just as the real Mars rovers analyze and sort samples so the samples can be returned to Earth in a future mission.
- Students will first build upon their project from Lab 1 to add a condition with the [If then] block, using data collected by the Eye Sensor so that if the Disk is red, the Code Base will drive it to the red base. They will then iterate on their projects, to collect and sort a red sample to and from different locations.
- Students will discuss what challenges they faced in completing the challenge, as well as how the conditional functioned in the project to collect and place the Red Disk effectively.
Lab 3 - Sort your Samples
Main Focus Question: How can I code the Code Base to collect multiple disks and sort them by color?
- Students will discuss how the rover needs to collect and sort different kinds of samples on Mars. They will revisit their projects from Lab 2, and use the Step feature to show the project flow using the [If then] block, paying close attention to the highlight feature in VEXcode GO. They will then talk about how they could build upon this project to add conditions and sort more samples.
- Students will then build upon their project to add an additional condition, so that their Code Base can collect and sort multiple samples to different bases based on their color. They will begin with guided instruction to collect the Blue Disk, and will then work in their groups to try to sort the Green Disk as well.
- Students will share their projects, strategies, and challenges as they worked to sort the Disks. They will discuss the project flow of the [If then] block and how this helped them with the coding challenge.
Lab 4 - Planetary Geologist
Main Focus Question: How can I use My Blocks to create a more efficient coding project?
- Students will be introduced to the concept of a My Block in VEXcode GO, and will watch the “My Blocks” Tutorial video as a class. They will discuss how My Blocks can make projects easier to understand and troubleshoot. They will then build on their project from Lab 3 to add a My Block to their project together with the teacher.
- Students will build upon the learning in Lab 3, to explore how My Blocks can be used to help a complex coding project be more efficient, and easier to understand and troubleshoot. They will use the My Block created in Engage to build and test their projects to have the Code Base collect and sort all three Disks. They will also continue to discuss how My Blocks function within the flow of the project.
- Students will discuss how using the Highlight feature can help them identify when the Code Base was executing the My Block, and when it was not, and how using a My Block in a project is helpful when creating code.
