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Teacher Portal

Launch the Engage Section

ACTS is what the teacher will do and ASKS is how the teacher will facilitate.

ACTS ASKS
  1. List students' ideas about what data is, and guide them to understand that data is information or facts that can be studied and used to solve problems.
  2. List students' ideas about the importance of bridge inspection, and the kinds of data bridge inspectors need to determine if bridges are safe or unsafe.
  3. Show students the image of the Eye Sensor.
  4. Have students share what they remember about using the Eye Sensor previously, guiding them to recall that the Eye Sensor can report whether an object is near, and what color the object is.
  5. Share briefly how the sensor reports data about the color of an object. The sensor emits a light, which is reflected off of an object. The sensor measures the reflected light and calculates and reports a number that corresponds to the color. 
  6. Show students the Code Base with Eye Sensor as you run the project. Draw their attention to the changing numbers in the Monitor. Demonstrate how the hue value data changes as you point the eye sensor at different colored classroom objects.
  7. Show students the Hue Chart, and have students explain what they notice. Guide them to notice how the numbers increase around the circle, and how a range of numbers corresponds with a range of colors.
  8. Using the Code Base, go through a few examples of mapping hue values onto the chart by choosing an object, aiming the sensor at it, and drawing students' attention to the value reported in the Monitor. Have students use the chart to name the color associated with the number on the chart. (For example, a hue value of '60' would correspond to 'yellow'; a hue value of '250' would correspond to 'blue'.)
  9. Show students the setup image of the bridge where they will be collecting data with the Code Base. Point out the different colored sections of the bridge that they will be collecting data about.
  1. You will be playing the role of bridge inspectors as we study data using VEX GO. What is data? 
  2. Why is it important to inspect bridges? What kinds of data do you think bridge inspectors need to decide if a bridge is safe or not?
  3. To collect data about bridges, inspectors need to use a tool. The tool you are going to use to collect data about a bridge is the Eye Sensor.
  4. What do you remember about the VEX GO Eye Sensor? What kinds of data can the sensor detect or report to us?
  5. How do you think the sensor works to give us data about objects and colors?
  6. I have a Code Base with Eye Sensor here, and I have opened up the Monitor in VEXcode GO. You can see the number the sensor reports here. It changes as the sensor detects objects of different colors.
  7. The number from the sensor is a kind of data called hue value. For us to use the hue value data, we have to interpret the data using a Hue Chart, which will allow us to take the number reported by the sensor, and change it to a color that we can understand. What do you notice about the Hue Chart?
  8. Let's practice using the Hue Value Chart to interpret the hue value numbers reported by the Eye Sensor.
  9. Now that we know about how the Eye Sensor reports data in the Monitor and how to interpret it using the Hue Chart, you are ready to practice collecting some data. As part of your bridge inspector training, you are going to practice collecting data about different sections of a bridge. What if you could use Eye Sensor data that you collect to help discover if a bridge is cracked?

Getting the Students Ready to Build

Before we can start working with data from the Eye Sensor, we have to build the Code Base and add the Eye Sensor! 

Facilitate the Build

  1. InstructInstruct students to join their group, and have them complete the Robotics Roles & Routines sheet. Use the Suggested Role Responsibilities slide in the Lab 1 Image Slideshow as a guide for students to complete this sheet.
  2. DistributeDistribute build instructions to each group. Students will first follow the build instruction to build the Code Base, and will then follow the Code Base - Eye Down instructions to add the Eye Sensor to the robot.

    Image of the completed Code Base - Eye Down build
    Code Base - Eye Down

     

  3. FacilitateFacilitate the building process.
    • Builders and Journalists should begin building based on their roles and responsibilities, like those shown in the Lab 1 Image Slideshow. 
    • Circulate around the room to help students with building or using build instructions where needed. Ask questions about how the build is being constructed to keep all students engaged in the building process, and remind students to follow their Role Responsibilities if they need help taking turns. 
    • Once students have completed the build, they will need to switch the Orange Standoffs that hold the Eye Sensor to Blue Standoffs. Have groups check in with you as they complete the Code Base - Eye Forward build, and then show them which standoffs to use for the Eye Sensor. Eye Sensor with Blue Standoffs

       

  4. OfferOffer suggestions and note positive turn taking, communication, and problem solving strategies as groups are building together.
A VEX GO character

Teacher Troubleshooting

Facilitation Strategies

  • Get set up for the Engage demonstration before class. Build the project below and have it ready to run before beginning the Acts and Asks, so you are ready to show students how the Eye Sensor reports data in the VEXcode GO monitor.
    Eye Sensor Data Demo Project
    VEXcode GO project for viewing Hue Value Data in the Monitor.
     
  • If students have never used the Eye Sensor, this Lab should not be their first experience. Complete the Mars Rover-Landing Challenge and the Mars Rover - Exploring Mars Geology Labs first.
  • Consider how you will implement the Play section of the Lab. For students who need more support, think about implementing the Play section of the Lab as a whole-class guided demonstration. You could choose to do this for Play Part 1 only, and have students work in groups in Play Part 2, or do the entire Play section in this manner.
  • Think about how your students will access VEXcode GO. Ensure that the computers or tablets that students will use have access to VEXcode GO. For more information about setting up VEXcode GO, see this article.
  • Gather the materials each group needs before class. For this Lab, each group of two students will need a GO Kit, build instructions, a computer or tablet to access VEXcode GO, a bridge with colored sections, and a Data Collection Sheet. Students will need pencils to fill in the Data Collection Sheet as well. 
  • Pre-build the bridges before class. For this Lab, each group of two students will need a Tile with the sections of the bridge attached. Pre-build the bridges for the groups, so that they are ready to be used when students begin. Use this image for reference as you construct the bridges. 
    Bridge Tile with Numbered Sections
    Bridge Tile with Numbered Sections

     

  • Try a different eye light brightness. If students finish collecting data from each section of the bridge with both the eye light on and off early, have them add the [Set eye light power] block to the project and explore the affect the different brightness level have on the hue value data reported by the Eye Sensor. 
    Image of the Set eye light power block in VEXcode GO
    [Set eye light power] block

     

  • Test other colors. If students are having trouble connecting the numerical hue value data to colors on the Hue Chart, have them test other colors of pieces from the Kit to see if they can effectively record the sensor data and connect it to a color on the chart.