Materials Needed
The following is a list of all the materials that are needed to complete the VEX GO Lab. These materials include student facing materials as well as teacher facilitation materials. It is recommended that you assign two students to each VEX GO Kit.
In some Labs, links to teaching resources in a slideshow format have been included. These slides can help provide context and inspiration for your students. Teachers will be guided in how to implement the slides with suggestions throughout the lab. All slides are editable, and can be projected for students or used as a teacher resource. To edit the Google Slides, make a copy into your personal Drive and edit as needed.
Other editable documents have been included to assist in implementing the Labs in a small group format. Print the worksheets as is or copy and edit those documents to suit the needs of your classroom. Example Data Collection sheet setups have been included for certain experiments as well as the original blank copy. While they offer suggestions for setup, these documents are all editable to best suit your classroom and the needs of your students.
| Materials | Purpose | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
|
VEX GO Kit |
For building the Code Robot Arm (1-Axis). |
1 per group |
|
For students to code the Robot Arm. |
1 per group | |
|
For students to build and run projects with VEXcode GO. |
1 per group | |
|
Lab 3 Image Slideshow Google Doc / .pptx / .pdf |
For visual aids while teaching. |
1 per class |
|
Pre-build Motorized Robot Arm from Lab 2 (optional) |
For reference during Engage section. |
1 per class |
|
For building the Code Robot Arm (1-Axis). |
1 per group, or 1 displayed for class | |
|
Robotics Roles & Routines Google Doc / .docx / .pdf |
For organizing student roles within their groups. |
1 per group |
|
Paper |
For completing written portions of the Lab. |
1 per group |
|
Writing Utensils |
For completing written portions of the Lab. |
1 per student |
|
To help remove pins or pry beams apart. |
1 per group |
Engage
Begin the lab by engaging with the students.
-
Hook
Let’s talk about some devices and machines in our daily lives, and how they work. Let’s think about our Robot Arms now. We’ve changed from manual to motorized controls, do you think we could control its movement with coding?
-
Leading Question
In order to use coding with the Robot Arm, we’d need to add a brain.
-
Build
Code Robot Arm (1-Axis)
Play
Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.
Part 1
Students will code the motors to move first, by coding the Robot Arm to move to each quadrant of the tile (as marked by the green plate) and stop.
Mid-Play Break
So we can move the Robot Arm, but what about the magnet? What is different about the electromagnet you added from the original magnet?
Part 2
Students will code the Robot Arm to use the electromagnet to pick up and move a disk to another location on the tile.
Share
Allow students to discuss and display their learning.
Discussion Prompts
- What worked for your group, and what was a challenge? How did you solve the problem?
- Why might you want to control a Robot Arm with coding in a real-world situation?
- What was something you needed to add to your code that surprised you, or that you hadn’t thought about before? Explain how your thinking changed.