New P-Tech Sphero Robots Help Students To Visualize Code

If you walk into Matt Tarby’s fourth period p-tech cyber security class, you will find the room alive with activity–groups collaborating, measurements being made, and orb-shaped robots zooming around the floor.

 

The class covers computer science fundamentals and basic programming skills, including writing code, cyber security fundamentals, and cryptography, an application of cyber security.  The 15 Sphero robots are a new addition to the class this year.

 

“The robots are great because students can visualize their code–students are asked to write basic programming with loops and conditionals, and the robots actually exhibit the code they are writing,” said Tarby. They can actually see that using the loop code is more efficient than coding without the loop.”

 

Students work in pairs, figuring how to get the robots to move around the outline of six different shapes, from a square to a nonagon. 

 

Jennifer Martinez and Claudia Marcos Jacinto worked on moving their robot around an octagon. It was all about trial and error–working through and working out problems.

 

“First we have to measure the angle with the protractor, then multiply that by however many angles there are–in this case, there are eight angles,” said Claudia.

 

After entering in the code, they watched the orb zoom way off before making a right jag. 

 

“Whoops. That angle is way too wide–back to the drawing board,” said Jennifer.

 

After a couple of attempts, the robot moved as directed–around eight angles over the shape of the octagon.

 

Another student, Mason Nordstrom had quickly learned about the trial-and-error process and was onto his next shape.

 

“I just put in the block code for the robot to go forward and rotate, and repeated that,” said Mason.

 

Mason Nordstrom is enrolled in the p-tech program because he is interested in electronics and believes the program will help him get into college and earn free credits.

 

“I think I want to do electronics, but this is cool too. Taking these classes is going to help me explore more things, like jobs in engineering and cybersecurity.”

 

The p-tech program, which is in its second year, is thriving. It now has over 100 enrolled students, 55 freshmen who are taking in STEM exploratory classes and 48 sophomores who are taking new classes, including introduction to technology, an engineering class, and computer information systems–making good on the promise of an authentic and dynamic learning experience which fits squarely within Brewster Vision 2026.