Ozobot - the cutest robots that your kids will love

I was so excited when Ozobot reached out to me asking if I wanted to receive one of their little robots to review.  I immediately said yes and was so excited when it came.  If you aren't familiar with Ozobot, it is a small robot that either be programmed with a block based code or can read colored codes on paper to direct the robot.

I work with ninth graders so I figured that we would use the the block based coding program as that would be more of a challenge for them.  The program has a teacher section with lesson plans so I picked one that I thought would be a good one for my students.  It was called Slot Car Race and directed students to code the bot to go around a track 5 times with the light on the top being a different color each time.  It seems easy, but students needed to add in some logic and repeat blocks.  The first time I did this, it went well but it's a challenge when I only had one bot.  My students and I loved the Ozobot so much that I immediately started looking for a way to get a classroom set.  As luck would have it my local utilities company offered a STEM grant.  I applied and was one of the recipients.  I was able to get a classroom set of 12!

Now that it's a new school year I can't wait to expand the use of these bots in my classroom.  I have seen so many things on Instagram on how to use them and I just need to find the time to look through it all (story of a teacher's life right?).  I also started a robotics club this year and I hope that this will be a great introduction for my students and get them interested in joining the club to expand their knowledge of robots.

What type of robots do you use in your classroom or what would you like to get? 

Customize your textbook

I have not found a textbook that includes all of the information that I want and leaves out the information that I don't.  I started using CK12 Flexbooks a while ago and love it because I can make the textbook my own.  Plus there are videos that can be added in,  Take a look at the video below on how to customize these online textbooks.

Asteroid Blasting Review Game

Kupiter is a study website that looks like fun for your students.  It's great to review vocabulary and other content.  Students shoot at letter to spell the word to complete the sentence or match the definition. Students get points based on how accurately and quickly questions are answered.  One of the things I like most is that it works on all devices, so students don't need to download an app.  You can create a class so that there is a leaderboard.  This, along with the explosions and powerups, can really be a motivator for students.

You can create your own game on Kupiter by writing questions from scratch or by importing them from Quizlet or an Excel spreadsheet. Game links can be shared via social media and Google Classroom.

Watch the short video below for a demonstration of how the game is played.

What review games do you use in your classroom? 

My favorite free online test, quiz and worksheet generator

Take a look at this walk through of Problem - Attic and how to use it.  You will find banks of questions from many state assessments as well as national tests.