Vibrobots - Simple Robots that Move for a Maker Activity

Last Saturday I led some workshops at the Association of National Plus Schools annual teacher's conference in Jakarta. My workshop was all about Makerspace and Capturing the Learning in Real Time.

I used the term Makerspace in the perspective that it is a place where you can make something which could be really anywhere. I have always employed Maker activities in my classroom. I wanted to share about how making can unlock understandings in a way that viewing pictures or videos can't.

For this workshop we made a simple electric robot from recycled materials. I am really interested in robotics but I am even more interested in the mechanics and trying to understand how things work and why they work. These are abstract concepts but even young students can understand them when they get the chance to make it with their hands.

We started with the basic equipment:

a plastic cup
3 marker pens
two electrical wires with the ends stripped
a AA battery
a DC motor
electrical tape
sticky tape

About DC motors:
You can find DC motors inside many household items such as electric toothbrushes, battery operated fans or mixers. Here is an example of a motor inside a mixer.

Step 1:

Tape the markers to the plastic cup.

Step 2:

Make sure that the three markers are firmly attached with sticky tape. Put the markers facing downwards so that your robot can draw.

Step 3:

Prepare 2 copper wires by stripping (removing) the plastic from each end.

Step 4:

Connect one wire on each side of the motor. Thread the metal through the loop and twist to secure. Add a small weight to offset the motor shaft. This is to make the motor vibrate.

Step 5:

Tape the battery on the top of the cup. Tape the motor so that the spinning shaft is off the edge of the cup.

Step 6:

Using small pieces of electrical tape, tape on wire to the positive 'bump' end of the battery and one wire to the flat negative end. Using electrical tape is great because you can pull one end on and off to act as a switch.

Step 7:

Pull off the marker pen caps and place your robot on some paper. Watch it draw.



#Troubleshooting - Be aware that your circuit must be well connected or the motor won't run. Sometimes cheap DC motors can be faulty and you may have one that just doesn't work. Recheck your wiring too.

Make sure that your learners document the process with photographs and or video. Consider the 'Split Screen Learning Intentions' and focus on not just what you are learning but also how you are learning.

Extension Activities:

Try placing the battery on the centre of the cup end with the motor on top. Does this change the patterns that your robot is drawing? Try other combinations. Try using a different weight to offset the motor. Can you measure how these changes affect the drawing that your robot does? Consider how this activity can help your students understand about circuits and motion. Take some video and compare the differences. Identify how small changes affect the way your robot moves and draws.

Making Simple Paper Circuits

Today in Grade 2 we tried to answer a student question:

"How does a battery light up a light?"

We did this by exploring simple circuits. The students used copper tape, sticker LEDs and a button battery.  First we had a talk about batteries. The students were given a button battery to try to find the positive and negative sides.

We made a connection to how we use batteries in our toys. The students had a lot to say about how important it is to get the + and the - the correct way around. Next we used a template. This can make it easier for beginners as this was our first time to make a circuit. We used copper tape for the wires.





The copper tape can be bought online or at a hardware shop. It is best to use narrow tape for beginners as it will go around a corner more easily. If it is a young child, be aware that the edges of the tape are sharp and can cause a paper cut.

I made a quick circuit diagram as these learners are beginners. It was easily photocopied and all the students had to do was follow the lines for the tape. You need to note that the lines between the battery and one side of the LED must be strong and continuous. At the LED there is a break. Make sure that there is a little break here at that part between the positive and negative sides.

Put the sticker LED on after you have put down the copper tape.You can add extra copper tape on top if you need to make a stronger connection.












Once your circuit is complete you can add the battery to test your light. If it is not working, add some extra copper tape on the corners and either side of the LED light to help make your circuit stronger.

 
Here is a video of a finished circuit. The students added a drawing on top which featured a light to light up using their circuit.

Marble Roller Coasters - Going Further ...

As I predicted - the students LOVE this project. We began with making roller coasters in Minecraft but there are quite a few things about Minecraft that just don't work in the real world. Now we are on to making Marble Coasters on the walls of the classroom.

Here is an explanation from Science Buddies.org behind how a Roller Coaster works:

Slow and clanking, the string of cars is pulled up to the crest of the tallest point on the roller coaster. One by one, the cars start downhill on the other side, until gravity takes over and the full weight of the train is careening down into curves, twists, and turns. The roller coaster is a great example of conversions between potential energy (stored energy) and kinetic energy (the energy of motion). As the cars are being pulled up to the top of the first hill, they are acquiring potential energy. The chain that pulls them up the hill works against the force of gravity. At the top of the hill, the cars' potential energy is at it's maximum. When the cars start down the other side, this potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. The cars pick up speed as they go downhill. As the cars go through the next uphill section, they slow down. Some of the kinetic energy is now being converted to potential energy, which will be be released when the cars go down the other side.

You've probably noticed that the first hill on the roller coaster is always the highest (unless the coaster is given another "boost" of energy along the way). This is because not all of the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. Some of the potential energy is "lost" in other energy conversion processes.

You can investigate the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy with this project. There are as many possible variations to this project as there are twists and turns on a great roller coaster ride, but a good place to start is to see how much initial height you need in order to have your marble successfully navigate a loop in the track.

You'll use the same size loop for each of your tests, but you'll add (or subtract) track before the loop so that you can change the initial height where the marble starts. For each track configuration, you should try at least 10 separate tests with the marble to see whether it can loop the loop or not. You should also measure the slope of each track configuration. An easy way to think about the slope is the expression rise/run (see the illustration below). The rise is the height of the starting point, and the run is the horizontal distance from the starting point to the beginning of the loop.

The illustration above shows how to measure "rise" and "run" in order to calculate the average slope of the track leading in to the loop.

How much height (rise) will be required to successfully navigate a given loop size? A foam roller coaster for marbles is easy to build, so try it for yourself and find out!

Oh oh - I did it again Grade 5 ... my lesson turned in a Maths lesson ...

So you will need to measure the height (rise) and the run (length along the bottom) of your first hill run on your coaster.

I wonder how these numbers will compare? My challenge to you is to make a successful loop de loop.

Completing the Bamboo House Designs

Today the students completed their community house designs. They also completed individual assessments on the geometry found in the building models.

I asked the students to label their model houses with all the geometry terms that they could find. Here are the students discussing in their groups about what geometry can be found in their houses.


Here the groups are consulting their Maths reference books to check the names of the geometry terms found in their model house.

We have a total of seven house designs in the class. As a summative assessment, the students were interviewed by Ms Agnes to find out their individual understanding of the geometry terms in their house models.

To wrap up this inquiry, Ms Jane used the iPad app A+ Measuring Finger. We booked out seven of the school iPads. It was the first time that 5MJ had used them. Ms Jane asked the students to write a reflection about using the iPad app and how that has made a connection to our central idea for this geometry inquiry, “Geometric tools and methods can be used to solve problems relating to shape and space”.


The app was very useful as many groups found out that some of the angles in their house were not what they thought that they were.



After the students had finished their reflections, they posted them to their blogs and included the screen shots of their house models from the iPads. Ms Jane was very impressed with the reflection that Keaton wrote. She has sent his reflection to a new educational website about apps called Appitic.com Ms Jane was very excited to get a direct reply from that website saying that they thought that Keaton’s reflection was wonderful and they have published it on their site. Click here to read Keaton’s Reflection Online Congratulations Keaton!

"Grade 5 Student Reflection about Using the iPad A+ Measuring Finger App (by Keaton)

Today 5MJ finished building our model houses and we printed some labels that said things like acute angle, triangle, rectangle and all those sort of geometric names. Ms Jane found an app on the IPad called A+ Measuring Finger. We used it to measure our houses that we made. We went to the protractor section of the app and used it to take a picture of the house and then we drew the angles over that picture to measure them. It told us how many degrees it is.

There was a problem because we made this house with our hands so some of the angles that we thought were right angles were about 85 or 95 degrees. This means that those are not a true right angle. After that we found out that we have to take the picture straight otherwise when you try to draw the angle it will not be as accurate. We had to find four to five different kinds of angles such as acute, right, obtuse, straight and reflex. This app really helped us because now we know what angles are in our house and if they should be there or not.

We are now wondering when builders are building houses how do they measure the angle on the house that they are building. Do they have to carry a huge protractor to measure the house? When we were building the houses we had trouble keeping them straight and stable. I think that builders must have an easier way because they use metal in the middle and it is going straight up. Building with chopsticks it is hard to make it stay straight. Sometimes the way you put the elastic bands on is wrong and it pushes the chopstick to go at an angle that you don’t want it to be.

If we were using the app on the IPad during the building of our models, we would be able to make it straighter. We could measure it and then adjust it as we are doing the building. If our building bent in the wrong places it would fall down or the roof would fall through. The only reason we are trying to build a house is because it is part of our Maths inquiry. Our central idea is “Geometric tools and methods can be used to solve problems relating to shape and space”. Actually the main reason we are building a house is because we are hoping to build a 5×4 meter community house for the people at the Serpong landfill. Using geometric tools to build a house can help when you want to make the columns or the walls straight and so that you know what the angle of the roof is. Then you can work out how long the roof is and how many roof tiles or iron roofing you will need."

Here is the video that Ms Jane took of her lesson. Please watch it to learn about how we used the iPad app to measure the angles.

Traditional Architects

Did you know that in Bali, traditionally buildings were designed by making a miniature version? When I first visited the Green School in Bali, I met with John Hardy the owner. He told me that the huge buildings in the middle of the campus were made the traditional way. These buildings are made entirely out of bamboo. The buildings were designed by making a miniature version first. This is similar to how 5MJ is making a model of the Community Building for the Serpong Landfill.



You can see the real one being built in the background. At the Green School, the Grade 7 and 8 students are making their own clubhouse. You can see the photos on a Slideshare that I embedded just before this post. Notice the construction of the roof. The bamboo has to be close together to make sure that the grass on the roof can be tied down and made waterproof!!

Designing a Community Building for the Serpong Landfill

5MJ have begun putting into action their intent to build a community building for the Serpong Landfill. They are starting to create a design for a community building. First the students talked about the building and what it could be used for. The class decided that they could probably raise about 3 million rupiah by holding some market days.

Next the class worked with Ms Agnes to measure the two traditional buildings in the SWA playground.

In class the students sat in the shared area to try to decide how big the building needs to be. We decided that 4 meters by 5 meters could fit about 20 people comfortably and possibly come under our budget of 3 million rupiah. But we don’t know for sure …


Now that we have the dimensions, the students created a detailed drawing for homework. In the meantime we have started working on the design in Sketch Up. We have been really using our geometry skills. In Sketch Up we learned about components, using the protractor, measure the sides accurately, rotation, alignment, axis and units.

After thinking about it. Ms Jane decided that Google Sketch Up wasn’t working because the students didn’t understand the concept of form. The students needed to work in 3D. Sketch Up is working in virtual and the students really needed to understand 3D by touching and seeing it in front of them. We needed to try to build it …

Today in class we started making structures using bamboo chopsticks. Ms Jane bought a lot of chopsticks so that we could learn about the form. Together with a partner, we began making the structure.

It was fun and very challenging! All the students have written a blog post about what they did and what they learned.

Installing a Liter of Light at the Serpong Landfill

On the second visit to the Landfill, the Liter of Light group installed 2 Liter of Lights in two houses. The students in this group also surveyed the houses at the Landfill to find out how many more houses wanted the lights installed.

Here is the video showing what happened ...

The Project Presentations

On Friday the 2nd of December, the class presented their three projects to parents and teachers.

The awareness campaigns had many benefits:

1. Share the students’ knowledge and understanding

2. Help synthesize ideas for their project, and give it direction

3. Announce their intentions to a wider audience

4. Affirm a commitment to help the landfill community

The class had spent the major part of three days getting their awareness campaign together including slogans, a logo design and a central question. Each team spoke to the audience for about 6 minutes, using keynotes, slideshows and iMovies to aid their presentations. Each member of the team prepared their own speech.

After the talks, each team had project boards to talk about and they spent time explaining everything to their visitors. These project boards showed photos, copies of emails, instructions, reflections, ideas for improvements in the Landfill etc. It was impressive to see how well the students could demonstrate what they had gained from their inquiries – a testament to real-life learning!

Each group in turn outlined their plans for possible solutions. In some cases action had already taken place and this gave an opportunity to tell about the outcome of that action.

Liter of Light Prototype

The Liter of Light group have been working on a Prototype. Here is the video telling the story so far …



The Liter of Light has a fan page on Facebook. Ms Jane was able to share our video with the group by sending them a message. Grade 5 are not encouraged to use Facebook as you must be over 13 to use it. Ms Jane made a screen capture of the message written by Illac Diaz on the Liter of Light FB page about our Grade 5 Liter of Light project.

Here is the first post on the Liter of Light Fan Page

Illac Diaz has been encouraging our class to keep going with this project. Here is the post that he made about our first light installation at the Serpong Landfill Community. 5MJ students are being called 'Ambassadors of Light'.

Measuring an Accurate Circle

When the Solar Bulb group of students wanted to mount a coke bottle into a rigid piece of cardboard, they came up against a problem that they tried hard to solve by themselves. How can you make the hole the right size if you have a bottle and you cannot measure the it’s diameter. The idea they came up with to solve the problem was after much discussion…but was it accurate!


It looks simple to embed a coke bottle into a sheet of plastic ... but how do you measure the circle accurately?

Does the diameter equal half of the circumference?

How can you work it out? Is there a Mathematical formula that can help you?

Below are the calculations that Grade 5 came up with.

What we wanted to find out was - Does a = 2b? a is the circumference and b is the diameter.