Ozobot Dance Party

Grades 4th, 5th, 6th

In this really fun project, kids will learn a major coding concept while having a blast coding their
robot to dance. They will also learn the difference between science fiction and real-life robots.

Subject: Robotics, Coding, STEM, STEAM

Platform: Grades 4-6, Homeschool, Scout Badges, Hour of Code

Technology: Ozobot Bit and a tablet or computer.

1 © Matt D. Livingston
Overview
The kids will get an introduction to robotics and coding. We believe that this project is a great
introduction to both and when the kids have completed it, they will have, even if unwittingly,
learned a few core coding fundamentals: looping, events, and sequences.

National Computer Science Standards

Standard Description
1A-AP-08 Model daily processes by creating and following algorithms to complete
tasks.
1A-AP-10 Develop programs with sequences and simple loops to express ideas or
address a problem.
1B-AP-10 Create programs that sequences, events, loops, and conditionals.

Required Equipment
1. Computer or tablet
2. Ozobot Bit (1-2 kids per robot)

Introduction to Robots
Time and overall goal of the project will be the deciding factor for using this portion. Our goal
here is to have kids understand the difference between Science Fiction and Real-Life robots. We
also want them to understand what the future holds for robotics and how software and
hardware work together to make technology run.

Here are some sample questions that we use to start the conversation.

1. What is a robot?
2. Who is your favorite Science Fiction robot?
3. What tasks can robots do?
4. What can’t they do?
5. How do robots learn?

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The goal here is to get them thinking about how robots are part of our day to day lives. For
example, the car they came in was probably mostly assembled by robots. We also like to take
this opportunity to reinforce the idea that Computer Science and Robotics is an exciting field
full of limitless opportunity.

The Ozobot
We want to help the kids understand how a robot is designed and functions. We take some
time to point out how the wheels function to let the robot move around and how the sensors
on the bottom of the Ozobot are used to see its world. At its core function, the Ozobot is a line
follower, though we will not be using lines in this project.

The final thing that we want to point out is the robot’s “brain”. We typically use this as an
opportunity to discuss the differences between how a robot learns and how a human learns.
We usually like to make this interactive and get the answers from the kids, but here are a few
ideas that are pretty popular.

How Robots Learn How Humans Learn

• Coded by a human to perform actions • Go to school

• Coded by a human to react to • Read
environmental changes • Watch
• Etc. • Make Mistakes
• Practice

Welcome to Ozoblockly
You can use either a tablet or a PC to code the Ozobots. We prefer tablets as they are easier to
flash the Bits, but a PC works nicely too.

Note: This is not a tutorial on Ozoblockly. We have another Free tutorial available if you need it.

Go to the following URL to open the Ozoblockly Editor (note that we have defaulted to the Bit
and Level 2 Coding settings)

https://ozoblockly.com/editor?lang=en&robot=bit&mode=2

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The Dance Party
Now for the fun stuff!

Part 1: Learning how to upload your code.

The first task is to upload and run their first code blocks. We keep this pretty simple as Flashing
and running the code does take some getting used to. (While we don’t introduce Algorithms
and Pseudocode, it can happen here organically).

Step 1 - Using the Level 2 Setting in Ozoblockly

1. Make your Ozobot move 10 steps forward going Very Fast.

2. Make your Ozobot Move 10 steps backwards going Slow.

Flash the code to your Ozobot, double tap the run button, and see if your code works.

Programming Concept: Events

While explaining events can get much deeper, we just want to make them familiar with the
concept and the word. Events are things that happen to cause the robot to do something. In
our case, the event is the double tapping of the button causes the robot to execute the code
that was just flashed.

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Task 2 – Lights!

In step 2, we have the kids add some lights to the Ozobot. This is always fun, but it gives them
more practice in flashing the code and double tapping the button to run their code.

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Task 3 – Code your Dance Moves

This is the part where the kids get to go wild. Encourage them to use as many different moves,
such as circle, skate, and zigzags as they’d like. Also encourage them to use different lights. We
want the Ozobot to realize that it is in a party!

Have the kids flash their code and run their Ozobot. Playing the song at this point is good
because it helps the kids see that their robot doesn’t dance until the end of the song. It should
just stop, which naturally leads up to the final task!

Programming Concept: Sequences

The Ozobot executes the code above in the order in which it is listed. Depending on the age of
the students, we explain sequences a little differently, but ultimately it is something like – An
ordered set of instructions for the robot to perform. And order matters.

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Task 4 – Looping

Now we pose the question, “How do we get the Ozobot to dance until the end of the song?”
Normally, the kids start immediately adding more moves to their code. We try and reel them
back in to go over this new concept.

Programming Concept – Looping

Looping can be loosely defined as repeating code over and over a set number of times or just
run the code forever. For this introductory class, we are going to use the Forever loop. After
they add their code inside a Forever loop, have them flash their code and run the dance party
again.

**If possible, turn the lights off in the room. It really adds to the ambiance.

Wrap up
We usually take this time to review how events, sequences, and how looping helped by
allowing us to repeat code without having to write it over and over again. This saved time in
both writing the code and flashing the code onto the bot.

We hope you found this project helpful. If you have any feedback, I would love to hear it!

7 © Matt D. Livingston