Say hello to “Dash” and “Dot.” Created by Wonder Workshop, the robots can be programmed to sense, react and interact with people. At Punahou, the child-friendly robots are used in Design Technology and Engineering classes to introduce second graders to robotics in an age appropriate way.
During a lesson in Danette Kobayashi’s class, second graders made Dot react to being turned, shaken or hearing its name called, using coding to program different reactions.
Next up was Dash, a robot on wheels. Students programmed it to complete complicated tasks, such as pushing a series of cups across a designated path or playing Marco Polo.
The tasks required students to learn and apply foundational robotics skills while problem solving. “Coding is fun but also very challenging, so it was good to see the children developing the grit they needed to write and debug their codes,” Kobayashi said. “We are proud of how well they learned the coding skills and completed the challenging tasks.”