1. Robotic Manipulatives: How can they
help our early childhood classrooms?
A technology workshop for
kindergarten teachers.
Presented By: Kimberly
Pascarella

2. What are robotic manipulatives?
• In her book, Blocks to Robots, author Marina
Umaschi Bers defines robotic manipulatives as
“any construction kit for children involving
two elements: construction in the physical
world and programming that construction in
the computer so it can become interactive and
respond to stimulus in the world.”
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http://www.tufts.edu/~mbers01/

3. Classroom manipulatives: A
brief history.
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Froebel_gifts.jpg
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legos.jpg
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http://www.citejournal.o
rg/vol9/iss2/editorial/art
icle1.cfm
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http://blackgoku.blog
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http://robotlego.wo
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•In the mid 1800s Froebel developed a set of toys (known as
Froebel’s gifts) to teach concepts such as color, size, shape, and
number.
•In 1949, building bricks gave way to the first self-locking
brick, produced by Lego.
•In the 1960s, Seymour Papert began developing the first robotic
manipulative, called the “floor turtle.”
•In the 1980s MIT engineers and the Lego company collaborated to
create a programmable construction kit.
•In the late 1990s robotic manipulatives were brought to the homes
and classrooms of children through the development of Lego
Mindstorms.

4. How do robotic manipulatives help in the
early childhood classroom?
• Develop technological fluency
They……
• Incorporate project-based and cooperative learning into the classroom
• Foster problem solving skills
• Span across the curriculum
• Motivate students to learn complex concepts
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http://pcsedu.com/b
log/?paged=2

5. Setting up the Environment
•To successfully set up an early childhood robotic
learning environment, five physical stations should
be included in the design.
•Programming stations
•Building stations
•Design and art
stations
•Floor space
•Walls
http://www.roboticslearning.com/kids.htm
l
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http://www.roboticslearning.com/kids.html
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http://www.roboticslearning.com/kids.html
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http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2009
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http://www.share2learn.com/classroomt
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6. Robotic Construction Kits
• There are two types of robotic construction,
which are the most developmentally
appropriate for Kindergarten students: Lego
Mindstorms and Pico Crickets.
•Each program is alike in many ways, however,
they also have unique characteristics that set
them apart from each other.
•Each program can be used to reach different
goals and objectives.
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http://www.robotiq.co.uk/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?
usr=51F1802563&rnd=1648&rrc=N&affl=&cip=&act=&aff=&pg=cat&
ref=nxt_products
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http://www.picocricket
.com/educators.html

7. Lego Mindstorms
• Uses software with a multi-level approach
• Builds upon a well-known material: the basic
Lego building brick
• Uses the RCX programmable brick
• Used specifically to create robots
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http://www.domesro.com/2009/01/tip-of-
month-lego-mindstorms-nxt.html

8. PicoCrickets
• User friendly
• Easy to use for mobile projects
• Not limited to control only motors
• Extends students creative side
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http://www.shapingyouth.org/?p=4772

9. How to get parents
involved.
• Parents can work with their children at home.
• Parents can volunteer in the classroom.
• Parents can organize after school activity
groups.
• Parents can serve as a connection between the
school districts and the industries.
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http://www.ros.org/news/robots/

10. Additional Resources
•Here are some websites to check out for more
information on robotic manipulatives.
http://www.legoengineering.com
http://www.mos.org/nctl/
http://www.ceeo.tufts.edu/robolabatceeo/