[GOOGLE LOGO MUSIC PLAYING]
JILL: Hi, and welcome
back to "EDU in 90."
On this episode, we'll take
a look at a few top robotics
and inventions tools
that work on Chromebooks.
TIM: These tools give teachers
and students the ability
to learn basic coding
and develop STEAM skills
by building and experimenting
with different types of robots,
all controlled through coding
commands on Chromebooks.
Now let's jump right in
to learn about these apps
and how they could bring the
power of coding and robotics
into your classroom.
First up, Sphero, a spherical
robot designed for education--
teachers and students can
engage with the robots
through three different
programming methods--
[? Drawing ?] paths,
dragging and dropping
Scratch block-based code,
or, for students with coding
experience, using JavaScript.
JILL: Students are able to
collaborate with their peers,
create and solve
STEAM-based problems,
and then share them
with the community.
And to maximize
class time, Sphero
integrates with G Suite for
Education via single sign-on.
And let's check out
littleBits, which
empower students to build
robots of all sizes using
electronic building blocks that
easily connect with magnets.
Through the accompanying
code kit app,
students can partake in games
like Rockstar Guitar and Tug
of War, as well as program
building block robots
by using Blockly, a
drag-and-drop coding
language that's compatible
with Chromebooks.
TIM: littleBits offers a broad
set of educator resources, too.
With lesson plans, hands-on
tutorials, and more,
teachers can quickly
get their students
started creating robots.
And finally, let's
take a look at Tinker,
a programming app that
teaches students to code
software programs and games.
Instead of typing
complex source code,
students can
develop their skills
with blocks of code that can be
dragged and snapped together.
And after mastering
the basics, students
can learn more advanced text
code like JavaScript, HTML,
or Python.
JILL: Tinker's app was designed
with Chromebooks in mind.
And there are more
than 80,000 schools
using Tinker and
over 10,000 schools
using Tinker along
with Google Classroom.
Tinker makes it easy for
educators with limited coding
experience to start teaching
programming classes right away
with comprehensive lesson
plans, assessment resources,
and professional development.
TIM: Well, that's all the
time we have for this episode.
If you have a
favorite app to use
with your students for robotics,
or coding and inventions,
tell us about it in
the comments below.
Thanks for joining
us, and don't forget
to subscribe to the Google
for Education YouTube channel.
See you next time.
SPEAKER 1: Expeditions,
education on air, and more--
check out our last
episodes for updates
from across Google
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