Sequence 2 - Lesson 1: Blinks Like Me
Learning Intention
I can program a robot to repeat actions with a random wait between
I can program a robot to repeat actions with a random wait between
Introduction
How often do you blink? How long is a blink? Are there times when you blink more or less often? When and why? Could we make Picoh blink a bit like we do?
How often do you blink? How long is a blink? Are there times when you blink more or less often? When and why? Could we make Picoh blink a bit like we do?
Activities
1. Challenge children to write a program to make Picoh blink once when the green flag button is clicked. It might help to get children to think about the starting position of the blink. If Picoh’s eyelids start from open the LidBlink will be in position 10, so the first instruction to run will need to set the LidBlink to 0 to close Picoh’s eyes.
1. Challenge children to write a program to make Picoh blink once when the green flag button is clicked. It might help to get children to think about the starting position of the blink. If Picoh’s eyelids start from open the LidBlink will be in position 10, so the first instruction to run will need to set the LidBlink to 0 to close Picoh’s eyes.
2. Challenge children to alter their programs to make Picoh blink continuously. Explore how the length and frequency of blinks can be altered by altering values of the wait instructions.
3. Discuss whether humans blink in this way. Introduce the idea of random wait between blinks. Introduce the pick random operator from the Operators palette. Explain that the two numbers in the operator set the range that the random number is picked from. Encourage children to introduce this into their program and investigate altering the values to make Picoh’s blinks as realistic as possible.
3. Discuss whether humans blink in this way. Introduce the idea of random wait between blinks. Introduce the pick random operator from the Operators palette. Explain that the two numbers in the operator set the range that the random number is picked from. Encourage children to introduce this into their program and investigate altering the values to make Picoh’s blinks as realistic as possible.
We can now use our random blink program as a skeleton to make other parts of Picoh move at random intervals.
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4. Can you write a program so that Picoh continuously nods its head with a random wait between nods?
File, Save As - headshake
File, Save As - headshake
5. Can you write a program so that Picoh continuously shakes its head with a random wait between shakes?
Extension
Challenge children to create a program that makes Picoh have either alert (infrequent short blinks) or sleepy eyes (frequent long blinks)(see code sequence). They will need to use two random blocks within their code the second will set the frequency of the blinks and the first will set how long each blink lasts.
Challenge children to create a program that makes Picoh have either alert (infrequent short blinks) or sleepy eyes (frequent long blinks)(see code sequence). They will need to use two random blocks within their code the second will set the frequency of the blinks and the first will set how long each blink lasts.
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Plenary
What did you make Picoh do? In which ways were your Picoh’s movements similar to and different from the way you move?
What did you make Picoh do? In which ways were your Picoh’s movements similar to and different from the way you move?
