Earlier this year I entered a competition to win an Ozobot STEM starter pack from Kookaburra Educational Resources. My students at Jesmond Public School were thrilled when I told them that the Ozobot was on the way to assist with our classroom learning.

Since it arrived, the Ozobot has been a great tool to support student STEM learning and engagement. The students have loved working collaboratively, independently, and collectively to achieve different activities and observe different ways we can use the Ozobot in our classroom.

I introduced the Ozobot as a new special addition to our classroom and collectively we called him ‘Aussie’.  We then discussed different ways that Aussie could be involved in our learning.

How we applied the Ozobot starter pack to classroom learning

Initially, I left the Ozobot in a guided literacy station where students used inquiry-based learning to determine his abilities. We discussed that Aussie was a robot that followed directions and was able to move along using the provided colour coded language. Students loved this process and enjoyed this play-based activity to make tracks and engage in higher order thinking skills to direct and navigate Aussie’s movements.

In the following session I provided students with the coded instructions that were provided in the Ozobot starter pack. These instructions provided important information and codes which allowed directional skills that Aussie was capable of.

I also identified a learning activity that would benefit student capacity and incorporate Aussie to engage and motivate their learning. I reflected on the fact that most of my students were not achieving literacy outcomes in handwriting using NSW Foundation print.

Using the Ozobot I was able to incorporate this information and communication technology (ICT) resource in my explicit guided reading rotations to educate and motivate students by correctly identifying NSW Foundation font and allowing the Ozobot to follow the correct foundation of their handwriting.

As a result of the ICT integration, student engagement in learning increased and 85% of students showed growth in their skills in this area.

My students and I would like to thank Kookaburra Educational Resources for the opportunity to include Aussie in our classroom. He has been an amazing addition to our classroom learning.