Utilising new technologies in a school environment can be an effective tool in helping encourage and increase productivity and creativity of students in school (Wheeler, 2002). There are many different tools that can help students improve both their personal and school development. There are a variety of examples, which include the innovative Ozobot.
This photograph was taken during tutorial lessons.
Ozobot is an interactive and hands-on STEM program where students are taught basic coding rules and application. It is designed in a way that makes it easy and fun for students but also introduces them to the world of programming. The Ozobot has light senses and is able to detect colours. Coding can also be used to make the Ozobot move specific directions. For example, specific colour patterns can be a code for the Ozobot to turn on the spot or stop.
This video was taken during tutorial lessons.
Creativity
The Australian Curriculum (version 8.4) (ACARA, 2022) helps support students in finding “solutions to designing and producing products” (Henderson, 2020). In supporting students during early years to stage 3, teachers should aim to integrate cross-curricular teaching methods to build a more interconnected and rounded understanding. Many schools provide an environment for students to grow, and the curriculum acts as a tool for teachers to use to help achieve this. Creativity is a key curriculum and therefore as teachers we need to create an environment that helps facilitate creativity (Henriksen, 2021). There are many teachers who tend to be most constructive in their classroom and not allow technology take over.
Ozobot, however, can be used to facilitate creativity. An example of using Ozobot in a classroom environment is by using the technology itself to form a storytelling environment. The Ozobot allows the coding of different colour combinations to dictate Ozobot’s actions i.e. a yellow-blue combination causes Ozobot to spin around. Through this coding, students can use their creativity to create interactive posters of stories. By having Ozobot in a classroom environment it really can test students' creative ability to design solutions and can also give them more confidence when using technology. Furthermore, the technological approach demonstrates a more spatial thinking which revolves around giving students an object and a specific space which they have to use to get the outcome needed.
This video showcases an example of how Ozobot is used in a learning environment.
Limitations
However, there are many limitations in using Ozobot. These limitations can include the difficulty of setting up the technology and being able to give instructions to the students. It is also expensive, so buying for each student will be difficult. Furthermore, without proper internet access, the loading process takes longer (Fojtik, 2017).
References
ACARA. (2022). The Australian Curriculum. The Australian Curriculum; ACARA.
Fojtik, R. (2017). The Ozobot and education of programming. New Trends and Issues
Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(5).
Henderson, D. (2020). Cross-curriculum priorities in the Australian curriculum: stirring
Henriksen, D., Creely, E., Henderson, M., & Mishra, P. (2021). Creativity and technology in
teaching and learning: a literature review of the uneasy space of implementation. Educational Technology Research and Development, 1-18.
Ozobot adventure with coding. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from
Wheeler, S., Waite, S. J., & Bromfield, C. (2002). Promoting creative thinking through the
use of ICT. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18(3), 367-378.
Hello Mariam,
What an insightful post! In the classroom, I have had hands on experience with an Ozobot but never thought about using it for a storytelling experience like you mentioned. This blog post has opened up my thinking to explore new and exciting ways to use this technology creatively in the classroom. Perhaps mentioning how the Ozobot can be used in the classroom to meet syllabus outcomes would further aid educators in their practice and use of this technology. Overall, you have done a sound and critical job at explaining this technology.
Zoe Lennon (46615687)
Hi Mariam
I have tested this technology in the tutorial, but after reading more about it in your blog it gave me a wider insight to how Ozobot could be used in the classroom to enhance creativity. This technology seems complex but is interesting, the way you described coding as a storytelling activity made it sound much more approachable. I also liked how you connected it to the Australian curriculum, it shows that the outcome of the use of technology is suited to its intended purpose. When talking about how this technology could enhance creativity, with your limitation on it being expensive and the loading process taking longer, it would have been better if you connected these to why it…
Hello Mariam,
Ozobot is very interesting technology to use in the classroom and your blog provided me with great insight on why it can be used. Your range of images and videos from the internet and in person displayed why the technology is useful in the classroom. Further, the link to the Australian curriculum is well done as well as discussing how spatial thinking is relevant to the activity. The limitations could have been discussed in more detail and overall you could have been slightly more critical of the technology. Overall, your blog was very insightful.
Harrison Britton (8.03.23)
(47098538)
Hello Mariam,
I really enjoyed you blog discussing how Ozobot is used to foster student creativity in the classroom. You have provided a range of images and videos which help teachers understand how Ozobot is used and what the technology is capable of doing. I really liked how you provided direct curriculum links as this is very useful for teachers as it allows them to link this Ozobot activity with content strands. This ensure the students are doing activities which relate to curriculum strands rather than being distracted by the technology. you provided great positive and negative aspects related to the Ozobot technology. I believe you could have compared Ozobot to a traditional learning method to compare and describe why…
Hi Mariam, Thank you for introducing Ozobot to us. I have never heard of this ICT before so it was very interesting to learn about the use of programming in schools. I really like that you have highlighted the limitations as cost is always a constraint in most school.
Although a great read, I would have liked to read about a specific scenario where students could use it as an example. Examples are always great as they can be a source of inspirations for other teachers that may struggle on where to start to apply the tool.
I think programming definitely has a good space in our lessons so we need more of this :)
thank you!
Pia Malmberg (08/03/23)