Blog Post #3: Dash and Dot

 When I first looked at the list for the various items we could explore for this post, I was very thankful for the work the previous librarian did at my school. She did her best to incorporate steam and technology related activities into her library classes each week, regardless of whether our school had a steam class at the time. One of the things listed, and that we had available at my school, was the Dash and Dot robots. Prior to using them for this post, I had not used them before, but was excited to check them out!

About Dash and Dot

The Dash and Dot Explorer pack that comes with multiple accessories for both robots. 

Dash and Dot are a set of small coding robots that teach simple coding methods through games and activities. Dash is a three-wheeling robot that has a few different attachments for the different activities, like a xylophone, a claw gripper, and a catapult. Dot is a smaller robot that does not move that can have a few smaller accessories of its own. 

*Note: after doing some research, it looks like the explorer pack I was using is not available anymore on the Wonder website. Instead of coming with the xylophone accessory, it now comes with a claw gripper and a drawing kit. However, you can still use the app for the xylophone, even if they no longer sell that piece. 

There are 5 different apps that connect with the robots to do different things or make use of the different accessories. Each app makes it easy to connect to the two robots and to figure out how to use them. 

These robots are really fun to use, although they can be a bit quirky when it comes to making sure things are calibrated. (the video at the bottom of this post is after I calibrated the arm to hit each note.) But that makes it more real, in my opinion. Not everything is going to work perfectly every time. You will need to calibrate things at times and sometimes you will need to do it multiple times to get it just right. That just makes this a more rich learning experience. Even if it can be a little frustrating!

The RAT Tool

Graphic describing the RAT tool for technology. Replacement, Amplification, and Transformation.

The RAT tool is a framework to help determine if a form of technology is actually beneficial to the students its serving. It allows the educator to examine the ways in which the technology is being put to use, through 3 different lenses, Replacement, Amplification, and Transformation. 

Replacement

The Replacement aspect of this technology is that it can replace code education sites with something that still teaches you coding, but does so with a physical component. You get apps and materials designed for younger children to allow them to "play" while learning. It allows the user to see when their code is wrong with a physical product, rather than just seeing something go wrong on a screen.

Amplification

The Amplification part allows the user to begin learning those basic building blocks of coding. This robot feels like a great starting point for many children to begin learning coding, and then going onto other apps and resources to further build their knowledge. 

Transformation

The Transformation aspect of this technology allows the students to utilize mobile devices for coding, but bringing that creation to the real world through the use of the robots. Many children want to create something that is more real than just something on a computer. By creating code that tells the robot what to do, they can physically see that their code works and what it can do. 

Resources

R.A.T. R.A.T. model. (2016, June 24). Dr. Joan E. Hughes | TechEdges | Technology Integration Research. https://web.archive.org/web/20190612101737/https://techedges.org/r-a-t-model/