When you think of Sony, you probably think about engineering and cutting-edge technology. And if you’re anything like me, you also think of how Sony absolutely changed the game when they created the Walkman, which played the soundtrack of late-80s life. (But I digress.) Well, Sony has changed the game yet again. Last year Sony released KOOV, which gives students an opportunity to explore engineering in a playful, hands-on way, encouraging them to become the next generation of innovators.
Fitting robotics or digital coding into class can be a tall order sometimes. After all, there’s so much to get done and only so many hours in the day. Plus, robotics can be intimidating. I, for example, know very little about coding. But Sony thought about that when they designed KOOV. It comes with a slick app that literally connects all of the dots for educators, and the best part is there’s no need to have any background in robotics or coding. The app will guide you and your students through the process.
Here’s a quick peek at some app’s features:
- A seamless classroom-management interface
- 50+ hours of classes to get students excited about coding, design, and STEAM
- A collection of super cool robot recipes featuring pre-coded instructions for the creations, making it easy for students to follow; the goal is for students to use these as inspiration and then concoct their own recipes!
The kit itself is b-e-a-utifully and intuitively designed. More importantly, it empowers kids to explore drag-and-drop digital code and have fun physically building robots. This approach excites students and pushes them to become innovators by encouraging them to stretch their problem-solving skills and think about how these skills apply in the real world. (For example—those LED lights students just added to their robot parrot are also used in the billboards on the side of the freeway!)
“The learning courses helped build on their skills which is huge,” says Molly Kaminski an Instructional Coach at Morris Grade School in Illinois who participated in the Hands On with KOOV Program. “Any skillset can use KOOV. They can move through the learning courses at their own pace.”
The kit fits flawlessly into the classroom and includes all the blocks, sensors, actuators, etc. that students need to build the coolest creations their imaginations can stir up.
