Robotics, filmmaking, literature, global education, art, and feminism all came together in a recent Gr. 5 Design Tech project. Over a period of several weeks, students were tasked with creating short films retelling female-driven fairytales from around the world using small robots, and sets and costumes they'd made.
The project is part of the recently revamped Gr. 5 Design Tech curriculum, reimagined by its three teachers over the summer to focus more on robotics. Mary Dobroth, Director of Instructional Technology and Design Tech co-teacher, explains, "We want to hone students' computational thinking skills, which is all about solving problems. Robotics is such a concrete, visual way to learn that."
This particular project utilized Ozobots, palm-sized, programmable robots that can—among other things—follow lines and execute different movements based on patterns on the lines. Students practiced working with Ozobots, then got into storytelling mode.
Girls were assigned to groups, and each was given a global fairytale with a strong female protagonist. They had time to brainstorm how best to retell the story using the robots, and what kind of sets and costumes they would need to create. In late February, it was time to start shooting their scenes, which they would later edit into final short films.
Was the project fun? "Yes!" the girls responded. "But the Ozobots don't always cooperate," one student grumbled with a giggle.
While at times frustrating, this is a central part of the learning process in this project.
"I think it's great for the girls learning how to program the robots," says Dobroth. "But that's really secondary to working together to solve the given challenge. A project like this teaches students on so many levels, and the collaboration and problem-solving are such a key part of it."
View video highlights and photos of the project below: