LEGO MINDSTORMS EDUCATION EV3 Next Steps With

NEXT STEPS WITH LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EDUCATION EV3

LEGOeducation.com/MINDSTORMS

Next Steps with LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3

Develop your skills and integrate LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 into your teaching.

Congratulations! You have completed the ﬁrst step in exploring this new teaching tool and now you are ready to take the next steps.

This document outlines what you should do next, and provides six lessons for you to try with your students. Below, you can see an overview of what you will ﬁnd in the next pages.

1 Explore Curriculum Coverage

page ................................. 3

2 Use Tutorials to Build

Conﬁdence

page ................................. 7

3 Create a Learning Sequence

Using Tutorials

page ................................. 8

4 Provide Frequent Feedback

page ................................. 9

5 Provide Frequent Feedback

During a Lesson

page ................................ 10

6 Integrate Formal Assesment

page ................................ 12

7 Integrate Formal Assesment

during a lesson

page ................................ 14

8 Use STEM Lessons in Your

Classroom

page ................................ 16

9 Explore More Projects

page ................................ 21

10 Create a Playing Surface

page ................................ 21

11 Customize Your Lessons

page ................................ 22

12 Get More Support

page ................................ 23

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1. Explore Curriculum Coverage

Using LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 in your classroom opens up the possibility for a variety of successful learning outcomes. Skills such as teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving are an inherent part of the experience, and students’ natural mastery of digital technologies will help them to rapidly learn the language of programming.

Below is a selected overview of standards that are addressed or partially-addressed when using LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3. This list will grow steadily as you expand the use of EV3 in your classroom.

Practices

• Asking questions

• Developing and using models

• Planning and carrying out investigations

• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Using mathematics and computational thinking

• Constructing explanations and designing solutions

• Engaging in argument from evidence

• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Computational Thinking

• Recognize that software is created to control computer operations

• Understand and use the basic steps in algorithmic problem-solving

• Develop a simple understanding of an algorithm

Computing Practices and Programming

• Use technology resources for problem-solving and self-directed learning

• Construct a program as a set of step-by-step instructions to be acted out

• Implement solutions to problems using a block-based visual programming language

Computers and Computing Devices

• Use standard input and output devices to successfully operate computers and related technologies

• Apply strategies for identifying simple hardware and software problems that may occur during use

• Identify factors that distinguish humans from machines

• Recognize that computers model intelligent behavior (as found in robotics, speech and language recognition, and computer animation)

NGSS CSTA

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Explore Curriculum Coverage

Creativity and Innovation

• Demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology

• Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes

• Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues

Communication and Collaboration

• Use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others

• Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems

Critical Thinking, Problem-Solving, and Decision Making

• Use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources

• Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project

• Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions

• Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions

Digital Citizenship

• Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

• Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning

Technology Operations and Concepts

• Demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations

• Understand and use technology systems

• Select and use applications eﬀectively and productively

• Troubleshoot systems and applications

• Transfer current knowledge to the learning of new technologies

ISTE

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Explore Curriculum Coverage

The Nature of Technology

• Develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology

• Develop an understanding of the core concepts of technology

Design

• Develop an understanding of the attributes of design

• Develop an understanding of engineering design

• Develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problemsolving

Abilities for a Technological World

• Develop the ability to apply the design process

• Develop the ability to use and maintain technological products and systems

Practices

• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

• Reason abstractly and quantitatively

• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

• Attend to precision

• Look for and make use of structure

• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

• Model using mathematics

• Use appropriate tools strategically

Expressions and Equations

• Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations

Geometry

• Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume

ITEEA Standards for Technological Literacy

Common Core Mathematics Standards

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Explore Curriculum Coverage

Introduction

Next Generation

Science Standards

= addresses standard

ENERGY

Energy Transfer

Wind Energy

Solar Energy

Energy Eﬃciency

Electric Vehicles

FORCE AND MOTION

Gears

Inclined Plane

Friction

Velocity

Acceleration of Gravity

LIGHT

Light Intensity

HEAT AND TEMPERATURE

Freezing and Thermal Insulation

Heat Transfer

Convection

Practices

1 Asking questions

2 Developing and using models

3 Planning and carrying out investigations

4 Analyzing and interpreting data

Using mathematics, Informational and Computer Technology, and computational thinking

6 Constructing explanations and designing solutions

7 Engaging in argument from evidence

8 Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Cross-cutting Concepts

1 Patterns

2 Cause and eﬀect: Mechanism and explanation

3 Scale, proportion, and quantity

4 Systems and system models

5 Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation

6 Structure and function

7 Stability and change

Core Ideas: Physical Science

PS1 Structure and Properties of Matter

PS2 Motion and stability: Forces and interactions

PS3 Energy

PS.4 Waves and their applications in technologies for information transfer

Curriculum Grid

Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

• Precisely follow a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks

• Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-speciﬁc words and phrases as they are used in a speciﬁc scientiﬁc or technical context relevant to texts and topics in grades 6–8

Reading Standards for Informational Text

• Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem eﬃciently

Speaking and Listening Standards

• Engage eﬀectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and clearly expressing their own ideas

Common Core English

For learning grids mapping each of our Curriculum Packs to current curriculum standards, download the pack(s) or visit:

www.legoeducation.com

Language Arts

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2. Use Tutorials to Build Conﬁdence

The tutorials provided in the software will help to build your conﬁdence and your students’ conﬁdence. Take some time to browse through them and identify the ones you might be interested in using.

Here is an overview of the tutorials that are available.

Basics (Driving Base)

Learn how to control the Driving Base and trigger events based on input from the various sensors.

For EV3 Lab Only

Basics (Hardware)

Familiarize yourself with the Intelligent EV3 Brick and its assorted sensors and motors.

Beyond Basics (Driving Base)

Grasp the fundamentals of more complex topics, such as program loops, switches, multiple switches, arrays, and data wires.

Data Logging

Master various Data Logging concepts, such as live and Remote Data Logging, Graph Programming, and Dataset Calculation.

Tools

Learn how to use the various tools that are available to your students, such as the Sound Editor and the Display Image Editor.

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3. Create a Learning Sequence Using Tutorials

A good way to learn about about the functionailty of the EV3 Brick is to explore the Robot Educator tutorials and to combine two or three of them to create a learning sequence.

When designing your own learning sequences, remember to allow time for:

• Building the robot, if it is not already built

• Programming the robot

• Tinkering

Example of a Learning Sequence Using Tutorials

Explore the functionality of the Color Sensor by making diﬀerent things happen based on the color detected by the sensor:

• Color Sensor Color > Multiple Switch

Examples of other Learning Sequences for EV3 Lab Only

Explore the functionality of the Color Sensor, and practice logging ambient light values:

• Color Sensor Light > Remote Data Logging

Explore math-related concepts:

• Stop at Object > Range

• Variables > Arrays

Straight Move

Tank Move

Stop at Object

The learning sequence used in the

LEGO

MINDSTORMS Education

EV3 “getting started” experience.

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4. Provide Frequent Feedback

Encourage your students to tell their learning story. Give the opportunity to share their thinking, ideas, and reﬂections. This will boost their conﬁdence and engagement.

Student Documentation

Have your students document their work. By doing that, students will reﬂect on and consolidate what they have just learned. They will also have to consider how to use appropriate language to communicate their thoughts and ideas.

Using the Content Editor as a Documentation Tool

The Content Editor allows students to document their progress and ﬁndings as they work through each tutorial.

They can use the Content Editor to:

• Write full descriptions of their working processes

• Insert their own pages

• Add images and videos of their robot in action

• Share their unique project with other students

You can also allow students to select the tool(s) they ﬁnd most

appropriate for capturing and sharing their ideas. Encourage them

to document their thoughts using text, videos, images, sketchnotes,

or another creative medium.

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5. Provide Frequent Feedback During a Lesson

Move an Object

(45 minutes)

Objective

After completing this lesson, students will be able to:

• Program their robots to move and release objects of diﬀerent shapes and sizes

• Optimize the performance of a design by prioritizing criteria, making trade-oﬀs,

testing, revising, and retesting

Setup

Deﬁne a starting position and and arrange various objects for the students to collect using their robots. Use objects of various shapes and sizes like those shown below.

A. Connect

Clean up your school by collecting objects of diﬀerent shapes and sizes. Find ways to collect as

Feedback

During the lesson, interact with each student to identify any diﬃculties they are having in completing the task. Help them to improve by providing frequent feedback.

many objects as possible.

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Provide Frequent Feedback During a Lesson

Move Object

1 2

B. Construct

Build

1. Driving Base

2. Robot Arm

3. Cuboid

If you need help, watch the “Move Object” tutorial.

C. Contemplate

• Have students collect the Cuboid and return it to the robot’s initial position.

• Then have them collect a diﬀerent object, and observe how they adapt to the change of task.

Discussion Questions

Robot Behavior

How did you overcome the challenge of moving diﬀerent objects?

Modiﬁed the medium motor module frame to ﬁt the bigger objects.

D. Continue

Use the project ideas provided in this document or refer to some of our Curriculum Packs for additional ideas.

Program

Try to grab the Cuboid using the Robot Arm.

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6. Integrate Formal Assesment

Teacher-Led Assessment

Developing students’ science, engineering, and computational thinking skills requires time and feedback. Just as in the design cycle, in which students should understand that failure is part of the process, assessment should provide feedback in terms of what the students did well and where they can improve. Problem-oriented learning is not about success or failure. It is about being an active learner and continually building upon and testing ideas.

Giving feedback to students in order to help them develop their skills can be done in various ways. We have provided examples of rubrics that can be completed based on:

• Observation of students’ behavior, reactions, and strategies

• Asking the students questions about their thought processes

As students often work in groups, you can give feedback both on a team level and on an individual level.

Observation Rubrics

Examples of rubrics have been provided on the next pages.

The intention of these rubrics is to help students reﬂect on what they have done well in relation to the learning goals, and what they could have done better. Students should mark an X to indicate their level of achievement (Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum). You can also use the rubrics for your own evaluation of the students’ work.

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Integrate Formal Assesment

Sample Rubric - Assessing Design Skills

Bronze Silver Gold Platinum Notes

Deﬁning the problem:

Describe the problem in your own words.

Designing solutions:

Undertake a design project, engaging in the design cycle to construct and/ or implement a solution that meets speciﬁc design criteria and constraints.

Optimize performance of a design by prioritizing criteria, making tradeoﬀs, testing, revising, and retesting.

The student is unable to describe the problem in their own words.

The student has diﬃculties completing a design project and engaging in the design cycle to construct and implement a solution.

With prompting, the student is able to describe the problem in their own words.

The student has completed a design project, engaging in the design cycle to construct and implement a solution that met speciﬁc design criteria and constraints.

The student is able to describe the problem in their own words.

The student has completed a design project, engaging in the design cycle to construct and implement a solution that met speciﬁc design criteria and constraints. They have optimized the performance of a design using some of the following methods: prioritizing criteria, making trade-oﬀs, testing, revising, and retesting.

The student is able to describe the problem in their own words and can begin to decompose the problem into smaller parts.

The student showed creativity in using the engineering design process to implement a solution that exceeded speciﬁc design criteria and constraints. They optimized performance of their design using the following methods: prioritizing criteria, making tradeoﬀs, testing, revising, and retesting.

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7. Integrate Formal Assesment during a lesson

Stop at Line

(45 minutes)

Objective

After completing this lesson, students will be able to use the Color Sensor to

stop the robot when a line is detected

Setup

Deﬁne a starting position, then place a sheet of white paper with a colored line drawn on it a short distance away.

A. Connect

Objects will need to be dragged to speciﬁc

Assessment

During the lesson, encourage the students to interact with the rubrics. They should record their progress by marking the box that best reﬂects their level of achievement. Help your students to improve by providing frequent feedback.

locations identiﬁed by lines on the ﬂoor. Find ways to use the Color Sensor to detect these lines.

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Integrate Formal Assesment during a lesson

1 2

Stop at Line

If you need help, look at the “Stop at Line” tutorial.

C. Contemplate

• Have students practice detecting lines of diﬀerent colors.

Discussion Questions

Robot Behavior

Which color or shade reﬂects the most light? The least?

White reﬂects the most and black reﬂects the least.

B. Construct

Build

Discovery

What would you do if the robot were to detect a line of the color gray?

Use the Wait Block by setting it to read the Color Sensor in ReﬂectedLightIntensity Mode.

1. Driving Base

2. Color Sensor Down Module

Program

Try to have your robot stop at a black line.

D. Continue

Use the project ideas provided in this document or refer to some of our Curriculum Packs for additional ideas.

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8. Use STEM Lessons in Your Classroom

Develop STEM Skills with LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3

Using the Driving Base as the foundation, each of these four lessons oﬀers a diﬀerent STEM-related focus. Try one or try them all, each will guide you as you explore one of our Curriculum Packs.

LESSON Coding Focus

page .................... 17

Following a Line

Autonomous cars will soon be driving on our roads.

How do they follow their paths without deviating from the road?

LESSON PLAN Science Focus

page .................... 18

Measuring Speed

Biologists have long tried to calculate the running speed of animals.

Use a robot to ﬁnd out how they do it!

LESSON Engineering Focus

page .................... 19

Fixing a Car

You are stranded in the forest because both front tires of your car have gone ﬂat.

You have removed the wheels and must now use anything other than tires and rims to make your car move forward again.

LESSON Math Focus

page .................... 20

Moving in the XY Plane

To move an unmanned space vehicle from point A to point B requires precise calculations.

If the math is not right, you just might end up in the next crater!

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Coding Focus: Following a Line

(45 minutes)

Curriculum Links

• Exploring the use of a loop

• Exploring ways of developing computational thinking skills, such as the ability to

develop algorithms

Connect

Autonomous cars will soon be driving on our roads. How do they follow their paths without deviating from the road?

Construct

Build Program

In the software, start with the “Switch” tutorial.

Contemplate

Have the students create a driverless vehicle that can follow a line. Ask them explore diﬀerent types of lines, such as:

• Thick lines

• Thin lines

• Colored lines

• Right angles

• Broken/interrupted lines

For more coding activities related to autonomous cars, look online: www.legoeducation.com/lessons

Continue

Create a racetrack in your classroom and ﬁnd out whose car is the fastest.

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Science Focus: Measuring Speed

(45 minutes)

Curriculum Links

• Exploring the concept of speed

• Exploring ways of developing science-related skills, such as the ability to collect

and analyze data

Connect

Biologists have long tried to calculate the running speed of animals. Use a robot to ﬁnd out how they do it!

Construct

Build Program

In the software, start with the “Math Data” tutorial.

Contemplate

Use your Driving Base to model an animal “running” and calculate the speed at which it is moving. Change the speed of the motors to check that your calculations are correct.

Continue

Create a racetrack in your classroom and ﬁnd out whose car is the fastest.

For more science-related activities, download our science activity pack for EV3 Lab: www.legoeducation.com/download

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Engineering Focus: Fixing a Car

(45 minutes)

Curriculum Links

• Exploring the concept of mechanisms

• Exploring ways of developing engineering-related skills, such as the ability to

develop various functional prototypes

Connect

You are stranded in the forest because both front tires of your car have gone ﬂat. You have removed the wheels and must now use anything other than tires and rims to make your car move forward again.

Construct

Build Program

In the software, start with the “Straight Move” tutorial.

Contemplate

Design a solution to make your Driving Base, now without its wheels, move as quickly as possible over a distance of one meter.

Continue

Create a racetrack in your classroom and ﬁnd out whose Driving Base is the fastest.

For more engineering-related projects, download our Design Engineering Projects Curriculum pack for EV3 Lab: www.legoeducation.com/download

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Math Focus: Moving in the XY Plane

(45 minutes)

Curriculum Links

• Exploring the concept of position in the XY plane

• Exploring ways of developing math-related skills, such as the abiliy to make

predictions and calculate results

Connect

To move an unmanned space vehicle from point A to point B requires precise calculations. If the math is not right, you just might end up in the next crater!

Construct

Build Program

In the software, start with the “Variables” tutorial.

Contemplate

Have students calculate the number wheel rotations necessary to move the robot forward 88 cm (35 inch) or a distance of your choice.

Continue

Challenge the students by giving them one try to move their robots a speciﬁed distance. Whoever comes the closest wins!

For more space-themed activities, download our Space Mission Curriculum pack for EV3 Lab: www.legoeducation.com/download

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9. Explore More Projects

If you have reached this point, you might be looking for longer, more complex projects to use in your classroom.

Download new projects: www.legoeducation.com/lessons

10. Create a Playing Surface

The use of mats and other playing surfaces can come handy when doing LEGO® MINDSTORMS using pencils and tape or they can be printed out.

Taking the time to set up a level playing table with smooth surface will increase your students’ level of engagement and provide an “oﬃcial” surface on which their robots can move.

EV3 projects. Surfaces can be made out of large sheets of paper

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11. Customize Your Lessons

Use the Content Editor to Create Customized Tutorials (EV3 Lab Only)

The integrated Content Editor gives you the ability to customize any content in order to create your own diﬀerentiated lessons. Here are a few suggestions for customizing the tutorials:

• Rephrase the text to better match your students’ needs

• Add images that are more relevant to your students

• Add additional tasks

To ensure that you do not overwrite the tutorials supplied with the LEGO MINDSTORMS tutorial. All of the ﬁles included with the original tutorial will also be included in the new project ﬁle, which you are then free to share with your students (e.g., on a shared network drive).

Education EV3 Lab, any changes you make will be saved as a new

Additional Materials

Customize your lessons using materials you already have in your classroom, such as:

• Large sheets of paper

• Colored tape or paper (minimum suggestion: black, blue, gray, and one other

color)

• Objects of diﬀerent shapes and sizes

• Protractors

• Measuring tapes

• Markers

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12. Get More Support

For more content, eLearning, and support material related to

LEGO

MINDSTORMS® Education EV3, visit our website:

www.LEGOeducation.com/Start

LEGOeducation.com/MINDSTORMS

CHECKLIST

Software is installed

Software has been opened once to check that it

loads properly

LEGO® Bricks have been sorted

Box and electronic components have been labeled

The EV3 recharagable battery has been inserted in

the EV3 Brick and charge (or the EV3 Brick has AA batteries)

EV3 Brick has been renamed

Let’s Prepare

I know how to drag icons to the Programming

Canevas.

I know how to change the parameters on a

programming block.

I can turn a motor on and oﬀ.

I can use the Touch Sensor.

I can use the Color Sensor.

I can use the Ultrasound Sensor.

I can turn the EV3 Brick on and oﬀ.

I know the diﬀerence between an output port and

an input port on the EV3 Brick.

Let’s Try

Find more support online:

www.legoeducation.com/support

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LEGO MINDSTORMS EDUCATION EV3 Next Steps With

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual