RoboBlockly is a web-based robot simulation environment for learning coding and math. Based on Blockly, it uses a simple puzzle-piece interface to program virtual Linkbot, Lego Mindstorms NXT and EV3, as well as to draw and animate for beginners to learn robotics, coding, math, science, and art. Blocks in RoboBlockly can be executed in debug mode step-by-step. All math activities in RoboBlockly are Common Core State Standards Mathematics compliant.
LEGO Mindstorms NXT is a programmable robotics kit released by Lego in late July 2006. It replaced the first-generation Lego Mindstorms kit, which was called the Robotics Invention System. The base kit ships in two versions: the Retail Version and the Education Base Set. It comes with the NXT-G programming software, or optionally LabVIEW for Lego Mindstorms. A variety of unofficial languages exist, such as NXC, NBC, leJOS NXJ, and RobotC. The second generation of the set, the Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0, was released on August 1, 2009, featuring a color sensor and other upgraded capabilities. The third generation, the EV3, was released in September 2013.
Lego Mindstorms EV3 is the third generation robotics kit in Lego's Mindstorms line. It is the successor to the second generation Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 kit. The "EV" designation refers to the "evolution" of the Mindstorms product line. "3" refers to the fact that it is the third generation of computer modules - first was the RCX and the second is the NXT. It was officially announced on January 4, 2013 and was released in stores on September 1, 2013. The education edition was released on August 1, 2013. There are many competitions using this set. Among them are the First Lego League and the World Robot Olympiad.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conclusion of each school grade. The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and seeks to establish consistent educational standards across the states as well as ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit-bearing courses at two- or four-year college programs or to enter the workforce.
RoboBlockly is a project of the UC Davis Integration Engineering Laboratory and UC Davis Center for Integrated Computing and STEM Education (C-STEM). It is a part of the C-STEM Studio. [1] [2] RoboBlockly is provided free of charge.
The University of California, Davis, is a public research university and land-grant university adjacent to Davis, California. It is part of the University of California (UC) system and has the third-largest enrollment in the UC System after UCLA and UC Berkeley. The institution was founded as a branch in 1909 and became its own separate entity in 1959. It has been labeled one of the "Public Ivies", a publicly funded university considered to provide a quality of education comparable to those of the Ivy League.
C-STEM is a UC Approved Educational Preparation Program for Undergraduate Admission for all UC campuses, meaning that participation in the C-STEM program is recognized in the UC admissions process as achievements that have explicitly prepared students for college and career. C-STEM has University of California A-G Program Status. High schools can easily add the A-G approved rigorous C-STEM curriculum to their own school’s A-G course lists to satisfy the UC/CSU admission requirements.
C-STEM Studio is a platform for hands-on integrated learning of computing, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (C-STEM) with robotics. It can be used to control multiple Linkbot, Lego Mindstorms NXT and EV3, Arduino boards.
RoboBlockly prepares students ready to program in Ch, C, and C++. The saved Ch code from RoboBlockly can be readily run without any modification in Ch, a C/C++ interpreter, to control hardware Linkbot and Lego Mindstorms NXT/EV3, or virtual Linkbot and NXT/EV3 in C-STEM Studio.
Ch is a proprietary cross-platform C and C++ interpreter and scripting language environment, originally designed by Harry H. Cheng as a scripting language for beginners to learn mathematics, computing, numerical analysis, and programming in C/C++. Ch is now developed and marketed by SoftIntegration, Inc. A student edition is freely available. Ch Professional Edition for Raspberry Pi is free for non-commercial use.
C is a general-purpose, imperative computer programming language, supporting structured programming, lexical variable scope and recursion, while a static type system prevents many unintended operations. By design, C provides constructs that map efficiently to typical machine instructions, and therefore it has found lasting use in applications that had formerly been coded in assembly language, including operating systems, as well as various application software for computers ranging from supercomputers to embedded systems.
C++ is a general-purpose programming language. It has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing facilities for low-level memory manipulation.
Users can share ideas and creations with the RoboBlockly user community through RoboBlockly Activity Portal.
RoboBlockly can run in any modern browser, without installation of any software, independent of operating system and device. It supports Web browsers IE, Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, in platforms of desktops, tablets, and smartphones with Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, etc.
