l Snap! PD

Our mission at BirdBrain Technologies is to inspire deep and joyful learning in all students through creative robotics. We are excited that you are joining us in making robotics accessible to all students through this course!

Before we begin to program our Finch Robot*, it may be helpful to ask yourself…

What is a robot?

We define a robot as a machine that senses its environment, thinks about it, and then reacts. Can you think of some sensing, thinking, acting machines that you have interacted with today?

*Please note that this course is for the Finch Robot 2.0. Email support@birdbraintechnologies.com with questions.

Snap! is a block-based coding language developed at UC Berkeley and at SAP by Jens Mönig and Brian Harvey. It is very similar to Scratch. One key advantage to programming in Snap! is that the code can be updated while it is running. In some other programming languages, the code needs to be downloaded every time you make a change. Snap!, by contrast, is always in contact with the Finch Robot, making the code “tinkerable.”

Snap! is a browser-based programming language, and it works best in the Google Chrome browser. Follow the instructions in the video to connect your Finch Robot to Snap. You can connect up to three Finch Robots to a single Snap! programming session.

You can program the Finch to move a given distance or turn a certain number of degrees. Use move and turn blocks to draw a square or other shape!

Sometimes you want to control the speed of the Finch’s wheels independently, without telling the Finch to stop after it has traveled a given distance. This video covers controlling the Finch’s wheels directly using the Finch Wheels and Finch Stop blocks.

In this video we dive deep into one Finch activity, Finch Jousting, and describe how it supports two computational thinking concepts, Algorithms and Evaluation.

This video shows how to insert a marker into the Finch pen mount and how to use it to draw shapes.

In this video we discuss how drawing shapes with Finch links to the Computational Thinking concepts of decomposition and evaluation.

The Finch is tricked out with full-color LEDs in the beak and tail. Learn some color theory and how to program the Finch to light up and blink.

In this video we discuss algorithms, decomposition, and evaluation, and how these skills are used in the Finch parade float activity.

Your Finch has a built-in multi-tonal buzzer, which you can use to create many simple songs or 1980s video game sound effects.

Snap! also lets you play sound directly from the computer’s speakers. You can use a variety of pre-recorded sound effects or make a custom recording. You can even program your Finch’s buzzer to tweet along with a recording of a song!

In this video, we show how to do pattern recognition with the Finch’s buzzer and suggest some activities to practice pattern recognition.

The Finch has six different types of sensors: distance, light, line, accelerometer, compass, and buttons. Learn how to view sensor values and experiment with your Finch to see how small or large a value you can get each sensor to report.

Some Finch sensors are Boolean, meaning they only return true or false. Learn how to use these sensors to set your Finch’s outputs using control blocks such as when key pressed and if-else.

We show our code that solves the challenge from the previous video and use it to play twinkle twinkle little star by tilting and rolling our Finch. We then dive deep into the Gameshow host Finch activity, and demonstrate how decomposition is used in the creation of the solution to that activity.

Sensors that return a number value can be used to directly set outputs. For example, you can use the value of the light sensor as a dimmer for the LED, where the LED gets brighter in proportion to increasing light falling on a light sensor. Using arithmetic blocks, you can also scale the sensor values to outputs in more complex ways.

Use your Finch accelerometer to directly control the buzzer, and learn about other fun direct control activities.

You can use conditional statements such as if-else or when key pressed with sensors that return number data. To do this, you’ll need to use comparison blocks like less than or greater than, as well as thresholds. This allows you to make programs that follow lines or avoid obstacles.

We dive deep into two solutions to the challenge posed in the previous video, and also discuss an activity, vampire Finch, that uses conditional statements to have your Finch avoid the light. We highlight how these activities naturally introduce the CT concepts of decomposition and abstraction.

Congratulations on completing this course! You now have the foundational knowledge and skills required to follow our Going Further tutorials to explore Computer Science concepts like Variables, Randomness, and Modularity.

We hope that you and your students enjoy the Finch Robot 2.0!

Follow exciting developments in the Finch world on social media or by signing up to our mailing list, and email us if there is anything we can do to help you use the Finches. We would love to share your projects and work with the Finch community, so please tag anything cool you or your students do with #FinchRobot2.

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