The tiny, cute creatures called ozobots were an effective coding activity that demonstrated the key seven principles of learning. 

 Principle 1 Learners at the centre  

The ozobot activity focused on the student’s participation and interaction with the bots and coding. We constructed our own learning through active exploration, exploring what codes would make the ozobot do a particular action and engaging in how we can create a circuit of codes for our bot to follow. Our active engagement was at the core of the assignment. 

Principle 2 The social nature of learning 

 We were placed in partners and had to collaborate with our partners to determine what codes and patterns we wanted our ozobot to follow. The cooperative group work allowed for autonomous learning. Partners could bounce off one another’s ideas to create the bot circuit. 

 Principle 3 Emotions are integral to learning. 

 The activity itself did not feel like an assignment because it was fun. The enjoyment of the activity encouraged us to explore and learn more. Our enjoyment was an effective motivation skill.

 Principle 4 Recognising individual differences. 

 Creating our own pattern with any codes we wished allowed a sense of academic freedom that moves away from a one size fits all approach. No two ozobot patterns were the same. This highlighted the individual difference of each student. 

 Principle 5 Stretching all Students 

 This activity was my first time working with an ozobot and coding. Although it stretched me outside my prior knowledge, it wasn’t an excessive overload of new information or work that would discourage me from learning. It was expanding without being discouraging. 

 Principle 6 Assessment for learning 

 The guidelines for the assignment were apparent, and we understood why we were doing what we were doing. We engaged in formative assessment by determining if our bot could go around the pattern without help. The bots’ actions determined whether the bot could stand independently or needed assistance. 

 Principle 7 building horizontal connections 

 The ozobots created cross-curricular learning that encouraged building connections through past knowledge. The social aspect of working with partners allowed us to lean on each other and learn in a wider learning community. The activity allowed us to integrate knowledge and skills to create an ozobot code.