THOMASVILLE— Thomas County first graders at Garrison-Pilcher Elementary School use Bee-Bot, a programmable robot, to teach the basics of coding. In this spring-themed introductory lesson, students programmed the “bunny” Bee-Bots using sequences of simple commands to build a synchronized dance for the Bee-Bots to dance along to the song, “I Want Candy.” Digital Learning Specialist Jennifer Braswell points out the excellent mix of entertainment and learning with the programmable robots. “There is way more than meets the eye beyond the obvious student engagement and fun,” said Braswell. “Bee-Bots help students learn directionality, algorithms, sequencing, estimation, and basic programming, too.”

Braswell added that students can enhance their problem-solving and computational skills when coding with Bee-Bot, as well as experience the process of trial and error: planning, testing, and debugging.