At Arduino, we believe coding should be accessible to everyone – including the youngest learners. With this in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that the Arduino Alvik robot now officially supports block-based coding!

Coding has never been easier thanks to Alvik’s seamless integration with mBlock, one of the most widely used platforms for educational hardware, available in both desktop and web-based versions compatible with Chromebook, MacBook, and Windows PC. With mBlock’s intuitive block-based coding and Alvik as a tangible, interactive robot companion, elementary students and teachers can explore robotics, mathematics, astronomy, and other engaging projects. 

With the release of the public beta version of the integration in mBlock, Alvik’s new features and improvements will be implemented over time based on feedback from educators.

Beyond coding: bringing all areas of learning to life

Alvik provides a unique, hands-on learning experience. This makes it the ideal tool for elementary-aged students who benefit from interacting with something they can see, touch, and control. They can get immediate feedback on their commands and see the robot’s reactions and movements in real time. 

But Alvik is more than just a gateway to coding; it’s a multidisciplinary tool that can enrich learning across all subjects. This classroom companion truly reflects the spirit of STEAM education, enabling teachers to bring learning to life in creative and often unexpected ways. 

Teaching abstract concepts to elementary-aged students can be tough. However, young children grasp abstract concepts and problem-solving skills more effectively when “learning becomes more hands-on, tangible and interactive”. This is where physical tools like Alvik can make a significant difference.

Through Arduino’s engaging Block-Based Coding and Robotics lesson, children can program their Alvik to perform an array of exciting tasks. These step-by-step project-based activities cover a diverse range of subjects, allowing students to convert abstract concepts into concrete, relatable experiences. This immersive approach is a great way to nurture kids’ natural curiosity and deepen their understanding of challenging topics and ideas.

And it doesn’t stop there. With LEGO^® Technic compatibility and M3 screw connectors, Alvik becomes a canvas for creativity. Students can customize and decorate their robot for special occasions like Halloween and Christmas, blending art design with engineering and making the learning process even more personal and engaging.

With Alvik, kids aren’t just learning to code – they’re learning to think creatively and critically, and explore a wide range of subjects in a way of solving real-life tasks.

Why choose Alvik with block-based coding for primary school?

1. Enhances engagement with a child-friendly interface – Based on the popular Scratch platform created by MIT, mBlock is crafted specifically for elementary-aged students. With its game-like elements, vibrant colors, and instant visual feedback, block-based coding lowers the entry barrier and makes programming fun and engaging for learners of all ages.

2. Builds confidence at an early age – Block-based coding helps eliminate common frustrations like syntax errors, which can hinder young learners in text-based programming. Instead, students experience early success as they watch the Alvik robot follow their commands – boosting their confidence and love for creating more.

3. Makes interdisciplinary learning easy – Following the lessons available in Arduino’s dedicated online platform, elementary-aged teachers could enhance the students’ knowledge of various subject matters through playing and hands-on creative projects.

4. Simplifies abstract concepts – Abstract coding concepts such as loops, conditionals, and variables can be difficult for young students to grasp. Block-based coding provides a visual and interactive way to understand these concepts. Blocks represent specific functions and operations, making abstract ideas more concrete.

5. Supports the transition to text-based coding – Block-based coding with Alvik isn’t just a fun starting point – it’s a bridge to more advanced learning. As students advance, they can easily transition from blocks to text-based coding languages like MicroPython with a simple click of a button. This seamless shift lets students build on their skills and dive deeper into the world of programming at their own pace. And you won’t have to worry about purchasing separate hardware either, as students can program their Alvik robot by following the lessons in Arduino’s Explore Robotics in MicroPython course.

6. Supports Chromebook – The mBlock web platform works across Chromebooks, Windows PCs, and MacBooks, so students and teachers can jump into their projects on any device, anytime.

A wealth of support at your fingertips

We know that stepping into the world of coding can feel like a challenge, especially for elementary teachers without a computer science background. That’s why Alvik comes with free access to dedicated learning resources with project-based lesson plans, step-by-step tutorials, and engaging activities. These are currently available in English, Italian and Spanish, with more lessons coming soon. Utilizing both Alvik and mBlock means teachers can lead their students into the world of coding and robotics (and beyond!) with confidence.

Ready to get started?

With Arduino’s strong reputation for innovation and mBlock’s child-friendly platform, we’re combining our strengths to make learning robotics and coding more engaging and enjoyable than ever before. 

Are you ready to inspire the next generation of innovators? Bring the joy of coding into your classroom with Alvik! 

Visit our online store to buy your Arduino Alvik robot today.

You can also visit our list of education partners to contact a local distributor for more information or to make a purchase.

The post Easy and fun block-based coding with the Alvik robot is here, now Chromebook compatible! appeared first on Arduino Blog.

Collaborative coding in education can be a game-changer for students, providing them with real-world skills in communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

With the new collaborating coding feature of the Arduino Cloud, students can collaborate in real time on coding projects, making it easier to test, integrate, and refine their work in the classroom or remotely.

If you are on a paid Cloud School or Business plan and you have created a Shared Space, Collaborative Coding will already be enabled for you. Just open a sketch file from your organization space and start editing.

You can purchase an Arduino Cloud School or Business plan on this page.

How does Collaborative Coding work?

Before, to edit a shared sketch, the user needed to make a copy to edit it, only the owner could edit the original sketch. Users could end up with many copies of the same sketch. Now, if you’re editing a shared sketch and another user tries to access it, they’ll get an instant notification in the lower corner of the Arduino Cloud Editor. Once you’re done or have uploaded the sketch, the other user can edit it.

Below are seven ways that showcase how collaborative coding can enhance learning experiences in educational settings.

1. Remote team projects

In today’s increasingly connected world, remote collaboration has become a critical skill. By assigning students to a remote team project, such as building a smart greenhouse, educators can simulate real-world tasks. In this scenario, each student tackles a different component of the project: one works on coding for temperature sensors, another handles humidity control, while another focuses on pressure regulation.

Through real-time collaboration tools, students can test and integrate their code seamlessly, making it easier to identify and resolve issues as they arise. This approach doesn’t just encourage communication and teamwork; it also gives students valuable exposure to the challenges of coordinating efforts across distances – a skill essential in modern engineering and tech careers.

2. Peer learning and mentorship

As the students code, mentors can provide immediate feedback, guide them through debugging, and teach best practices. This instant interaction accelerates learning by allowing students to correct mistakes as they occur and learn more efficiently. Mentors can also demonstrate advanced coding techniques, improving the overall skill set of junior students while fostering a supportive learning environment.

3. Interdisciplinary projects

A great way to incorporate collaborative coding is through interdisciplinary projects, which  bring together students from diverse fields like computer science, physics, and environmental science. Take a weather station project, for example. Each student can code different elements, and with the Collaborative Coding feature, they can seamlessly integrate their work into a unified system in real time. This setup not only helps students share their domain-specific knowledge but also prepares them for real-world scenarios where interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial.

4. Classroom code review sessions

Arduino Cloud simplifies live code review sessions. Teachers can use the platform to host collaborative peer reviews, where students suggest improvements and optimizations on each other’s code. The Collaborative Coding feature allows these suggestions to be implemented and tested instantly, creating an interactive learning experience. This real-time feedback helps students improve their coding skills by learning to write cleaner, more efficient code. It also exposes them to different problem-solving approaches.

5. Hackathons and coding competitions

Hackathons are a great way to encourage teamwork and creative problem-solving, with students having to work closely together under time constraints. The Collaborative Coding feature enables real-time teamwork, allowing students to brainstorm, write, and debug code simultaneously. This setup encourages effective communication and quick decision-making, which are crucial skills in high-pressure environments like coding competitions. Students also learn how to divide tasks, manage time, and integrate different components swiftly.

6. Cross-school collaborative projects

Collaborative coding doesn’t have to be limited to one classroom. By connecting students from different schools, you can promote collaboration on larger, more ambitious projects. For example, students from various schools could work on a shared environmental monitoring system, with each school responsible for different parts such as data collection, interface design, and system integration.

Using the Collaborative Coding feature, they can integrate their code into a unified system in real time, learning from each other’s approaches and gaining exposure to different coding styles and experiences.

7. Pair programming exercises

In pair programming exercises, two students work together on a single coding task – whether that’s in the classroom or remotely. One student writes the code while the other reviews it in real time, and they switch roles regularly so both get hands-on experience with every part of the project.

This technique encourages close collaboration and helps  students develop their communication skills and systematic debugging techniques. It also gives them the opportunity to learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses, improving their overall coding abilities.

Conclusion

Integrating collaborative coding into the classroom can dramatically enhance the learning experience for students, giving them the skills they need to thrive in the modern workforce. From remote team projects and interdisciplinary work to peer mentoring and hackathons, these use cases demonstrate how coding can be both a collaborative and creative activity. By fostering teamwork, communication, and technical expertise, educators can prepare students for success in coding and beyond.

The post 7 powerful ways to integrate Collaborative Coding into education with the Arduino Cloud appeared first on Arduino Blog.

In today’s busy world, getting students or engineers to work together is key to tackling complex IoT projects. Traditional code sharing and editing methods, like using offline IDEs or swapping files manually, often slow down projects and lead to mistakes. This can be a hassle and take up a lot of time, often getting in the way of students or developers learning together. To address these challenges, Arduino Cloud introduces Collaborative Coding — a new feature available in the Cloud Editor, the online alternative to the traditional Arduino IDE, that enables real-time, collaborative coding. 

So, what is Collaborative Coding?

In Arduino Cloud, Collaborative Coding allows multiple users to work on the same code at the same time. For example, industrial automation professionals can enhance project efficiency, reduce errors, and accelerate development cycles while streamlining the collaborative experience and enhancing the overall efficiency of group projects. But not only enterprises, also teachers can work closer with their students by sharing and reviewing code, or finding ways to teach how the code works. 

Advantages of code collaborations:

• It streamlines the coding process.
• It foster innovation through teamwork.
• It ensures projects are on track and boosts continuity.

Is Collaborative Coding available for users with a Shared Space?

Yes, Collaborative Coding can only be accessed if you have a Shared Space created for your organization or school. 

A Shared Space in Arduino Cloud is a collaborative environment designed for organizations or educational institutions. It allows team members or students to work together on projects while sharing many resources such as dashboards, things, sketches,…. There is no limit to the number of members who can join a Shared Space.

If you are on a paid Arduino Cloud plan and you have created a Shared Space, Collaborative Coding will already be enabled for you. Just open a sketch file from your organization space and start editing.  

If you haven’t created a Shared Space for your organization yet, you can purchase an Arduino Cloud School or Business plan on this page. 

How does Collaborative Coding work ? 

Let’s say that you’re in the middle of editing a sketch, when another user tries to access it. They will be notified right away that the sketch is being edited by someone else. How? With a message displayed in the lower hand corner of Arduino Cloud Editor (see screenshot below). Once you complete your changes or you have verified and uploaded the sketch, the other user will be able to edit the code. 

4 ways to make the best out of Collaborative Coding 

1. Boost IoT team project development 

Facilitate collaboration among team members located in different parts of the world, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. Conduct code reviews in real time, improving code quality and knowledge sharing.

2. Engage in pair programming

Pair programming is the practice of pairing up students to work on programming activities. This is the most common approach used by teachers to foster collaboration in the classroom. 

Collaborative coding helps students to be more actively involved in projects, making the learning process interactive and engaging. They can leverage each other’s knowledge and skills, resulting in more effective problem-solving and innovation. The development cycle accelerates as well, allowing for quicker iterations and refinements.

3. Deliver interactive workshops and training

Use the collaborative editor for training new hires and students who are learning to code allowing them to follow along and participate in real-time. Conduct hands-on workshops where participants can actively engage with the code, enhancing their learning experience.

4. Enhance client collaborations

Collaborate with clients on specific projects, enabling them to see progress and provide feedback in real-time. Quickly prototype and demonstrate solutions to clients, incorporating their feedback instantly.

Collaborative Coding in action

Explore how our new Collaborative Coding feature can revolutionize your workflow. Access short clips on our documentation site, customized for your specific needs:

• For makers and hobbyists: Watch the clip.
• For schools, teachers, and students: Watch the clip.
• For businesses and teams: Watch the clip.

Get a Shared Space and start collaborating 

This isn’t news: In both educational and professional realms, working with multiple users in real-time is key to success. The new Collaborative Coding feature in Arduino Cloud bridges the gap. It offers learning, helps debugging and improves communication. 

By integrating this tool into your workflow, whether you’re a student working on group projects or a developer in the industrial automation sector, you will get a better development experience

Ready to revolutionize the way you collaborate on code? Check out this tutorial on how to Collaborate using the Cloud Editor.

Don’t have a Shared Space? 

Visit our plans now and upgrade to a Pro or School plan depending on your profile and needs. If you’re a student or an educator, you can also sign-up for a free trial now and start collaborating within Arduino Cloud Editor. 

For any information, our team is here to support you. Get in touch! 

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