10 Ways to Teach with the Dobot Magician

1. Introduce Students to Robots

Robots are everywhere! Kindergartners starting school this year will graduate in 2030. By then, nearly every facet of our society will be deeply affected by automation and robotics. We can only prepare our students for this future by including those technologies in our curriculum.

A lot of students (and teachers!) are intimidated or discouraged by programming. Fear no longer! The Dobot Magician’s “teach and playback” interface allows a first time user to write a robot program and literally seconds. In October 2017 we taught over 500 students, ranging from K-12, how to program the Dobot Magician to write their name.

2. 3D Print Teaching Aids

The versatility of the Dobot Magician makes it a great resource for not only teaching robotics, but for teaching anything! A teacher can use the 3D printing kit including with the robot to create specialized teaching aids for any subject they may be teaching. Here are some ideas:

• Chemistry: Molecule models
• History: Mt. Rushmore
• Geography: Topographical map of the United States
• Physics: Rubber Band Powered Car
• Engineering: Planetary Gearhead
• Astronomy: Printed to Scale Planets
• Art: Color Wheel

Or create something yourself with 3D modeling software!

3. Integrate Robotics into Non-Robotics Courses

The Dobot Magician is so simple to use, it can easily be integrated into any subject to enhance the learning experience for the student. For example, Our Unit 1 Curriculum uses the Dobot to teach a variety of Earth Sciences such as light waves, ratios and proportions and Newton’s 3rd Law.

4. Teach Your Students the Fundamentals of Computer Science

Our Unit 2 Curriculum moves into teaching students not only how to use robots, but the fundamentals of computer science. Students will use a function block interface developed by Google called “Blockly” to learn how to program. It allows students to learn the logic of computer programming without having to be burdened with the syntax of placing semicolons, parentheses and writing lines of structured text.

5. Use for a “Maker Space”

You have probably heard of makerspaces by now. It’s the DIY craze that has taken the educational space by storm. A makerspace combines manufacturing equipment and education to enable students and community members to design, prototype and create. The Dobot Magician may be a tool put into a larger space with laser cutters, CNC machines, soldering irons, sewing machines, and 3D printers. However, with built in 3D printing, laser engraving, and drawing capabilities a single Dobot Magician can become its own miniature maker space that will allow students to explore their creative abilities. Dobot is even coming out with more makerspace products like MOOZ.

6. Simulate Industrial Robotics

The Dobot isn’t just some toy to teach about programming but it is a very capable robot that does. When a student learns how to use a Dobot Magician, they are learning skills that directly correlate to real world skills. Some companies even use the Dobot Magician to train their engineers and technicians how to program before turning them loose on large scale industrial robots.

The Dobot Magician also has accessories to provide the ability to create a robotic cell that very closely mirrors an industrial robotic cell (some companies even use the Dobot Magician in their production lines!). These accessories include a conveyor belt kit, linear rail, and machine vision camera!

7. Teach PLTW Robotics Courses

One of our friends, Chris Hurd, teaching the Project Lead the Way CIM course at his high school in Cazenovia. He was frustrated with the poor quality of the robot specified in the curriculum. He has since replaced those robots with the Dobot Magician. Many CIM teachers across the country have followed suit and experienced greater flexibility, capability and durability. Read more about his experiences on his blog www.chrisandjimcim.com.

8. Teach Your Students About Inputs and Outputs

The Dobot Magician has 20 multi-purpose Input/Output ports. Students can learn how to wire in LEDs, buttons, and external sensors that can be powered by the Dobot (3.3V, 5V, or 12V) and interface into the programming. The ports can be used for Level Digital I/O, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and Analog-Digital Conversion.

9. Teach Python

Python is one of the most commonly used programming languages in the world and the Dobot Magician is a fantastic tool teach it. The Blockly interface will auto generate the Python script code working behind each function block allowing students to easily advance from function block programming to structured text. This may be done at a high school level, or even in a university setting. Universities such as UCLA, Miami, Michigan State, Utah, Arkansas, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and others have used the Dobot Magician in either teaching or research purposes.

10. Have Fun!