Timberdoodle Ozobot Review

Have you heard of Timberdoodle?  Timberdoodle is a family-owned company that has been finding "crazy-smart" homeschooling supplies since 1985.  They offer unique and innovative homeschooling items that are great for both kids and parents at great prices.

I am so thankful that I have been chosen to be a Timberdoodle Blogger.  What does this mean?  Well, it basically means that I will be reviewing some of their homeschooling supplies first-hand and sharing them with you.  Whoop - Whoop!

First up for review, the Ozobot.

Can you spot our Ozobot?

I want to tell you guys about a fun robot from Timberdoodle that the kids and I have been programming and having tons of fun with, the Ozobot!  We have spent hours with our Ozobot and it is super fun for all!  What is an Ozobot?  It is basically a small robot that teaches kids programming.  The thick, clear plastic shell lets you see the circuitry inside.

Schematics of an Ozobot

How does it work?  The Ozobot is trained to follow patterns on the surfaces that it rolls over including paper and Ipads.  Ozobot recognizes and follows lines, sees colors and detect intersections.  Depending on your code it will speed up, spin, U-turn, etc.  Your lines need to be a certain thickness and consistency in order for Ozobot to read them - not too thin, not too thick, and not inconsistent.  The twin micro-motors deliver precise movements while the sensors scan the surface for variance in color.  This is how the Ozobot interprets the codes that you create.

It is also important to not space your lines too close together or to take your turns too sharply.  Coding placement is a key part.  You should not place codes on turns or corners nor on intersections.  Different codes should not be placed too close together.  Basically keep your codes on straight lines.  It might seem like a lot but it really isn't bad.  C had some trouble with the line thickness at first because the Ozobot needs precise lines but after the kids practiced a bit they were pretty good at figuring out what Ozobot could read and what wouldn't work.  We also found that Ozobot needs to be calibrated often - sometimes a color code sequence that wasn't working at all would work just fine after calibrating.  Calibrating doesn't fix everything; the Ozobot is picky about the lines being the right size.  Get the sizing down and you are golden!

The Ozobot has a LiPo battery that you charge with a micro USB cable that is included with it.  A full charge supports over an hour of continuous playtime.

Our Ozobot came with a few OzoSkins.

Our set also included washable Ozobot markers.

Ozobot with colored markers

E with our Ozobot in an OzoSkin.

Do you have to use Ozobot markers in order for Ozobot to work?  No, you can also use classic Crayola markers or Sharpies with wide chisel tips.  You will need to use the same colors as the Ozobot markers - black, blue, red and green as those are the colors that the Ozobot can read and differentiate.  If using Sharpies, the pastel shades of blue and green work the best.  Dry erase markers will not work.

C made a path for Ozobot to make his name.

Another view...

Watching Ozobot to see how it works

Another basic path for Ozobot

Once you have your Ozobot and markers you can begin making OzoCodes.  OzoCodes are simply color codes you draw with markers that tell your Ozobot what to do.  If you have a black line path, the Ozobot will simply follow your path.  Make the same black line path and make some of the lines with color and the Ozobot will follow it and change light colors depending on the color of the path.

Here you can see our OzoBot's light is red while on the red marker path.

And here, you can see the OzoBot's light is green when it is on the green marker path.

A simple path created by the kids.

A making a colored line path.

It works!

Our Ozobot completing the path.

After playing with our Ozobot with basic black and colored paths, the kids were ready to try out some specific OzoCodes.

Here is an example of an activity page with 3 different Ozobot color codes (slow, fast and U-turn).

D testing our Ozobot on her newly created path with OzoCodes.

This was a fun path created by A.


We had a long roll of white paper around the house and the kids had a great time using it for different paths for our Ozobot.  Occasionally one of the younger kids would add crazy lines or pictures but this was a great way to enjoy our Ozobot.


Even Baby G loved watching.


Go Ozobot Go!

  Crazy Fun

Another cool way to program your Ozobot is by using OzoBlockly, an on-line block-based programming editor that uses sequential programming to teach children the fundamental understanding of computational thinking.  The OzoBot Bit, OzoBot Starter Pack and OzoBot Evo are all compatible with OzoBlockly (only the OzoBot 1.0 is not compatible).  The OzoBlockly website can be used on tablets or computers with internet access.  OzoBlockly allows you to control your Ozobot's movement and behavior with programming.  It has five modes from Novice (with icon based blocks) to Master.  I like that it really has something for everyone and it is super user friendly.  A, B, C and D all had fun with OzoBlockly.

Ozobot made this awesome video on getting started with OzoBlockly.  Check it out to gain a better understanding.

Creating a program using OzoBlockly.  You can see near the top left that this is on Beginner mode.

When you are uploading your program to your Ozobot, the Ozobot will blink green throughout the process.  Notice that there is room for uploading to 3 Ozobots at a time.

The kids working together on OzoBlockly.

B using OzoBlockly and F watching intensely.

B uploading one of her programs.

C creating a program and F holding our Ozobot.

C excited to see Ozobot run his program.

D creating a program.

Ozobots are recommended for kids ages 6 and older and can be used for grades K-12.  I love that it has such a broad range.  Timberdoodle has upgraded their Ozobot to the Ozobot Evo which has even more capabilities than our Ozobot including crash detection, remote control mode, expressive sounds, web download activities and OzoChat to name a few.  I'm super excited about the addition of sounds!  Instead of a single, top LED light, the Evo has multiple, multicolored LED lights which is another sweet upgrade.  You can find out more about the Ozobot Evo including purchasing one on Timberdoodle's website.  The Ozobot Evo is currently a part of Timberdoodle's 3rd grade curriculum kit.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Oh, and if you are looking for a unique gift idea for a special birthday or Christmas gift, this would be a great choice.

Free OzoBot Apps

I want to share with you a few free Ozobot Apps that we have been enjoying on our Ipad:  OzoDraw, and OzoGroove.  Ozobot Evo is also available but you really need the Ozobot Evo for this.

Remember way back at the beginning of this post when I shared that the Ozobot is trained to follow patterns on the surfaces that it rolls over including Ipads, this is where OzoDraw comes into play.

In OzoDraw you can freedraw, choose a playground or pick a challenge.

Here is an example of a freedraw with just different colored lines.

And in this freedraw you can see that we added a turbo code.

Here are a few challenges you can choose from.

This is an example of an Ozobot playground.

Another playground

As you can see this is an App version of playing with your Ozobot and it's a lot of fun.  Remember if your Ozobot doesn't seem to be recognizing the codes or working properly it probably needs calibration.  You need to calibrate your Ozobot when using the Apps.

 Calibrate your OzoBot when needed

 

OzoGroove

OzoGroove is an App that allows you to upload dances to your Ozobot and watch it dance

 Here our Ozobot is performing the OzoChaCha.

The Ozobot Apps work for both iOS and Android devices.  Personally I think these Apps are more ideal for tablets and larger screen devices as it adds to the possibilities and entertainment.

I hope you can see that there are so many ways to have fun with Ozobots.  I also think it would be fun to add more than one to the mix.  Remember to check out the Ozobot Evo and let me know your thoughts.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  Timberdoodle sent my family the Ozobot in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.