Versatility At Its Finest!

Discover Robotics & Programming combines an application-based curriculum with high-quality mechanical building pieces to create the ultimate learning experience. This scaffolded series teaches basic programming logic in the context of mechanical and engineering challenges, enabling students to gain 21st-century skills like creative problem-solving and computational thinking. By combining a game-like programming interface and sophisticated mechanical components, Discover Robotics & Programming is a versatile and useful teaching tool that gives students the freedom to experiment, iterate and design. With LABCard curriculum for student-driven environments and classroom programs designed for instructor-driven environments, Discover Robotics and Programming is flexible, empowering educators to integrate hands-on STEM into virtually any educational environment.

Grades: 4-8
Students: Up to 3 per kit
Contact Hours: 20+ 

Subject Targets:

Technology, Robotics & Coding

Recommended Settings:

• Classrooms
• Home learning

Tech Requirements:

• One device per kit with Windows, macOS, iOS or Android operating system. Cortex is currently not compatible with Google Chromebooks.
• All tablets require internet connection to enable wireless communication via Bluetooth.

Available For The Following Platforms:

• Classic: For all computers and Andriod-based tablets
• BLE: For iPads

LABCard Curriculum:

With the use of the PCS LABCards, educators can take advantage of a differentiated instruction model where challenging concepts are broken down so that students can quickly master skills and move at their own pace towards a final performance task design project.

How to Use Your LABCards:

Each LABCard includes two step-by-step projects, two challenges, and one design project. Each project introduces new programming skills by guiding students through step-by-step activities. Two engaging challenges give students the opportunity to apply this knowledge before testing their understanding in a design project. Key terms are listed at the end of each card for reference. Along the bottom are three questions to check for understanding. Use them in discussion, written reflection or informal conversation to probe and deepen students’ understanding. At the end of every level, a final end design project challenges students to synthesize their learning with creativity and critical thinking.

Why We LOVE Them:

The LABCard approach is intended to provide educators with a tool that enables a student-directed experience. Educators are empowered to provide facilitation, coaching and mentoring as students work independently and in their own fashion. Almost all learning environments including after-school programs, clubs and a wide variety of classroom models, can be supported using the LABCard curriculum. Each LABCard is assigned a point value for quick and easy assessment of progress through each level and to provide students with immediate recognition of their accomplishments. Students earn 5 points for each card they successfully complete. Each level includes four 5-point cards and culminates with a 5-point end design project, for a total of 25 points per level. By completing all four levels, students can earn up to 100 points!

Product Orientation:

• Half-hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $500+
• One-hour free webinar orientation for purchases of $1000+
• Inquire about additional training options

Included with LABCards:

• LABCards (20-Card Set)
• The BrainTM and Cortex user guide
• Building Instructions (motor testing station and RiQ robot)
• Expanding file folder Specialized PCS Robotic Controller - The Brain
• Bluetooth Dongle (Available in BLE for iPads or Classic for all computers and Android-based tablets)
• 9V DC motors and 2 motor cables
• Rechargeable 11.1V LiPo battery and DC wall adapter
• USB Cable
• Advanced Sensor Pack including ultrasonic, light, touch, infrared, LEDs, and sensor cables
• fischertechnik™ building elements

Included with Classroom:

• Instructor Guide
• Student Guide
• Specialized PCS Robotic Controller, The BrainTM
• Bluetooth Dongle (Available in BLE for iPads or Classic for all computers and Android-based tablets)
• USB Cable
• 9V DC motors and 2 motor cables
• Rechargeable 11.1V LiPo battery and DC wall adapter
• Advanced Sensor Pack including ultrasonic, light, touch, infrared, LEDs, and sensor cables
• fishertechnik™ building elements

NOTE: Material amounts will vary based on Program purchase (Single Kit, Club Pack, Classroom Set).

Single Kit:

The Single Kit is perfect for small groups of students looking to explore the mysteries of robotics and programming.

Club Pack:

The Club Pack comes with five (5) individual kits and is perfect for up to 15 students in small classrooms, after-school programs, home school groups and more!

Classroom Set:

The Classroom Set comes with sixteen (16) individual kits, which are stored in a rolling storage cart. This set also includes a special Robotics Challenge Guide for additional ideas and guidance when attempting local or national robotics competitions.

LABCards:

Habits of Mind:

16 thinking habits developed by Art Costa and Bena Kallick to empower students to succeed in a 21st-century learning environment.

• Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations
• Managing Impulsivity
• Persisting
• Remaining Open to Continuous Learning
• Striving for Accuracy
• Thinking about Thinking (Metacognition)
• Thinking Flexibly

21st Century Skills:

A set of widely-applicable abilities essential for success in the information age.

• Communication and Collaboration
• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Information, Media and Technology Literacy
• Initiative and Self-Direction
• Productivity and Accountability

© 2018 Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), p21.org. All Rights Reserved. P21 was not involved in the production of this product and does not endorse it.

Next Generation Science Standards:

• MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
• MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
• MS-ETS1-4 Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

NGSS is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

Common Core State Standards for Math:

• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically.
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP7 Look for and make use of structures.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.2 Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions.

Common Core State Standards for Language Arts:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

Classroom:

Common Core State Standards for Math:

• MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.2 Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
• MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.A.3 Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number.
• MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.2.C Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Include expressions that arise from formulas used in real-world problems. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole-number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order (Order of Operations).
• MATH.CONTENT.7.G.A.2 Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions.
• MATH.CONTENT.7.G.B.4 Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle and use them to solve problems.
• MATH.CONTENT.7.G.B.6 Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms.
• MATH.CONTENT.8.G.A.4 Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.
• MATH.CONTENT.8.SP.A.1 Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association.

Common Core State Standards for Language Arts:

• ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.1.B Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
• ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.1.E Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
• ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2.D Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic. • ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.2.F Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
• ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical task
• ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
• ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.10 Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

Next Generation Science Standards:

• MS-ETS1-1: Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
• MS-ETS1-2: Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• MS-ETS1-3: Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

NGSS is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.

International Society for Technology in Education Standards:

• Communication and Collaboration with a Digital Portfolio
• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Research and Information Fluency

© 2018 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). All Rights Reserved. ISTE was not involved in the production of this product and does not endorse it.

Cortex Programming Software Downloads:

Windows
MAC OSX 
Android
iOS (for iPad v3 and later)

Brain Controller Pack:

The Brain robotic controller from PCS Edventures! offers students the opportunity to learn about robotics like never before. With quick processing power, wireless connectivity, and physical sensors, the Brain is used with the Cortex programming environment to create a comprehensive hands-on robotics education experience.

With physical hooks that are easily adaptable to LEGO and fischertechnik parts, students can build to their imagination’s content. Then, using the Cortex, students program desired movement and watch their creations come to life!

The advanced sensor pack allows robots to interact with the physical world and respond to received stimuli. New sensors include touch, infrared, optical, LED, and ultrasonic.  

Brain & Cortex FAQ Guide:

Click image below to view PDF

Click links below to view files:

• Flyer
• Spec Sheet
• Catalog & Brochures