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Marty the Robot with a camera hat, holding a Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi and Marty the Robot

Marty doesn’t require a Raspberry Pi to be programmable in unplugged mode, Blocks Jr, Blocks, or python, but it is super-easy to add a Raspberry Pi computer to Marty the…

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The Importance of Physical Computing: Why Hands On Coding Matters

The Importance of Physical Computing: Why Hands On Coding Matters

What is physical computing? Physical computing is the use of code to control and interact with devices in the real world. Instead of running programs only on a screen, students...

What is Physical Computing?

What is Physical Computing?

What is Physical Computing? Teaching coding to young learners can be tricky because it often relies on abstract ideas. Typing instructions on a screen to control digital sprites does not...

Robotical Cog

Robotical Cog: A Joyful Introduction to Physical Computing

At Robotical, we wanted to build a simple, powerful, and joyful introduction to physical computing—something that could spark creativity and imagination in the classroom while teaching the fundamentals of computer...

Gamified Learning Blog Header Image

Unlocking Student Engagement with Gamified Learning

The gamification of learning is revolutionizing classrooms, transforming traditional teaching methods into dynamic and interactive experiences. By incorporating game elements, educators are finding new ways to boost student engagement and...

A graphic of Marty the Robot showing their different facial expressions.

Building Emotional Intelligence Through Robotics

This summer I had lots of chances to use my translation skills. Having over 40 languages and accents made traveling through places like the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland and Japan so much fun!

This summer I had lots of chances to use my translation skills. Having over 40 languages and accents made traveling through places like the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland and Japan so much fun!

What I Did This Summer – by Marty the Robot

This summer I had lots of chances to use my translation skills. Having over 40 languages and accents made traveling through places like the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland and Japan so much fun!

DonorsChoose and Marty the Robot

Add Marty the Robot to your DonorsChoose Project

DonorsChoose connects teachers with donors eager to support education. It's a straightforward platform that brings classroom dreams to life. Here's how it works and some exciting opportunities for educators. How...

Title IV-A Funds: A Lifeline for STEM Education

Title IV-A Funds: A Lifeline for STEM Education

As the deadline to use ESSER funding draws closer, it’s important that school districts explore other funding sources to sustain and improve services. For school districts looking to foster a...

Celebrating Marty's Impact on STEM Education

Celebrating Marty’s Impact on STEM Education

As the school year comes to an end, we at Robotical are thrilled to reflect on the remarkable impact Marty the Robot has had on STEM education in recent years....

Student Led Learning with Marty the Robot

The Magic of Student Led Learning

Student led learning isn't just a buzzword; it's a game-changing technique that lets students steer their own learning journey. But what's the real magic behind student led learning? Let's dive...

RoboWeek

The History of National Robotics Week

National Robotics Week is an annual celebration aimed at igniting interest and enthusiasm for robotics and STEM fields among students. The history of National Robotics Week dates back to 2009...

Global Marty Challenge With Prister

The Global Marty Challenge

We’re delighted to share the winning entries of the very first Global Marty Challenge! The challenge was designed in collaboration with Prister to inspire creativity and spark imaginations in students...

Bridging the Achievement Gap with Robotics

Bridging the Achievement Gap with Robotics

New research undertaken by The Education Recovery Scorecard has shown that almost four years after the Covid-19 pandemic, student test scores are on a path to recovery. The pandemic wreaked...

Creativity in Robotics

Unleashing Creativity through Robotics

In an era of dynamic education, fostering creativity is key to preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow. This blog explores how robotics education, exemplified by Marty the Robot, can...

CSEdWeek with Marty the Robot

CSEdWeek with Marty the Robot

We’re approaching one of our favourite times of the year…Computer Science Education Week! Through various activities and resources, CSEdWeek aims to promote equality in Computer Science, celebrate the contributions and...

A graphic of Marty the Robot showing their different facial expressions.

Teaching Social and Emotional Learning with Robotics

When you consider social and emotional learning (SEL), robotics and computer science may not be the first subjects that come to mind. However, research demonstrates that computer science offers an...

The Benefits of Teaching AI with Marty the Robot

The Benefits of Teaching AI with Marty the Robot

The Benefits of Using Marty to Teach AI: Interactive Features: Marty the Robot was designed with interactivity in mind, and our new machine learning extension allows students to interact with...

Learning for Sustainability Header

Learning for Sustainability with Marty the Robot

In a world facing unprecedented environmental challenges, Learning for Sustainability, or Education for Sustainable Development, has become more and more important. It’s a concept that goes beyond traditional education; it's...

Using Marty to Teach AI and Machine Learning

How to Teach AI and Machine Learning

In an increasingly technology-driven world, teaching children about machine learning and AI is essential to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive. Technology literacy is vital, but...

Time For A New Marty?

Time For A New Marty?

Have you met Marty V2? Since Marty V1 was first made and sent to schools across the world in 2017, a lot has changed! While Marty V1 was great for...

This summer I had lots of chances to use my translation skills. Having over 40 languages and accents made traveling through places like the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland and Japan so much fun!

What I Did This Summer

This summer I had lots of chances to use my translation skills. Having over 40 languages and accents made traveling through places like the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland and Japan so much fun!

In today's data-driven world, the ability to collect, analyze, and draw insights from data is a crucial skill. For students and learners in the field of coding and programming, understanding how to work with real-time sensor data and harness its potential is essential. Our new innovative sensor dashboard offers a game-changing solution that enhances the learning experience for aspiring coders, empowering users to explore, visualize, and interact with sensor data like never before. Here are some of the countless benefits of the sensor dashboard:

Benefits of the Sensor Dashboard

In today’s data-driven world, the ability to collect, analyze, and draw insights from data is a crucial skill. For students and learners in the field of coding and programming, understanding how to work with real-time sensor data and harness its potential is essential. Our new innovative sensor dashboard offers a game-changing solution that enhances the learning experience for aspiring coders, empowering users to explore, visualize, and interact with sensor data like never before. Here are some of the countless benefits of the sensor dashboard:

Marty the Robot next to a screen showing the Sensor Dashboard

Introducing Marty’s Sensor Dashboard: Unlocking the Power of Data Visualization

The wait is finally over! We are thrilled to unveil our latest feature – Marty’s Sensor Dashboard – bringing a whole new dimension to your Marty coding experience. In this blog post, we will delve into the reasons behind this exciting feature, outline the benefits it brings to the classroom, and provide a step-by-step guide on how to make the most of it. So, let’s dive in!

Coding games and activities have seen a significant increase in popularity in recent years. The demand for coding abilities has expanded dramatically as the world has become more digital and technology-driven.

Unlocking Summer Fun: Dive into the World of Coding Games and Activities for Teenagers

Coding games and activities have seen a significant increase in popularity in recent years. The demand for coding abilities has expanded dramatically as the world has become more digital and technology-driven.

Unlocking Summer Fun: Dive into the World of Coding Games and Activities for Pre-teens

Unlocking Summer Fun: Dive into the World of Coding Games and Activities for Pre-teens

Guest post contributor: JetLearn Coding games and activities have seen a significant increase in popularity in recent years. The demand for coding abilities has expanded dramatically as the world has...

Technology has become an integral part of children's lives, and while concerns about its impacts persist, it is crucial to acknowledge the positive side of technology when it comes to fostering imagination and creativity. In today's digital age, technology has the potential to open up new avenues for children to explore, learn, and express themselves. From interactive learning tools to innovative platforms, technology can ignite their imagination. In this blog post, we will delve into the ways in which technology positively influences children's creativity, highlighting the benefits it brings to their overall development. By understanding the positive side of technology, we can embrace its potential as a tool to nurture and inspire young minds.

How Technology is Fueling Kids’ Imagination and Creativity

Technology has become an integral part of children’s lives, and while concerns about its impacts persist, it is crucial to acknowledge the positive side of technology when it comes to fostering imagination and creativity. In today’s digital age, technology has the potential to open up new avenues for children to explore, learn, and express themselves. From interactive learning tools to innovative platforms, technology can ignite their imagination. In this blog post, we will delve into the ways in which technology positively influences children’s creativity, highlighting the benefits it brings to their overall development. By understanding the positive side of technology, we can embrace its potential as a tool to nurture and inspire young minds.

Teacher Appreciation Week

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week!

In the US alone, an estimated 3 million teachers work daily to educate K-12 students. That's 3 million individuals taking on so much yet asking little in return. Teacher Appreciation...

Two Marty the robots holding the world

Let’s Celebrate Earth Day

What is Earth Day? Celebrated globally, Earth Day is an annual event, dedicated to honouring the environmental movement and building awareness about the numerous environmental challenges our planet faces. ...

We challenged ChatGPT to write an article about Marty the Robot. Read on to find out how it did…

We challenged ChatGPT to write an article about Marty the Robot. Read on to find out how it did…

Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, with users challenging it to write songs, serve up delicious recipe suggestions and even fix their essays!...

Marty's New and Improved Sound Functionality

Marty’s New and Improved Sound Functionality

Say hello to Marty’s new drag-and-drop sound blocks. This latest addition to the MartyBlocks coding environment allows you to get creative with your Marty to make a song, record a…

Learning Math with Coding

Learning Math With Coding

It can often be difficult for students to appreciate the real-world applications of math concepts they learn. For many, they find it far easier to enjoy math if they are...

Technology Literacy: Everything You Need to Know

Technology Literacy: Everything You Need to Know

We are living in a world where technology is everywhere. While there are countless benefits to technological advances, it’s crucial to be able to use this technology safely and effectively....

Back-to-School with Marty the Robot

Back-to-School with Marty the Robot

Ah, it’s that time of the year again. After a well-deserved, relaxing summer break (hopefully!), everyone is getting back into the swing of things preparing for the start of the new...

Marty the robot in a primary classroom

Social and Emotional Learning: Skills for School and Life

What is Social-Emotional Learning? For many of us, the art of being a good friend, recognizing and managing emotions, and communicating effectively comes as second nature. What you may not...

Text-based programming language

The 10 Best Data Science Programming Languages to Learn

Guest Post by Reciprocity If you are a beginner wishing to venture into data science, it can be a challenge to choose the appropriate language to learn with the...

Marty the robot with pride flag

Pride in STEM: 5 LGBTQ+ STEM Icons You Should Know About

As Pride Month commences and the vibrant colors of Pride begin to flood our streets, classrooms, and newsfeeds, we wanted to take some time to pay tribute to a few...

Maths week London giveaway banner

Maths Week London Giveaway

Join us in Celebrating Maths Week London! To celebrate Maths Week London, we have teamed up with Sumdog, ArkCurriculum, Numbrella and ATM to bring you a sensational Maths Week giveaway. One lucky school...

Kindergarten children clapping hands

Robotics in Early Childhood Education

Guest Post by The Coder School As the education system continues to focus on STEM subjects, introducing robotics in early childhood education is revolutionizing kids' learning experiences. It is an...

Celebratory Marty the robot standing next to bett awards trophy

Marty the Robot takes gold at the BETT Awards 2022

An opportunity to celebrate creativity and innovation in the world of EdTech, Bett hosted their 24th annual Bett Awards dinner last month. After hundreds of submissions, the BETT Award...

Marty the robot pyramid with bottom left robot holding a sign saying

5 Activities to Celebrate RoboWeek 2022

April 2nd marks the start of National Robotics Week (RoboWeek)! An action-packed 9 days, perfect for inspiring the next generation of roboticists, programmers and other STEM professionals. Why is Robotics Important?...

A teacher with three students and Marty the Robot

The Importance of Teacher Professional Development

Do you want to fill in a particular skill gap? Do you want to overcome barriers in your career path? Professional development - training and continued education, can transform careers...

Three students learning with Marty the robot

Girls in STEAM: Creating a Gender-Inclusive Learning Environment

Despite the increasing demand for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art & math) skills and graduates, student passion and enthusiasm for STEAM subjects is still incredibly low…and considerably lower for girls!...

Robotical's New Year Giveaway Banner

New Year Giveaway

As the new year rolls in and you begin to prepare for the next semester of teaching, why not treat your classroom to new resources! In collaboration with Sumdog,...

Frozen laptop screen and Marty the robot holding fly swatter

Debugging: How to keep bugs where they belong…in the garden

You’ve spent ages writing a brilliant piece of code, are excited to start running it, press ‘start’ and… nooooo – your code does something completely different or maybe doesn’t even…

Three Marty the robots in a row

Learning Social Rules from a Social Robot

Traditional school settings can be demanding for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). From loud school bells to confusing social signals, these uncontrollable environments can create huge challenges for…

Scary Martys on device screens

Terrified of Technology: Overcome your Fear of Classroom Technology

Halloween is fast approaching and I’m sure you know what that means…you’re in for a frightful week! Whilst we can’t stop the witches, ghosts or werewolves giving you a fright,…

STEM-Related Careers for Children

STEM-Related Careers for Children

Is your child interested in pursuing a STEM career? STEM, a term used to group together the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, is a continuously evolving sector…

Introducing Marty Blocks Jr

Introducing Marty Blocks Jr

Our first block-based coding program for children as young as five What is MartyBlocks Jr? Based on ScratchJr, we developed an introductory programming language which uses Marty the Robot to…

Two robot arms gardening

Are Robot farmers the perfect “comrade” in the war against climate change?

The effects of climate change are far-reaching and have been felt by humans and every animal species across the world. The agricultural sector, as a whole, is particularly vulnerable to…

Green wooden table with calculator and piggy bank

Robotical’s Helpful Guide to Sourcing Suitable STEM Funding

Incorporating STEM activities into your school’s curriculum can provide extensive benefits to students, allowing them to gain a range of skills, including, but not limited to problem solving, teamwork and…

Back To School Giveaway

Back To School Giveaway

Can you believe that the start of the school year is right around the corner? Well do we have good news for you – we have your school essentials covered!…

Marty the Robots in line

Sensor Add-ons: Giving Marty a Sense of Real Life

Like all robots, Marty needs to sense the surrounding environment. Adding sensors to your Marty can help Marty to develop a clearer picture of the world, enabling Marty to make…

Two sharks swimming in sea

5 Ways Robots Can Be Used To Restore Our Oceans

Spanning three quarters of our planet, producing more than half of the world’s oxygen and feeding around half of the Earth’s population, our oceans are truly Earth’s lifeline. However, roughly…

What is Scratch? - A Guide for Beginners

What is Scratch? – A Guide for Beginners

A guide to help you understand the basics of what Scratch is and how to get started with sequential block coding. What is Scratch? Scratch is a block-based visual programming...

Cheetah print background with magazine & words

The Week Junior Science+Nature Magazine x Robotical: Competition

In partnership with The Week Junior Science+Nature Magazine, Robotical hosted a “Win a Marty workshop” competition. Five lucky children were given the opportunity to take part in a coding workshop…

Marty Blocks tablet Background

What is Block-Based Coding?

Block-based coding is an entry level activity which allows learners to develop computational thinking. By dragging and dropping “blocks,” beginners are introduced to programming through a simpler approach: visually instead…

Robots in the world of work

Robots in the world of work

Which is the fastest-growing sector of the workforce? Baby boomers, millennials…? No, it’s robots. Workplace robots are featured in almost every sector of business; from fruit picking to brain surgery,…

We wanted a real robot to help teach how to code

We wanted a real robot to help teach how to code

We’ve been working hard on a totally new-and-improved Marty over the past year. The new version, Marty v2, has been completely redesigned from the ground-up to be easier to use,…

Using Scratch to Make Our Robot Dance!

Using Scratch to Make Our Robot Dance!

Using Scratch to Make our Robot Sing and Dance Dr Alexander Enoch (Sandy) designed and created Marty, during his PhD at The University of Edinburgh. Now the founder of educational…

Celebrate Scratch Day with our Favourite Marty & Scratch Projects

Celebrate Scratch Day with our Favourite Marty & Scratch Projects

Scratch Day is a worldwide network of events to celebrate Scratch and this year it falls on the 11th May. So far, there are 676 events that have been registered to…

Scratch 3 - What Does it Mean for the Classroom?

Scratch 3 – What Does it Mean for the Classroom?

Scratch is a widely used platform that encourages creativity through block-based programming. Students drag, drop and click blocks of coding instructions together to build up their program, allowing for a…

We Now Map to the Australian F-10 Curriculum

We Now Map to the Australian F-10 Curriculum

We might have mentioned that all of our learning resources map to benchmarks for both the Curriculum for Excellence for Scotland and the National Curriculum for England. Well, we have…

Robot Terminology

Robot Terminology

Do you know a cyborg from a cobot? And what is special about a Droid? We have gathered some of the most common terms and definitions for robots below so…

Could You Fall in Love With a Robot?

Could You Fall in Love With a Robot?

If it was possible to create a robot as caring, empathetic and engaging as a human could you fall in love with it? In the future should humans be allowed…

Bump Switch Uses: Stop Marty Going Over the Edge!

Bump Switch Uses: Stop Marty Going Over the Edge!

Using Bump Switches to Prevent Marty Falling off Surfaces! Hello guys! We introduced bump switches in a previous blog post here and gave a brief overview of some of their…

Why Getting Things Wrong is Okay!

Why Getting Things Wrong is Okay!

During their time at school, there is a lot of pressure on students to take in new information quickly and put it into practice through tasks in the classroom whilst…

What is Computational Thinking?

What is Computational Thinking?

The term, Computational Thinking, is being discussed and used a lot in education at the moment, but what does this actually mean and is it something that is worth trying…

Marty the Red Nosed Reindeer

Marty the Red Nosed Reindeer

It’s Christmas time! And every Christmas our favourite holiday robot, *Marty the Magical Reindeer*, gets to work helping to deliver presents worldwide. With his unusually luminous red nose, Reindeer Marty…

3D printing in the classroom – An accessible way to engage your students

3D printing in the classroom – An accessible way to engage your students

3D printing has grown from a niche hobby reserved for makers and technicians to a widely utilised tool to educate young people in becoming STEM leaders of the future. When…

The Marty Bell Orchestra

The Marty Bell Orchestra

We took seven Marty robots and gave them a set of tuned bells to play! Each Marty had two bells (apart from one), and we wrote a Python script that…

Marty's Hour of Code

Marty’s Hour of Code

This week awareness is being raised all over the world of just how important it is to include coding in the curriculum. [Computer Science Education Week] is a week dedicated…

Scratch 3 - Micro:Bit and Marty

Scratch 3 – Micro:Bit and Marty

Earlier in the year, the Scratch team announced the release of the Scratch 3 beta. Quickly after, the team at Robotical developed our own Scratch 3 extension to bring Marty…

Bump Switches: Give Marty a Sense of Touch!

Bump Switches: Give Marty a Sense of Touch!

Bump Switch Basics: What is a Bump Switch? Bump switches (sometimes called snap-action switches or limit switches) give Marty the sense of “touch”. Like all switches, they are devices used...

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