Artificial Intelligence Educator Resources
These tutorials include artificial intelligence chatbots as a tool for working with micro:bit Python scripts, cyber:bot applications, and cybersecurity topics.
Welcome Educators!
This page is currently divided into two sections:
- Educator Resources
- Contests
Please log in to see all of the restricted educator-only downloads. Need an account? Email us at education@parallax.com with your school email address and staff directory page and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
Cybersecurity with Python and micro:bit Resources
These tutorials with Python and micro:bit add an often-overlooked physical computing dimension to cybersecurity programs.
What's a Microcontroller with Python and micro:bit Resources
What’s a Microcontroller with Python and micro:bit is a series of web lessons designed to get anyone — from the casual maker to pre-engineering student — started with building circuits and designing their own micro:bit-based inventions.
cyber:bot Resources
The cyber:bot robot adds a tangible hardware dimension to Python-focused computer science, CTE and cybersecurity programs. This robot puts the BBC micro:bit module on the Parallax small robot form factor that's a proven STEM success in classrooms from middle school into college, leveraging the add-ons available for this chassis.
ActivityBot Resources
The ActivityBot 360° Robot is our most capable and versatile small robot. Perfect for classrooms in middle school level and above, this robot can be programmed with the visual BlocklyProp programming tool or in text-based C-language. With its block-based approach to program building, BlocklyProp is a perfect entry point for students who are new to programming, electronics, and robotics, or who may struggle with traditional text-based programming.
Propeller Resources
This section contains downloads and resources for educators teaching with the Propeller microcontroller or any of its stand-alone boards (excluding ELEV-8 Flight Controller resources). This section does not include ActivityBot-specific resources.
The Propeller chip is a multicore microcontroller that is programmable in high-level languages (Spin™ and C) as well as a low-level (Propeller assembly) language. This microcontroller is the brains for our ActivityBot robot, ELEV-8 Flight Controller, and more.
Scribbler 3 Resources
The Scribbler 3 (S3) the perfect place for students and teachers to begin their STEM/STEAM journey. Programming, robotics, and even integrating math and art are all possible with the S3.
This section currently contains a growing set of solutions for the "Your Turn" sections of our S3 web tutorials. This material is restricted to registered educators only. If you are an educator who does not have an account on Learn, you can send an email to education@parallax.com (from a valid school email address) to register.
Shield-Bot Educator Resources
The BOE Shield for Arduino Robot (a.k.a Shield-Bot) allows the tried-and-true Boe-Bot robotics platform to be powered by an Arduino. Although the internet is full of ideas and projects for the Arduino, there are few good resources for getting started and learning the core skills necessary to be proficient with the Arduino as a microcontroller. By adapting our Boe-Bot materials to the Arduino microcontroller, we have created a student-friendly, yet thorough introduction for students and teachers who want to use the Arduino and are new to programming, electronics, and robotics.
What's a Microcontroller? Educator Resources (BASIC Stamp)
The BASIC Stamp Microcontroller is one of the most user-friendly microcontrollers available. The BASIC Stamp is programmed using PBASIC - arguably the easiest text-based language for beginners to learn. Ideal for students who are new to programming and electronics, the BASIC Stamp, the Board of Education, and the Homework Board are time-tested platforms, making them some of the best places for students to begin learning.
Robotics for the Boe-Bot Educator Resources
The Boe-Bot Robot is programmed using PBASIC - arguably the easiest text-based language for beginners to learn. Ideal for students who are new to programming, electronics, and robotics, the Boe-Bot is a time-tested platform, making it one of the best places for students to begin learning. The complete Robotics with the Boe-Bot learning system includes the educator resources, hardware, software, and textbooks.
Contests
SumoBot Wrestling
This challenge consists of each SumoBot robot seeking out the opponent robot and pushing it out of the Sumo Ring (thereby earning a Yuko point), and to avoid being pushed out of the Sumo Ring itself. A game for the SumoBot Competition Kit and Applied Robotics with the SumoBot.
Clear the Table
Sized for classrooms, this Robot Competition Idea is designed for Parallax ActivityBot, Boe-Bot, Shield-Bot or SumoBot chassis-based robots. The objective is to find and push the most objects off of a low platform in the least amount of time. Creative use of sensors and custom-built plows encouraged!
Scribbler Kicker Flags
The objective of this game is for the S2 robot to activate 10 flags located in the competition field. When the S2 robot bumps the front of the Kicker, a Flag goes up. The S2 robot that raises the most flags wins.
Individual Pursuit Race
Robot Competition Idea - Like two cyclists in a velodrome, two robots start simultaneously at opposite sides of an oval wall and see which robot can catch up with the other first. PING))) Ultrasonic Distance Sensors are used to detect the wall — but touch it, and you're out!