Exploring Coding and Computational Thinking with Bee-Bots:
A Regional Workshop Success Story
This year’s March Badgeness, themed Byte-Size Learning: Exploring Coding and Computational Thinking, was a month-long online professional development adventure offered by the Mohawk Regional Information Center (MORIC), where educators earned badges each week while diving into the world of coding and computational thinking. Participants snacked on “byte-sized” modules designed to help them integrate coding into their teaching practice. The experience blended foundational knowledge with hands-on exploration of beginner-friendly coding tools, real-world problem-solving strategies, and engaging cross-curricular activities. It was a fun-filled month focused on both teacher and student growth in 21st-century skills.
A major highlight of this year’s event was the use of Bee-Bots. We introduced educators to both physical and virtual robots, expanding their understanding of how robotics can be used to enhance learning across subjects.
During the workshop, participants completed two key activities using the Bee-Bot Online Emulator:
- Input & Output Navigation: Teachers programmed a Bee-Bot to move through a simple grid, gaining hands-on experience with coding concepts like sequencing and commands.
- Algorithm Design & Comparison: Educators created, tested, and compared different algorithms to solve the same problem, deepening their understanding of computational thinking and debugging.
Participants also explored the Bee-Bot, Blue-Bot, and Pro-Bot Coding Journeys—ready-to-use lessons that showcase how these robots can support instruction in math, literacy, science, and more.
Teachers reflected on their learning and were asked: “How likely are you to use Bee-Bots in your classroom on a scale of 1–10?” Many were excited to incorporate what they’d learned, and we provided access to our MORIC STEAM Equipment Catalog so they could borrow robots from our lending library.
Thanks to a generous donation from Terrapin, everyone who completed all workshop requirements was entered into a raffle to win a Blue-Bot or Pro-Bot of their own. A huge congratulations to our winners, Naybell and Ashley—we can’t wait to see how you bring coding and creativity to your classrooms! 🐝🚗🤖
Classroom Inspirations: Richfield Springs and Mount Markham
To help spark ideas, we shared real classroom examples from our region:
Richfield Springs
- Pre-K and Kindergarten students listened to “There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow” and then programmed Bee-Bots to retell the story by driving to each item the old lady swallowed—combining literacy with sequencing and coding.
- First and second grade students studied snowflake patterns, classifying them scientifically and programming Bee-Bots to find matching patterns—debugging became a key learning moment!
Click on any image to enlarge it. These photos are from Richfield Springs.
Mount Markham
- Third and fourth grade students used Bee-Bots to unscramble sentences. They navigated Bee-Bots across word cards to form meaningful sentences, blending literacy, collaboration, and problem-solving.
- First grade students created addition problems and programmed Bee-Bots to find the correct answers—making math active, engaging, and fun.
Click on any image to enlarge it. These photos and the video below are from Mount Markham.
Click to watch a video of Bee-Bot completing a sentence.
Looking Ahead
March Badgeness showed how robotics tools like Bee-Bots can empower educators to bring coding and computational thinking into every classroom. Thanks to Terrapin’s donation, educators now have access to engaging tools that make abstract concepts tangible and fun for young learners.
With fresh ideas, hands-on experiences, and some lucky new robot owners, our region is ready to take the next step in building future-ready classrooms.
Contact Information
| Name | Heather Shaffer & Allison Blackwell |
| Position | Instructional Technology Integration Specialists |
| School | MORIC, Richfield Springs Elementary School, Mount Markham Elementary School |
| Location | Central NY Region |
| hshaffer@moric.org | |
| Email2 | ablackwell@moric.org |
| Website | https://www.moric.org/ |
| Tags | Bee-Bot, Blue-Bot, Robot, Computer Science, Computational Thinking, Coding, STEM/STEAM, Emulator, Early Learning, Elementary, Kindergarten, Literacy, Math, Science, Teacher Training, Professional Development, New York |
| Age | Pre-K to 8 |