Learning About Inputs and Outputs with a Robot Game

Vocabulary

Input: The signals, data values, or instructions sent to a computer.

Output: Any information that is processed by and sent out from a computing device.

Process: To perform a series of operations on a set of data.

Algorithm: A step by step process to complete a task.  

Materials

Printed Robot Game board(s)

RobotGame.pdf

4 Different Colored Game Tokens

Setup

Combine the printed pages

the board numbers and positions are marked at the top of the pages, 1-BL is board 1 bottom left corner.

Place the game tokens on their corresponding colors

Learn

Computers are machines that can do lots of different things. They have something called inputs, which is how we tell the computer what we want it to do. For example, when you type on a keyboard or click on a mouse, that's an input.

The computer then takes the input and does something called processing. This is where the computer uses special instructions, called algorithms, to figure out what to do with the input. Algorithms are like recipes for the computer. They tell it step by step what to do.

Finally, the computer gives us something called an output. This is the result of the processing and algorithms. For example, if you type a letter on the keyboard, the output is that letter appearing on the screen. So inputs and are like the ingredients and algorithms the recipe for our output, a computer cake!

Play

In this game the goal is to get any of the robots (game tokens) to the rainbow colored space on the board. You give the robots inputs by telling them which direction to go (up, down, left, right, but not diagonally) and outputs, by then moving the robot. You can move any of the robots in any order, the catch however, is when a robot moves in a direction, it keeps moving until it hits a boundary or a barrier, then it stops. When crafting your algorithm, try to use as few moves as possible, clarification on counting moves is shown below.

Standards Used for Lesson Development CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards 1B-CS-01, 1B-CS-02.