Using VEXcode VR is an easy and beneficial way to ease your students into coding, before beginning to code a physical robot with VEXcode GO.

When I was teaching elementary school and began to think about incorporating Computer Science into my STEM curriculum, I was a little hesitant - I knew I would have to learn alongside my students and worried if I would be able to understand it well enough to be good at teaching it. I also wondered if my students would enjoy and embrace it, and therefore benefit from it. As a teacher beginning to integrate VEX GO into your STEM plans, it is likely you have similar concerns, especially if you have never done any coding yourself.

Fortunately, using VEXcode VR to introduce coding to your students can make learning coding more accessible, and has many advantages. VEXcode VR and VEXcode GO are extremely similar. If you learn to do block-based coding in VR, there is no need to learn an entirely new platform when you switch your students to VEXcode GO. In fact, it will make it much easier for them to successfully code their GO Robots!

In VEXcode VR, your students are coding a virtual, on-screen robot. There is no need to charge a battery or configure a robot to get started, as there is with a physical robot. Additionally, coding a virtual robot makes it much easier for them to see right away if their code is working, and how to troubleshoot it if it isn’t. When you code the virtual robot, the feedback cycle is instant - if the robot doesn’t behave as expected, students know right away there is a problem with their coding project. This isn’t always the case with a physical robot! 

A physical robot’s behavior is influenced by factors other than just the code it is running. For example, something could be slightly off with the robot’s build, such as a loose wheel, that would cause the robot to turn or drift, even though a student has coded the robot to drive forward in a straight line. Or, perhaps there is something on the Field or floor where the robot is running that is causing an issue. Then the student has to check not only the code, but the robot and its environment when trying to troubleshoot, and that can be frustrating for first-time coders. VR provides them with a “sanitized” environment, in which they only need to focus on coding, since the other factors are eliminated.

As your students begin to code, you can get them started learning each new concept in VEXcode VR, before they try it out on the physical robot in VEXcode GO. For example, students can start out learning to code their virtual robot to drive forward and reverse in VR, and achieve success with that, then move to trying the same skill in VEXcode GO. 

Once they have mastered that, they can switch back to VR to learn how to code the robot to turn. Going back and forth in this way allows students to build on their coding knowledge methodically, with just the right level of challenge, so they can feel successful and motivated to continue learning.

Another advantage of VEXcode VR is its versatility. Students can easily access VEXcode VR from anywhere, so they can continue learning to code from home, anytime they want, and then apply that experience to coding the physical robot in the classroom.

Coral Reef Cleanup

Moreover, there is a direct connection between some VR and GO resources, which is another reason to start your students coding with VR first. Why not have students try out the Coral Reef Cleanup Playground in VR before having them do the Ocean Emergency STEM Lab with VEX GO? This approach provides students with a well-scaffolded learning experience in which they can apply what they learned in their VR experience directly to the coding challenges in the STEM Lab. There are Coral Reef Cleanup example projects in VEXcode VR that are an excellent jumping off point for this Playground as well!

GO Competition - Mars Math Expedition

Or, before implementing a coding-focused Mars Math Expedition Competition in your school or classroom, introduce students to the coding concepts they will need by having them create projects in the VR GO Competition - Mars Math Expedition Playground. There are five VR Activities available for this playground, making planning quick and easy.

VEXcode VR Activities

In addition, there are many other VEXcode VR Activities suitable for beginning coders you can use, and many of them easily tie in with art, math and science concepts you are likely already investigating with your students in the classroom. On the VR Activities page, check the box by Level 1 in the filter at the left of the screen to find them. 

Pacing Guide

Also, the VEX 1:1 Pacing Guide, which can be found linked in the Teacher Portal of all VEX GO STEM Labs, provides a guide for using VEX GO STEM Labs and Activities, and VEXcode VR Activities in parallel.

Getting your students coding with VEXcode VR, before you introduce coding “in real life” with VEXcode GO is a great way to reduce the cognitive load of learning to code and have fun at the same time. If you are looking for more information about teaching with VEXcode VR, don’t forget to check out the VR section of the VEX Library, as well as the VEXcode VR section of the PD+ Community, where you will find suggestions for activities and can ask VR related questions. Or, if you want to talk more about introducing coding with VR, sign up for a 1:1 Session with a VEX Expert.