Ozobots are my favorite robots in the classroom for students of all ages. Their versatility from coding with markers, blockly or javascript makes them applicable to many situations. When I moved districts and no longer had access to a class set of Ozobots, I slowly bought them used online. This speaks to the hardiness of these tiny robots. I have assembled a class set of used Ozobots one by one and have not had a single issue with them.

You don’t need an Ozobot to begin coding. Ozobot offers several online challenges that uses blockly programming and no ozobot required.

You can get started using the Ozobot Shape Tracer. Students have access to two blocks. One that changes the light color and the other that codes the speed, direction, and how far the Ozobot moves. Through a series of 10 increasingly complex challenges, students get plenty of practice coding the online Ozobot. If you have an actual Ozobot you can share any of the programs created online to the Ozobot but this is not required.

The best thing about this simulator is that is free to use, requires no login, and is available on any device with a browser.

If you want to see the Ozobot shape tracer in action, check out the video below.