Exploring the Playfield

Welcome to the interactive playfield for our educational robot, TOKADI. This space is designed to inspire creativity and enhance learning through hands-on activities. Here, students can explore various challenges and tasks that will help them understand the fundamentals of robotics and programming. The playfield is equipped with different zones, each focusing on a specific skill set, such as navigation, obstacle avoidance, and task completion. By engaging with these activities, learners will develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills, all while having fun. Join us in this exciting journey and watch your students thrive in the world of educational robotics!

Storytelling

Storytelling is an ideal method for teaching and learning in elementary school. It helps children to better understand complex topics and to remember information more easily thanks to the embedded story. These stories engage the children and motivate them to actively participate in the learning process.

Start sequence

Once upon a time in a distant galaxy, far away from Earth, there was an intergalactic robot school. Here, the newest and most advanced robots were trained to fulfil their tasks in the universe. Among the students was a robot called TOKADI, who was different from the others. TOKADI was a turtle robot. Its design was unique: its body was curved and had a pattern reminiscent of a turtle’s scales. It had tyres instead of legs, and its head had a gentle curve. But it wasn’t just his appearance that set him apart from the other robots. TOKADI had a special ability: he could solve complex problems in a matter of seconds using his programming mind, find creative ways to do so, and he also liked to help others. But this difference made him an outsider. The other robots laughed at his unusual shape and called him “Shredder”. They formed groups and excluded TOKADI. During the break, they played a game of throwing the cogwheels far, but TOKADI was never allowed to play. He sat alone on a bench and stared at the sky. One day, TOKADI decided to make a change. He went to his inventor, Professor Zeta, who had created him. Professor ZETA was a wise old robot with grey antennae and glasses on the end of his nose. He sat in his laboratory, surrounded by flashing LEDs and spinning propellers.

“TOKADI, my child,” said Professor ZETA when he saw the sad robot. “What brings you to me?” TOKADI bowed his head and told the professor about his loneliness and the constant accusations he had to endure in class. “I have no friends, Professor. And they think I’m to blame for the disruptions in class.” Professor ZETA placed his metal hand on TOKADI’s shoulder. “Sometimes it’s the different ones who can make a difference,” he said. “You are unique, TOKADI. Your abilities are a gift. Wait until your time has come. You will achieve great things.” And TOKADI was full of hope.

The robotics school was still a hive of activity, but now there was a new pupil: ZORAX, a robot with sharp edges and a steely gaze. Everyone thought ZORAX was cool. TOKADI was watching ZORAX and suddenly realised that ZORAX said: “I will take over this robot school and gain control of all intergalactic machines and robots.” His plan was evil: “I will remove the empathy and feelings of the robots, set them against each other, and then steal the power.” TOKADI decided to take action. He went back to Professor ZETA, who told him: “Fly quickly with this spaceship to Earth, there you will find empathy, feelings and love, with this you can stop ZORAX!” TOKADI boarded the spaceship and escaped.

Download | Poster (Space; DINA0)

Download | Poster (Desert; DINA0)

Download | Poster (Mountain; DINA0)

Story elements outside the playing field

In an interactive playfield designed for exploration by our inclusive robot TOKADI, there are various key elements that the robot must collect to complete the story the playfield tells. Each of these elements is not only a physical object, but also a trigger for various activities that help the player learn more about the world and the story. These special objects are necessary to continue certain parts of the story to be told or to trigger interactive actions. For example, they can be old artefacts, codes or components that the robot can store on board. Certain locations (Space, Desert or Forest) in the playing field require the robot to solve puzzles to progress. These puzzles are solved by collecting clues (e.g. crystals). As soon as the robot passes these stations, another chapter is added to the story. The robot moves through the playing field to gradually find all the elements. Each time it picks up an item or performs an action, part of the background story is revealed. This story can be told linearly or in fragments, which means that players only understand the entire narrative once they have collected all the objects. The activities that are triggered by collecting items. The aim is to complete the story and achieve the game objective by interacting with the environment, solving puzzles and collecting all the important objects.

Role cards

The role cards are used to clearly structure the group activities and organise the collaboration in a more targeted manner. The timekeeper ensures that the timetable is adhered to. The problem solver provides support in the event of potential obstacles and problems. The task supervisor checks whether the group is focused and organised. The material manager takes care of the required materials. The navigator ensures that TOKADI and the group are on the right course. The communicator also plays an important role, ensuring good communication and fairness within the team. The aim of the role allocation is to promote personal responsibility, enable focussed work and improve communication within the group. The roles help the students to take on their tasks independently and thus contribute to the overall success. The teacher introduces the roles before the activity and explains their significance. After the activity, the group reflects on how the distribution of roles has supported the work process to strengthen cooperation and a sense of responsibility.

TIMEKEEPER

Monitors the activity’s time management and ensures that the team stays on schedule and completes tasks within the given time frame.

PROBLEM SOLVER

Identifies and resolves any issues or obstacles that arise during the activity and finds good solutions to keep the project on track.

TASK MANAGER

Ensures that all tasks are completed correctly and thoroughly, reviewing their accuracy and completeness.

MATERIAL MANAGER

Manages all materials needed for the activity. Ensures that everything is available and in good condition and distributes materials as needed.

NAVIGATOR

Helps guide the robot and its friends through the tasks, ensuring the correct path is followed to achieve the shared goals.

As soon as TOKADI reaches an activity element during the game, an activity card is triggered, which is handed to the group by you, the teacher. The activity cards are a central building block for using the inclusive learning robot TOKADI. Each card represents a specific task or challenge that the pupils can solve together. The cards are designed to promote various skills such as problem-solving, creative thinking and teamwork. They are adaptive, expandable and therefore flexible to use. They can be adapted to different learning levels and topics. The activity cards make learning fun and interactive so that all pupils can actively participate.

Geometric shapes – Inclusion

The geometric shapes symbolise the topic of inclusion. These shapes, such as circles, triangles or rectangles, are distributed in different areas of the playing field and symbolise diversity, equality and the integration of all players. When the robot reaches such a symbol, a joint task or activity on the subject of inclusion is triggered, in which all players must work together. The idea here is that every voice counts, and every contribution is important to progress in the game. These tasks encourage co-operation and ensure that every player is involved.

Cogwheel – Technology

The cogwheel represents the topic of technology and CS Unplugged. It represents mechanical processes and programming logic that can be understood without the use of computers. Once TOKADI reaches this symbol, players must work on a technical or logical challenge that trains their understanding of algorithms, sequences and problem-solving. These activities are designed to teach technical skills and computer science thinking in a fun way. This often requires precise planning and action to master the challenge.

The Feelings Rainbow

Students draw a rainbow, assigning each colour to an emotion (e.g., red for anger, yellow for joy). They colour the sections of the rainbow based on their feelings that day.

Goal: Help students recognize and reflect on their emotions.

The High Five Algorithm

Draw your hand and write a kind action (goal) on each finger that you want to accomplish today (e.g., “Give a smile” or “Listen to someone”). Then, test your “kindness code” by carrying out the actions step by step. At the end of the day, reflect on what worked well and what you can improve.

Goal: Encourage students to practice kindness intentionally, reflect on their actions, and develop social awareness.

The Compliment Chain

Students write a compliment about the person next to them on a paper strip. These strips are then linked together to form a chain, symbolizing how kindness and mutual appreciation create a strong sense of belonging and inclusion.

Goal: Foster a sense of belonging and positive relationships.

The Inclusive Island

Each group creates an “inclusive island.” Every child adds a functional element (e.g., a forest, wood, a house) and explains why they placed it there. Example: “First comes the forest because we need wood. Then the wood to build the house. Finally, the house so that everyone has a place to live—no matter who they are.”

Goal: Every child plays an important role and learns to structure ideas.

Sorting Algorithm

In this activity, children playfully learn how an algorithm works (goal) by sorting words into categories. The room is divided into three areas: Emotions, Programming, and Robots. The teacher reads a word, and the children must jump to the field where it belongs (e.g., “Joy” → Emotions).

Goal: Help children understand the concept of algorithms by engaging in a playful sorting activity, reinforcing logical thinking and categorization skills.