I received these products for my review. All opinions are my own.

KICK START A CHILD’S GEEKY SIDE FOR UNDER $50 WITH COOL BLUE OR LAVA RED
Prep Kids To Lead Tomorrow’s Workforce By Introducing Coding With The Award-Winning One-Inch Robot That’s Fun To Program

Adults like to joke if they need computer support or resolving a tech-y situation, go find a 12-year-old! That’s because kids live and breathe technology. Programming and coding are no longer left to IT experts but are now as common to kids as playing with trucks and dolls. This holiday season, empower youngsters with the joy of coding with Ozobot Starter Pack ($49.99) available in Cool Blue or Lava Red.

Retailers from Barnes & Noble to Toys R Us are stocking their shelves with the newest and greatest award-winning Ozobot, a one inch robot that appeals to kids. Its color-based coding language introduces young minds to concepts that are vital to their success in the 21st century. Parents love Ozobot as it supplements the school day with STEM-infused play at home.

“The magic of Ozobot is that it’s very simple to get it to work right,” wrote TechCrunch after seeing it at CES 2015, “thereby drawing in users quickly and encouraging them to try to do more. The tiny Ozobot robots … move by following lines that you have drawn either on a piece of paper or on a screen, and you can customize what they do by changing the colors of the lines.” TechCrunch observed, “The aim, for now, isn’t so much to teach programming languages like Python or C++, but to get younger people into the mindset of how to conceive of a sequence of commands and attach them to a visual outcome.”

Echoed Tech Times reporting from this summer’s CE Week 2015, “The robot makes learning logic, programming and reasoning skills a fun gaming experience. Because (Ozobot) the robot can identify color, the company has been able to create a robot that can associate color sequences with commands.” Tech Times explained, “After young kids master these skills, they graduate into learning how to think critically through mission-based activities in which they have to use problem-solving skills to get Ozobot from point A to point B.”

Programming is not just for geeks, it’s for everyone. When your child learns to write, it’s not necessarily to become an author, it’s to be able to communicate. Learning how to program is learning the language of today’s tech world. It is an essential tool to build their confidence and prepare them to lead tomorrow’s businesses whether in medicine, engineering, arts, farming or manufacturing! Playing with Ozobot allows children as young as 6 to make independent decisions via random logic, get visual feedback with multicolor LED lighting and “dress” their robot with various protective skins. It’s intelligent gameplay, the type of toy that will benefit children with cutting-edge skills.

Ozobot Starter Pack • Age 6+ – $49.99
Will your robot be Cool Blue or Lava Red? Both starter kits will ignite a child’s imagination and foster a love of technology. Inside each pack are over 20 activities for the enchanting one-inch programmable robot to perform. Look inside for 4 code-creating markers, 2 clear play surface sheets, 2 sheets of reusable Ozobot code stickers plus a DIY blank customizable Ozobot skin and DIY skin sticker sheet. Each pack comes with a charging USB cable. Instructions explain how to download free Android & iOS Apps.

Once youngsters master Ozobot, push their skills up another notch with Ozobot Bit. Bit allows users to fully control movement and behavior using its custom block-based programming editor, OzoBlockly (www.ozoblockly.com). Powered by Google’s Blockly, OzoBlockly will feel very intuitive to the users of Scratch, Hopscotch, App Inventor, Tynker or Tickle App. This simplified visual programming language enables children to learn programming while learning how to think creatively, reason logically and work collaboratively.

Ozobot Bit • Ages 8+ • $59.99
This innovative learning tool offers a simple, fun and engaging path into STEM and computer science. While Ozobot Bit is the most advanced robot in Ozobot’s toy chest, it includes all of the core features: control with markers, advancing with STEM activities and mastering with sequence programming using Ozobot free App games.

Owners of the Starter Packs can upgrade for $9.99 their Ozobot to an Ozobot Bit, if they like, by visiting http://ozoblockly.com/#starterPackUpgrade.

You guys… Ozobot’s are SO cool!!!! I am not a techy type of person at all. To be completely honest I wasn’t 100% sure about if my boys and I were going to figure out/enjoy our Ozobot Starter Pack. I had zero reasons to be worried. The directions are super easy to follow. and it’s SO FUN!

I forgot to take a picture of this sheet beforehand, but it started as only the black curves and lines. When you placed the Ozobot on the start circle, it spun around and moved a teeny bit and then stayed put. After we connected the lines with the blue marker that comes in the starter pack, the Ozobot followed the path from start to finish. It was awesome!!! And that is only the beginning of what you can do with your Ozobot robot. I love that it teaches my kids to use technology in a way that I can’t even teach them. Theres a lot of info in the kit for great ways to play and experiment, as well as info online and an app! This would make a GREAT and unique Christmas present for any 6+ year old on your list!!!

Things that are Brag Worthy:

Winner “Best Robot” (2015 Consumer Electronics Show & 2014 International Toy Fair
A simple fun and engaging introduction into programming with Ozobot
Download the free Ozobot Apps to play games
Control Ozobot with markers then master with brain teasers
Teacher recommended and free STEM inspired Lesson Plans (teachers please contact Ozobot for free Lesson Plans for use in your classroom)
Ozobot has garnered over a dozen of top industry awards such as 2015 KAPi Awards for Best Robot, CES 2015 Editors’ Choice Awards, and the 2015 Brain Toy award.
A robotic gaming ecosystem that promotes social interaction, computational thinking and confidence building through competitive play and interactive games.
Technology is an essential component to daily living and is integrated in almost everything we use and consume. At its core is computer science, critical thinking and programming and we believe it is our responsibility to teach our kids to not just be users of technology but makers of it.