GoGo Board in Brazil: The Engine of Digital Inclusion

A device that transforms the traditional classroom into a space for innovation, creativity, and student entrepreneurship.

In this text, I report the experience of implementing maker education activities using the GoGo Board 6, a low-cost platform for science, computer science, and robotics, which has the potential to democratize STEM education in both public and private K12 schools in Brazil and around the world.

Context:

Brazilian schools are facing a demand to promote active and meaningful learning activities to engage the current generation of students in the classroom.

Today’s K12 students, most of them born in the 21st century, are digital natives who have access to real-time information at their fingertips through mobile devices (Pimentel et al., 2018).

In the past century, when information did not travel as quickly, most young people gained access to knowledge primarily at school through their teachers. Unlike the classrooms of past generations, where lectures were the norm, we now live in a context where teaching and learning activities that fail to connect with the world around the student only heighten disinterest in school.

Although researchers and educators like John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Seymour Papert have long advocated for more active and meaningful education, the technological advances of recent decades, combined with a connected and networked society, show that we can no longer delay putting such ideas into practice.

When it comes to STEM-related subjects, purely theoretical classes tend to exacerbate disinterest, as these subjects often become the most discouraging for students.

One potential way to redirect education in Brazil is through the introduction of new technologies in the classroom via hands-on activities, using resources that foster research, exploration, creativity, and entrepreneurship. In STEM areas, for example, robotics, automation, programming, digital games, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence (an increasingly ubiquitous technology in society) are tools used to engage students and develop their potential for future roles in these crucial fields.

However, some educational institutions and educators face another challenge: digital inclusion.

Digital inclusion refers to the process of democratizing access to technology (Freire, 2004), but some educators and school administrators believe this is only achievable through expensive resources, such as robotics and electronics kits from large companies, which can cost up to $700, making implementation unfeasible, especially in the Brazilian context.

On the other hand, Brazilian educators who have sought to overcome these barriers offer promising examples, such as the work of teacher and FabLearn Fellow Débora Garofalo in São Paulo. Garofalo popularized the inclusion of technology in public schools through her “Robotics with Scrap” project (Garofalo, 2019). By using electronic waste and discarded recyclable materials around the school as a generative theme, she inspired a shift in the mindset of educators and administrators who previously believed that digital inclusion required substantial financial investment.

Another initiative contributing to this debate is the development of the low-cost GoGo Board 6 robotics kit. This project was a collaboration between the Transformative Learning Technologies Lab (TLTL), coordinated by Professor Paulo Blikstein at Columbia University, and the Learning Inventions Lab (LIL), coordinated by Professor Arnan Sipitakiat at Chiang Mai University in Thailand.

“The GoGo board allows computer programs to interact with the physical world. The GoGo board shares its fundamental functionalities with other devices in the programmable brick family. Users can connect various sensors and actuators to the board and write programs to read the sensor data and control the behavior of various physical objects using motors, small lamps, LEDs, and relays”  (Sipitakiat & Blikstein et al. 2003)

The GoGo Board is an open-source electronic platform designed for robotics, environmental sensing, and IoT. The current version, GoGo Board 6, can be seen as a combination of the Micro:bit, Lego EV3, and Arduino. Despite its extensive features, the board remains an affordable resource. It is highly powerful, and one of its key advantages is that it abstracts the electronics and circuit-building stage during the project prototyping process.

For educators looking to focus on Science, Engineering, or Mathematics, GoGo 6 is a technological tool that enables even those with no prior experience in automation, programming, or robotics to create meaningful projects, thanks to its minimal learning curve.

Also noteworthy is the possibility of creating codes in a visual programming environment in blocks (Image 1) [1], which simplifies and facilitates its use even more.

The GoGo 6 board offers a significant advantage that deserves recognition: its dashboard is accessible both within the programming environment and on the device’s integrated screen (Image 2).

Even before the automation and robotics project is developed, users can test the actuators and sensors that will be utilized in the project, without needing to first create a circuit or program the components.

Through initiatives aimed at promoting active learning with the GoGo 6, I present below two projects that implement robotics, automation, and programming using the STEM approach. These projects were designed for both High School and Middle School students in a private educational institution and a Brazilian public school.

 

Case 1 – Classroom at Polo Educacional Sesc – STEM Club

In the city of Rio de Janeiro, I am currently involved in the implementation of a hands-on Mathematics course using the GoGo Board 6. The focus is to transform the classroom itself—whether or not the school has a Maker Space with 3D printers and laser cutters—into a space for innovative initiatives, following the principles of Maker Education. This initiative is being carried out at Polo Educacional Sesc through a partnership with TLTL (Image 3).

Polo Educacional Sesc is a high school institution that provides free, high-quality education to students, primarily from public schools and low-income families. It serves as a hub for developing innovative educational practices, with the goal of replicating them in other institutions through technical cooperation and teacher training.

With the implementation of the New Brazilian High School curriculum, the institution developed Maker trails as part of its Training Itinerary, which consists of elective subjects known as Curricular Units.

The GoGo Board is integrated into the STEM Club Curricular Unit, which aims to develop mathematical skills and competencies through hands-on activities, allowing students to apply their knowledge to solve real-world problems.

In these activities, the traditional classroom is transformed into a space for innovation, where students have access to low-tech tools and recyclable materials (such as empty milk cartons, cardboard, and plastic bottles), along with resources like scissors, box cutters, glue, tape, and nylon clamps. These materials are combined with actuators that interact with the environment, responding to sensors programmed by the students.

During the activities, learning objectives are presented through guidelines given at the start of each project, which must align with the available resources. These guidelines serve as the foundation for completing the tasks.

Currently, the STEM Club has 13 students participating in the project, consisting of a mixed-grade class: five 10th-year students, five 11th-year students, and three 12th-year students. In the first month of the Curricular Unit’s implementation, students are encouraged to explore the board and its functionalities. After three weeks of work, the students are already programming the board, along with its actuators and sensors.

Two classic projects were selected for this stage: a traffic light with LEDs and a presence sensor, and a prototype autonomous car made from empty milk cartons. The car is activated by a lever button and programmed to avoid obstacles, lighting up LEDs when obstacles are detected (Image 4).

During these activities, students are exploring the visual/block programming language used in GoGo (code.gogoboard.org). They are being encouraged to incorporate key programming concepts into their code, such as logic blocks, loops, mathematics, sensors, and timing, which are considered the most important elements at this stage of the course.

The next phase will focus on the development of engineering and technology projects, where students will document all stages of prototype construction through worksheets. This will also include the *Mathematics Maker: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics* module, which integrates the Raspberry Pi minicomputer for Machine Learning projects using the WiSARD Weightless Neural Network, as well as platforms like Teachable Machine and Machine Learning for Kids.

Now, I present a speech by Nicolly Figueiredo, a student from the STEM Club who is participating in the classes with the GoGo 6:

 

Case 2 – Computer Lab of a public school in the Municipality of Tanguá – Summer Course

The transformation of a Computer Lab into a space for innovation (Image 5) at a public school in a small Brazilian municipality was the first initiative I implemented with Brazilian students using the GoGo 6.

In Brazilian K12 education, educational institutions often have Computer Labs, which serve as the primary means of introducing technology into the school curriculum. These labs typically consist of rows of internet-connected computers, where instructors teach students how to use operating systems, browse the internet, send instant messages and emails, and cover topics such as text editing, image editing, spreadsheet usage, and creating presentations with slides.

Indeed, these topics are important and form a key part of the Digital Literacy process. For many years, they represented the first contact students had with new technologies.

However, with the widespread availability of personal computers and mobile devices, alongside the significant rise in social media use, activities like text production, image editing, and video editing have become common, especially among the current generation of K12 students.

As a result, while Computer Labs remain important, the democratization of technology calls for an expansion of their role. One of the key topics in this area is the inclusion of Computational Thinking (CT) in the curriculum, which can be introduced through unplugged activities (those that don’t require a computer). Educational Robotics provides an excellent platform for fostering both teacher and student engagement in this area. CT refers to a problem-solving approach used to formulate problems and devise solutions, which can be applied to various fields beyond computer science (Wing, 2011).

With this in mind, I organized a workshop titled *Educational Robotics in Tanguá* for middle school students from a municipal public school, using the GoGo Board as the primary robotics tool.

Tanguá is a small rural municipality in Brazil, located 70 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The town has 35,000 inhabitants and is known as the state’s orange capital. Many families rely on small-scale fruit farming for their livelihood.

In a partnership between the Tanguá Municipal Department of Education, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and TLTL, a Computer Lab was transformed into a space for innovation and creativity using the GoGo Board 6 as an Educational Robotics tool over the course of three days.

Recyclable materials and low-tech tools were provided for the activities.

The workshop involved 10 students from the last year of middle school—6 girls and 4 boys—along with 3 volunteer teachers who were guiding students through Maker Education projects for the first time.

The workshop was structured into three three-hour sessions. In the first session, students were introduced to block-based visual programming using the code.org platform. This playful approach helped students grasp the use of logic blocks and loops. It’s worth noting that the game-like nature of code.org activities is a powerful tool for engaging students.

In this same session (Image 6), the students also explored the GoGo Board 6’s actuators and sensors using its dashboard. As mentioned earlier, the dashboard is a valuable feature of the GoGo Board 6, as it allows students to familiarize themselves with the functions of actuators and sensors without the need to build an electronic circuit or write code.

In the second meeting (Image 7), the activity focused on assembling and programming a car that would be controlled using the gesture sensor (a feature integrated into the GoGo 6). Programming the DC motors and the sensor presented a challenge, but it enabled the students to engage deeply with the project’s objective.

In the third meeting (Image 8), the challenge was to automate a house. Proximity sensors, light sensors, LEDs, a servo motor, and a DC motor were provided and incorporated into the students’ projects.

At the end of each meeting, the participating educators reported how easy it was to guide students in using the GoGo Board. The fact that they successfully used GoGo for the first time in activities with students during the Summer Course marked a significant first step for the municipality of Tanguá. This success has encouraged the Municipal Department of Education to consider implementing robotics and programming classes as part of its curriculum for interdisciplinary activities.

A notable report came from Professor Érica Soares, one of the municipal school system educators who participated as a counselor in the Summer Course. She said that:

From the observation in the Summer Course and feedback from the students, I can say that the GoGo 6 is extremely accessible, from acquisition to use.

 

Conclusion:

The experiences I describe in this text refer to the first months of implementing the GoGo 6 with Brazilian Middle School and High School students, both in public and private schools.

A notable aspect is the small learning curve required for both students and educators to feel confident in developing robotics, automation, and programming projects for teaching Science and Mathematics.

Some of the innovative features of the current version of the board will be explored this semester, such as IoT and the Data Laboratory (DataLab). The DataLab, in particular, is a new feature that will contribute to interdisciplinary classes, as it integrates various areas of knowledge.

This expands the possibility of integrating different curricular subjects through GoGo 6 projects. For example, History and Sociology educators can use the resource to discuss technological advances and their societal impacts, particularly in debates around employability and emerging professions. Likewise, Philosophy and Computing teachers can engage students in discussions about ethics in relation to data collection and usage.

These practices and initiatives demonstrate that faculty, beyond just STEM areas, can embrace and implement the GoGo board in their teaching.

Special Thanks: I would like to thank Professor Érika Soares,  English teacher in the Municipality of Tanguá, Isaac D`Césares, Analyst of Educational Technologies at Polo Educacional Sesc and Walter Akio, researcher at TLTL, for their invaluable contribution in reviewing this article.

[1] Visual programming environment in blocks – A type of programming language that allows users to code using graphical elements, such as visual expressions or graphical symbols, rather than textual ones.

References:

Freire, I. M. (2004). O desafio da inclusão digital. Transinformação, 16, 189-194.

Garofalo, D. D. (2019). Robótica com sucata. Revista Brasileira de Pós-Graduação, 15(34), 1-21.

Pimentel, C., Castro, B. B., Rodrigues, E. G., Almeida, G. H. A., Schaedler, L. S., & Pereira, M. A. (2018). Programação Visual em Blocos e Letramento Digital: Uma Investigação Realizada por Meio de Um Programa de Iniciação Científica na Educação Básica. In III Congresso sobre Tecnologias na Educação (Ctrl+ e), Fortaleza, Brasil.

Sipitakiat, A., Blikstein, P., Cavallo, D. P., Camargo, A., & Alves, R. D. D. L. (2003). A placa Gogo: robótica de baixo custo, programável e reconfigurável. XIV SBIE: Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação, 73-92.

Wing, J. (2011). Research notebook: Computational thinking—What and why. The link magazine, 6, 20-23.