mTiny

Go back
CertifiedEducation quality
02/2022
mTiny

mTiny

Makeblock Education
Programming
Visit website
OnlineShop
The interactive robot for early childhood education

mTiny introduces children to the world of technology and computational thinking in a playful way. A tap pen controller, various coding cards, interactive themed maps, and markers, in combination with lessons, allow young students to learn through a tangible exploration while developing their creative and collaborative skills.

Because mTiny can express personality and character through different costumes, interactive sound, motion, lights, and expressive eyes, it is also a great tool for the development of social and emotional skills.

Age groups 
Preschool
Elementary
Languages 
Language independent
Platform 
Non-digital product
Other
Registration 
Not required
Offline play 
Playable offline
Pictures
Videos
The mTiny material and product are designed to be used with an adult (educator, tutor, parent), but after becoming familiar with the product, children can play and learn independently.

The mTiny material and product are designed to be used with an adult (educator, tutor, parent), but after becoming familiar with the product, children can play and learn independently.

mTiny

The mTiny robot supports multimodal feedback and activities, like music, programming, drawing etc.

The mTiny robot supports multimodal feedback and activities, like music, programming, drawing etc.

mTiny

The mTiny curriculum has a good focus on developing also social-emotional skills, especially collaboration, working together and resilience through trial and error.

The mTiny curriculum has a good focus on developing also social-emotional skills, especially collaboration, working together and resilience through trial and error.

Pedagogy
Educational Quality
Learning Goals

The pedagogical analysis covers how the product supports learning of the identified skills. The student’s role is assessed by four contrary pair parameters, which are selected to cover the most essential aspects on the use of the product.

Passive
Active
mTiny curriculum includes excellent pre-curated materials with plenty of interactivity: the tasks are designed to be solved in pairs/teams. The stories introduce learners to the respective worlds and provide the step-by-step learning process. The material and product are designed to be used with an adult (educator, tutor, parent), but after becoming familiar with the product, children can learn independently. The robot supports multimodal feedback and activities: music, programming, drawing etc.
Rehearse
Construct
The solution is very interactive and learning happens through trial and error. The robot's sounds, shape and extras encourage students to find out what happens when mTiny lands in the different puzzle pieces. The added treasure hunt feature is very engaging and fosters critical thinking and problem-solving. The curriculum supports learning new things through creative tasks, and the learning objectives for each activity are well present.
Linear
Non-linear/Creative
The mTiny curriculum gives clear guidelines for the suggested order of the tasks. But also: MTiny supports free exploration of tools once the user has learned the basic functions and got familiar with the learning content. It is very easy to get started with just controlling the robot and using the programming blocks, but functions like music-making, advanced programming and drawing allow diving deep and creating plenty of individual customization for learning and play.
Individual
Collaborative
Most of the activities require sharing of information between learners. The teacher is expected to be active with asking questions; and to solve problems, the learners need to collaborate and help each other. mThe curriculum has a good focus on developing also social-emotional skills, especially collaboration, working together and resilience through trial and error. mTiny can also be used in a more private setting, e.g. at home with a parent.

The following are the high educational quality aspects in this product.

mTiny is easy to use, attractive in appearance and has a high quality feel to it when playing. The set invites young learners to play and motivates them to explore it.
The product covers very basic level programming skills, but does it thoroughly and leaves space for improvisation and creative play within the objectives set for the targeted users.
The product is very versatile and the teacher can link using the robot with other curricular subjects such as music, languages, and literacy.
No online presence is required. The product emphasizes hands-on play in collaboration with other users face-to-face. Technology is a balanced part of the whole product, enhancing the learning process.

The supported learning goals are identified by matching the product with several relevant curricula descriptions on this subject area. The soft skills are definitions of learning goals most relevant for the 21st century. They are formed by taking a reference from different definitions of 21st century skills and Finnish curriculum.

Subject based learning goals

Develop programs with sequences and simple loops, to express ideas or address a problem.
Decompose (break down) the steps needed to solve a problem into a precise sequence of instructions.
Recognise common uses of information technology beyond school.
Use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs.
Create and debug simple programs.
Can understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
Debug (identify and fix) errors in an algorithm or program that includes sequences and simple loops.
Model daily processes by creating and following algorithms (sets of step-by-step instructions) to complete tasks.
Develop plans that describe a program’s sequence of events, goals, and expected outcomes.

Soft skills learning goals

Practicing creative thinking
Practising visual recognition
Practicing categorization and classification
Practicing fine motor skills
Practicing letters, alphabets and written language
Using technology to express one’s emotions and experiences
Using technology for interaction and collaboration
Using technology as a part of explorative and creative process
Using technology resources for problem solving
Practicing to improvise
Learning decision-making, influencing and accountability
Learning to listen other people’s opinions
Practicing to argument clearly own opinions and reasonings
Practicing to work with others
Learning to build information on top of previously learned
Practicing to notice causal connections
Encouraging the growth of positive self-image
Practicing strategic thinking
Developing problem solving skills
Practicing to use imagination and to be innovative
Encouraging students to be innovative and express new ideas
Creating requirements for creative thinking
Learning to find the joy of learning and new challenges
Practicing persistent working
Learning to notice causal connections
Using technology as a part of explorative process
Practicing logical reasoning, algorithms and programming through making
Understanding and practicing safe and responsible uses of technology
Understanding technological system operations through making
Practicing logical reasoning to understand and interpret information in different forms
Practicing decision making
Learning to plan and organize work processes
Practicing to give, get and reflect feedback
Encouraging to build new information and visions
Learning to combine information to find new innovations
Learning to face failures and disappointments
Practicing to use imagination and to be innovative
Practicing to observe spoken and written language
Practising to understand visual concepts and shapes and observe their qualities
Enabling the growth of positive self-image
Practicing to recognize and express feelings

The Finnish Educational Quality Certificate

Our Quality Evaluation Method is an academically sound approach to evaluating a product’s pedagogical design from the viewpoint of educational psychology.

The method has been developed with university researchers and all evaluators are carefully selected Finnish teachers with a master's degree in education.

More about the evaluation