As an engineering teacher and club advisor, I am very proud of my students’ drive and commitment to our school robotic club. The robotic club in our school is primarily driven and lead by the students: from organizing fund raising bake sale to formulating PO for VEX robotic parts. Like-minded students come to weekly build-day to construct their dream robot and compete in competitions. On weeks approaching competitions, students will take the initiative and come in on extra days to ensure their robot is functioning and sturdy.
I always enjoyed supervising them on build-day: I see their eyes lit up when their robot comes to life, or function as they designed.
I also see determination and grit when their robots failed; the team come together, troubleshoot and brainstorm for viable solutions, and then they begin building for the nth time. For every obstacle they overcome, it is more than a high-five from each other; it is satisfaction, it is a sense of accomplishment, its teamwork.
My Project
Even though the robotics club is an extracurricular activity, the skills (mechanical engineering and programming) gained are aligned with the PLTW course. Furthermore, many non-engineering students join the robotics club. The robotic club might be their only opportunity in high school to gain and hone programming and building skills. Without a new laptop, non-engineering students will not be able to develop programming skills that are highly viable and marketable.
This year, freshman club members are exceptional.
Even though they did not participate in a competition, they came and built with the competition teams on every build-day. Next year (2020/2021), I am planning to bring in programming engineers from the industry (via EnCorps) to induct new students into programming and help seasoned students to code better. This proposal cannot materialize without a new laptop.
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