My students need to work with various robots. We are looking to add a Dash robot as well as a Cozmo and Sphero to our collection. These programmable robots are great for all!
Students in my classrooms and extracurriculars are given opportunities to learn by doing. These students come to me from various backgrounds, with varying levels of interest in technology. Through hands-on, creative projects with digital and non-digital materials, students learn the core concepts of engineering, programming, robotics, and much more.
Since 2014, we have been growing our offerings of computer science, and to meet our students' needs we have been purchasing new robotics equipment of various types as resources permit.
The students have taken all of the incoming equipment in the past and put it immediately to great use. As we grow our interests, so too have we grown in use and demand.
This year I have the pleasure of working with over 100 students who have dedicated themselves to being more engaged with technology, computer science and robotics. These students may be engaging in their first direct instruction experience with computer science, or may have been building robots since 5th grade. Regardless, they are all welcome additions to our programs.
My Project
Providing robotic equipment to my classroom benefits all students, present and future, who engage in computer science and robotics classes in our school or participate in a robotics event, like Robot Rodeo. The equipment in this project will serve both of those roles, not only this year, but for years to come.
It is important that we provide students with engineering and computer science opportunities that will inspire them to be creative problem solvers.
I strive to make the most of the materials that have been granted, donated, and purchased, to enrich the experience of all students. This year, I am requesting these supplies to augment and add to our small, but growing variety.
The Sphero is a known and valuable part of my classroom tool set. Students can program these spheres using a basic language. They can also develop lessons for teaching other students the basics of programming. The Dash robot will be a new bot for us, but has proven highly useful in schools across the country. While similar programming concepts to the Sphero, the Dash bot will expand the options and provide for new interactive possibilities. The Cozmo, is a state of the art AI bot. Studying with Cozmo, will provide opportunities for more advance students to consider the possibilities of AI in a robotic form. Students in my robotics and computer science courses will benefit from hands on opportunities with all of these bots.
Finally, we are able to share all of our robots with the greater community through events such as the Robot Rodeo. Parents and students can come get hands on with any of the many robots we have for learning and exploring. Through this Donors Choose funding and other sources, we continue to provide new and expanding possibilities.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. McGowan and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.