We are a rural school with limited access to technology. I strive to foster projects that encourage inventing, problem solving, and perseverance. This robotics project will build upon these important concepts.
"Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."
- Joseph Campbell
My students live in a small, mountain community.
Our K-8 school runs completely off the grid. Our area is only accessible through one lane roads, which are often impassable in the winter. Our school is titled a necessary small school and we have a tight budget. Fortunately, we have persevered with the involvement of our parents, grandparents, and community members who engage in our school activities on a daily basis.
My students vary in age (5 years old to 14 years old). They are resilient, motivated, and independent country kids!
I am the only teacher for the school, therefore; I try to include hands on, multiple grade level projects with a high level of interest. Currently, my students are really excited about Tinkering, Makers Workshop, and Robotics.
These subjects are especially relevant, since fixing and inventing are part of the lifestyle in this special place!
My Project
I want to use Dash robots to teach beginning coding. Our school just bought a few iPads this school year, and my students can learn how to do basic coding to move and interact with these bots. This is STEM-related science and engineering that will build critical thinking skills and teamwork. It is also a tie-in to our existing Tinkering and Maker units.
My students will be able to write code to move their robots through simple and complex mazes. They will understand cause and effect concepts through planning, implementing, and observing the bot movements. Most importantly, my students will learn concepts of perseverance, as the programming will be challenging for them. They will need to work together to successfully navigate the bots. Reworking the code and making repeated attempts are opportunities for deep learning in both computer code and their individual process.
These bots will connect my rural students to the larger science world, which at times can seem very far away.
They can share their experiences online and associate with students doing similar projects in larger towns and cities.
Located two hours from any town, my school often lacks basic services provided to other schools. We receive little or no science support from the outside. This project not only builds my students' skills, but it provides a medium for connecting to other students.
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