I teach at a middle school. We have a very diverse population of students and offer not only a GT program, but a SSN program and everything in between. I have students ranging from 6th to 8th grade and GT to severely impacted students. We also have a school that has approximately 60% free and reduced lunch students. I teach 5 sections of 2 semester long courses in Computer technology, which includes coding, robotics, website development, game creation, circuit boards, and 3D printing. I see about 300 students throughout the year.
My students are Curious, enthusiastic, creative and are eager to immerse themselves in any kind of challenge.
They are fearless when it comes to technology and, as children of the 21st century, they need to be prepared to use a variety of tools to engage their world.
My Project
My robotics classes are filled with kids who are waiting to get their hands-on experience, but with one small problem: we do not have robots! Students have explored the history of robotics, the use of robotics and automation in the nation's industry, and have explored just what a robot is and what makes something a robot.
My students have started to code in HTML and Javascript as well as block coding and are developing their programming skills, and now they need robots to put those skills to use.
The Sphero SPRK+ robots are a perfect introduction, since the Sphero Edu system implements Scratch to control these nifty little robotic balls.
My students will learn how to do event-driven robotics programming using the block coding they are already using, and will learn to control the wide variety of sensors the Sphero SPRK+ robots use, to challenge each other and explore. The Sphero Edu system will also accept Java Script and will be ready for them when they are ready for a text-based language. These fun little spherical robots are fun and not intimidating for the newest of users, but are also sophisticated enough to keep my students on the ball!
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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 Ms. Goldanloo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
