Students take computers for granted. However, students are fascinated by how computers work. They do not get the chance to learn computer coding in the curriculum. Yet, computer programmers are in high demand in the real world. I want to expose my students to computer programming.
We are a Title 1 school with limited access to resources.
Yet, this does dampen our spirit to learn exciting things. We recently did an entire week of STEM activities which brought our school together designing, building and testing different challenges. We also participated in the Hour of Code program. These two events have been highlights of our school year. I want to continue the love of technology and engineering through these robotic programmable kits.
My Project
With the 5 requested Robolink kits, the students will build a robot of their choosing, and there are several to pick from in the kit. Then they will need to download the Arduino software code. The students then can create what they want their robots to do by writing the code for it. Then the robot uploads the code. Then the magic begins as the students control the robot through the code the students created. They will learn how to code and how coding makes the difference in how computers work. I hope they understand that coders need a minimum of college to land a job and make a good living as a coder.
My student do not always understand how important these middle school years are to their future.
I feel they still look at themselves as dependent elementary students waiting for an adult to clue them in on their lives. Successfully using these kits to code and create a robot will give them an understanding that there is more to learn in middle school than an extension of what they learned in elementary school.
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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. Wignall and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.