It is always refreshing to get a new perspective. Thanks Rona for accepting to share with us.
Thanks to Sophie Lussier, Science and Technology Consultant for the Lester B. Pearson School Board for inviting me to attend the RoboDuo event today. Sophie, along with her team of science and technology teachers organized several events where two elementary schools get together and collaborate to achieve Lego Robotics missions.
The gym and stage were set up with tables to house the computers, lego boxes and Instruction package. The teams were 4 students, 2 from Maplegrove and 2 from Westpark, DDO. The students were in grade 6. At one of the schools, the students were in their first year of robotics.
Three LEGO mats (generic mats about 4 by 8 feet depicting various scenarious that can be incorporated into a challenge and have placemarks for various lego structures such as a windmill, solar collector, lever station etc.
The students were collaborating among their team and the ambiance was of relaxed but enthusiastic engagement. There were several different missions, which the students had never seen before. Even among the students who had the same mission, the quality of the interaction was to learn and achieve rather than compete among teams. There were no discipline issues, and each student signed a contract outlining the rules and expectations.
Each student has one hour of science a week as well as one hour of robotics for an entire year. During the year, they pursue robotics missions that will prepare them for the Roboduo event. The booklet handed out at Roboduo had the mission outlined, a page to plan the programming and pictorial instructions to make the base of the robot. Everything else that was required, such as use of sensors and building of levers to lift or push, was at the discretion and imagination of the student.
Rona Katz
Technology Consultant
Akiva School
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