Innovative Education in Vermont
Exploring innovative, personalized, student-centered school change
Although digital tutorials and online coding platforms are great tools, adding physical objects to the mix brings a new dimension to learning how to code. Yes, codable robots can help students learn to code, but more importantly the students are coding to learn.
At TechJam this past autumn I was fortunate to run into a number of student groups who were there to show off projects. That forum, and others like it, gives learners a space to share, interact, and learn from each other. One group I met was from Big Picture South Burlington (@BigPictureSB), a community of learners working in the Big Picture model within South Burlington High School. Big Picture is all about authentic real-world learning, and this group of students had chosen to enter the ChampBot Challenge at the Champlain Mini Maker Faire. Talking with the students and their advisor Jim Shields during and after got me thinking about a number of issues related to collaboration, constructivism, and student choice in STEM education. Continue reading “Robotics, PBL, and collaboration”
I can’t deny it – I’m a big fan of robotics in education.
When I was still teaching, I helped start a robotics team at my high school, which participated in regional and national competitions. The student learning and engagement that took place in this extra curricular activity was absolutely amazing – plus it was a lot of fun.
This past summer at the Tarrant Institute’s Code Camp we had a strand that focused on robotics and making/tinkering concepts. These campers had a blast, and reminded me of how valuable robotics as a teaching tool can be.
And since there are a number of upcoming robotics programs and competitions here in Vermont, I thought I would take some time today to talk about it. Continue reading “Learning with robots”
In November, tem students from Edmunds Middle School took part in the First Lego League Robotics competition. Here, team member Cortina explains the competition process, and how the team fared at the contest.
To read more about this amazing endeavor, read robotics coach (and BSD technologist) Kevin Grace’s blog entry over at the Burlington School District’s Middle Grades eLearning blog.