Thursday, August 1, 2019

3D printing and Otto Robotic’s Club


All the library staff in the ISC have been utilising the 3D  printer and creating mini mes and robots by learning a variety of new programs. The result has been a successful club that began in late 2018 and continues to grow. We are now connected to a worldwide network of educators building and coding what are affectionately known as Otto Robots. 

Most students have now either created a mini me or built and programmed their own Otto robot. It has formed a jumping off point for many of the students as it is their first introduction to programming, especially using Arduino boards and the possibilities. There is also a lot available for them to teach themselves online, through Instructables, Wikifactory and Github. We hear all the time about AI becoming the way of the future. In the latest SCIS magazine Chelsea Quake in Supporting multiple literacies through robotics clubs refers to finding of a recent report by the Mitchell Institute, which is a warning to educators ‘ young people need to bring more that knowledge to the modern workforce’ and ‘the most crucial capabilities for the future include critical thinking, creativity, curiosity and communication skills’. 

This club engages the student’s curiosity and builds basic skills. Students are also engaging and higher order thinking  by problem solving, collaboration and further developing organisational skills. 

Also evident is the student’s inventiveness and capacity for new ideas and challenges! Of course the plus side is they have no assessments, work at their own pace and tend to be self-driven.

You might enjoy reading this article in The Conversation about robots and education.  Why R2D2 could be your child’s teacher sooner than you think


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