Making Robotics a Classroom Experience

In the ever evolving world of supply chain management, the nineteenth century showed the way to assembly line where workers could perform their respective tasks faster and manufacturing sped up. Since then scientists have worked on creating mechanisms to solve the challenges of production, designing and time-management with innovations in limbic machines. Robotic science is a revolution that consummates science, technology, engineering and mathematics with other disciplines to create sophisticated smart designs to help human beings both in industrial and mundane challenges.

Robotics as a discipline could be understood as a science of building robots. The term ‘robot’ comes from Czech word robotawhich means forced labor. Their usage is high in industries like construction, operation, control, sensory feedback and processing of information etc. It’s believed that the ever-increasing usage of robots has given rise to loss of jobs because most of the industries may replace human labor with robots. However, such concerns are unfounded and here we are going to discuss why inculcation of robotics in school curriculum and teaching the subject in schools could be useful and keeping such doubts at bay.

Learning Robotics in School

In the times of information revolution decadal changes are faster than ever before. Moreover having records of human intelligence has become difficult. When glaciers are melting fast and natural ecosystems on earth are transforming, technological solutions to mitigate natural disasters have become an imperative. United Nations has given Sustainable Development Goals with a vision that smart use of technology can play a greater role in realizing its plan. Elementary and middle school is the period to introduce students to the challenges being faced by our planet and consequently by the humanity.  The solution has to come from multidisciplinary approach where robotics can play a great role. Students who grow up learning the applications of robots will have an expertise in developing path-breaking technologies in a much quicker and efficient way than the regular mechanical approach.

Applications of Learning Robotics

Robots can carry out complex series of actions as they are automatic and programmable. Learning robotics can help create alternatives of natural resources which are on a verge of extinction and utilize this knowledge to even recreate them. Robots can help create adaptable technologies in manufacturing, and healthcare etc.

Development of robotics has given a way to develop state-of-the art designs in space science. Unmanned robotic missions are carried out by space exploration agencies in order to not only reduce life risk but also to gather accurate and error free data. The world is dealing with various natural calamities which are creating food crisis. Agriculture is another area where robots are needed. According to UN the world population will rise from 7.3 billion at present to 9.7 billion in 2050 plunging us into massive food availability challenge that has already found its beginnings today. Agricultural robots may help increase production yields. They could be used to optimize weather information and intensive farming. Areas where they are being currently used include harvesting and picking, weed control, mowing, pruning, sorting, packaging and utility platforms etc.

Robotics is an industry which is useful for its own growth so that it could be implied to other areas. Introducing students to challenges where robotics is useful will make education more realistic.

Robotics and STEM Education

A robotics class makes a comprehensive interdisciplinary session of STEM education. Robotic activities during schools help students learn coding, programming and envisioning challenges to be averted.

Robotics has become an essential part of teaching STEM at schools. Educators across the globe are developing robotics modules to complement the curriculum while reshaping education to suit the needs of the modern day and age. Designs created by students in these classes could be a manifestation of immediate requirements of various cultures and in turn would be useful to mainstream STEM education.

How to Learn Robotics

School ideally equips students with basics of all the subjects so high school is a time when students begin to make decisions about subjects from a career perspective. So exposing them to robotics as a discipline could be effectively done in middle school so that they develop interest and have enough time to weigh pros and cons of it as a study and career choice. Teaching robotics in schools needs an age appropriate curriculum and it requires expertise for which STEM education services could be sought.

Space Trek is a STEM education service provider that takes care of all the essential elements for a school robotics curriculum. An ideal robotics curriculum should include instructions of coding, programming, designing and testing. With its in-house 3-D printed robot components, electronics, and software, it provides instructor-support and teacher training sessions. . Space Trek also conducts 3-day and 5-day robotics camps at its headquarters at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. 

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Created on May 13th 2020 05:23. Viewed 264 times.

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