By Zhe “Tom” Yuan
Do your students ever discuss how fun it was to play with robots when they were growing up? Now that they’re a bit older, are they interested in building robotics from scratch? Here are a few good suggestions of robotics resources you can easily incorporate into your classroom. The resources are inspired by the NSTEM resource library.
1. Spirit Robotics – SPIRIT Robotics
Are your students interested in building robots but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry. The Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in IT (“SPIRIT”) is a comprehensive robotic learning project targeted specifically to middle school students. The program includes various activities that help middle-school students understand the principles of wireless, video and signal processing, sensors, video displays, electronics, control systems, embedded systems, digital logic and introductory programming. This is a great program you can refer to your students, so they can join and explore their own ways of learning robotics.
2. Robot Lab – https://www.robotlab.com/store/engagek12
This is your ultimate resource for your middle-school students. Robot Lab contains hundreds of courses — from basic to advanced levels that help your students explore their own suitable ways of learning robotics and programming. It allows teachers to design a better lesson plan that is fun and educational, based on a “browser-based learning ecosystem.” For instance, you can simply find a free course to teach your students basic programming, such as randomization, where you would use the Random Int box in Choregraphe, which introduces the use of random numbers in programming. There is so much more for teachers and students to explore with this resource, so definitely check it out!
3. Lego Robotics Kits – Lego Robotics Kits
Are you looking for a fun way to teach robotics? Are your middle-school students interested in some hands-on opportunities to design their own robotics? Lego kits will help your student have a fun experience to learn robotics and give an introduction to programming. There are various levels of Lego robotics kits you can choose for your class, depending on the interests and grade of the middle schoolers. For example, Lego’s “booster creative toolbox” contains the material to build up to five robots from Lego pieces.
This kit includes 847 LEGO pieces to build five multifunctional robots. It includes color, tilt, and distance sensors. Students can make “Vernie the Robot” that dances, the Guitar 4,000, “Frankie the Cat,” Autobuilder, and a multi-tooled Rover 4. It comes with an instruction app that can be downloaded to a phone. Here’s a resource for additional robotics kits for kids: https://moonpreneur.com/blog/robotics-kits-for-kids/
Do you want more resources on the topic of robotics? NSTEM’s vast resources database provides thousands of STEM resources that are searchable by category, school level and state. This comprehensive library includes info on enrichment activities, curricula, internships, scholarships and more. Check out a free sampling here. Or get an NSTEM membership today to unlock the complete list.
Middle School is where students are transformed, entering as children and emerging as young adults. Project-based learning enrichment helps students connect the dots between STEM and real life, making math and science relevant for them, keeping them engaged and interested. With a meaningful middle-school experience, students are far more likely to focus on STEM disciplines in high school and beyond. To start your 6-8, middle school chapter of the National STEM Honor Society, click here.
