Carroll County Times Articles
It's Never Too Early to Begin a Science and Technology Education
by Matt Day– November 8, 2007
Save the park rangers from hungry bears. Transport supplies from the shuttle to the Mars space station. Help the explorers climb to the top of the temple. Children in Carroll Community College's Lego Robotics program are building robots that accomplish all of these things and more!
The Lego Robotics program at the College was started three years ago in order to give children ages 9 - 14 an opportunity to learn valuable science, math, and technology skills. In the program, students take up to six different courses that teach them how to build robots with Legos, and then program those robots with a computer. The robots then have the ability to follow commands, turn, climb, move objects, and transport things, as well as correct themselves if they find themselves to be stuck. With the robots assembled and functional, students command their robots to accomplish simulated tasks that coincide with the specific theme of the class, such as moving bears in the wilderness to a safe habitat area or collecting geological samples for the Mars space station.
Even though creating programmable robots with Legos may sound cutting edge, the concept is not new. Lego first introduced their robotics kits for retail to the public in 1998 under the name "Robotics Invention System." Since then, the kits have evolved into their current line of robotics known as "Legos Mindstorms," and were adapted into an educational version called "Lego Mindstorms for Schools" for use in academic settings.
Though the educational version is primarily designed to teach children math, science, and technology skills, many of the Lego Robotics academic programs have also been successful in teaching children personal development skills, such as creativity, problem solving, and teamwork. "In our program here at Carroll, we always organize the students into teams, where they work together to make their robots functional", said Linda Nestor, one of the program's lead instructors. "This method has worked well because the boys and girls are not only exposed to programming and science concepts, but also life skills such as teamwork, organization, problem solving, and logical thinking. It's amazing to watch a team of students see their robot fail, then go back to the drawing board and solve their problem, all on their own."
About the Author
Matt Day is the Coordinator of Technology Training at Carroll Community College. He has a MBA and a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Science. Questions are welcome and may be addressed in future articles. Email mail@carrolltechcouncil.org or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org to learn more.
