Assistance to Teachers and Schools

Readers,

I've received some emails and calls recently, some in response to discussions started at World Festival two weeks ago and some just out of desperation. Let me summarize the issue here and see if our readers can offer some assistance. While I'm speaking from a USA point-of-view, this discussion certainly has equal concern around the globe.

While FLL is growing and the NXT is constantly being integrated into new classrooms, there are probably more schools that do NOT have access to this technology than schools that do. Some of the issues that have been brought up:

* There are cost barriers - How can we make certain that every school that wants an NXT kit in the classroom can get one? Apple had (or still has) the "An Apple in every classroom" - how could LEGO and/or LEGO Education (L/LE) do the same? Could corporate entities be given a way to sponsor a school or schools? How about individuals? What is in place if I should decide to donate $250+ to "buy" a kit for a school in need?

* There are language barriers (the NXT and software only support English, French, Spanish, and German, I believe) - How could the books, websites, software Help files, and more be more easily translated to other languages? Again, could corporate support fund this? Would L/LE provide source documentation for translation and download to those countries that need materials translated?

* Most teachers didn't major in Computer Science - how can we expect teachers to integrate robotics into their math/science curriculum without some sort of formalized training or more user-friendly documentation? LE is probably stretched thin as it is to offer classes and training to teachers in their respective areas. Where are teachers to obtain training so they, in turn, can pass along those skills to students?

* There are limits to student participation - whether it's the FLL team size of 10 students or just a logistical limit based on class size and availability, how can we ensure that every student who wants to participate in either competitions or math/science classroom projects has equal access? Some schools have one (1!!) NXT kit to go around... it would be interesting if we could figure out the average number of students per NXT kit, but I won't hold my breath. The real question here is how can we make sure that every school has a sufficient number of kits to satisfy classroom demand.

* Is the private sector aware that its future is tied to technology in the classroom? - More and more jobs are requiring a higher-level of education and/or technical-skill level. Many kids grow up being as comfortable holding a computer mouse as they are holding a toy. But again, not all kids. Many corporations are involved in sponsorship, mentoring, and funding of technologies in schools, but again, not all schools are so lucky.

The NXT community is a sub-group of the larger LEGO community, but the level of technology offered by the NXT has the potential here to, quite honestly, make a bigger change in a single student's future than any other LEGO product (IMO). At a minimum, the NXT could spark students' inquisitive natures and instill an urge to learn more about other subjects. Specifically, the NXT can inspire students to dig deeper into math and science (which always seem to be lagging in interest according to the media) and encourage them to pursue engineering studies. But, back to the purpose of this post, there is not equal access for many different reasons.

Advice? Thoughts? Solutions? Please share them here as comments or in the Forum section that I've started here. I've started a new section in the forum where education can meet up with private sector. If you know of grants, scholarships, or sources of funds, please share them. If you know of companies that are extremely supportive of schools, please share that information. If you know of resources, books, websites, or other media that can help teachers, students, parents, and school officials, let us know.

Thanks.

Work Units and Lesson Plans for the NXT

I have put together a series of Units of Work, Lesson Sequences and accompanying Lesson plans for use by Teachers (and Students). There are Junior, Middle and Senior School units, all lasting approximately 6-8 weeks. Some lessons overlap across the 3 levels of schooling – but there are a number of new lessons at each level. The lessons are all based on NXT-G and are designed to follow on from specific activities in Robot Educator.
Of particular note is:

- “Four Poles Challenge” - one of the most successful resources I have used for introducing Robotics to students and teachers alike.
- A learning based approach to Line Following using one and two light sensors (as opposed to the more prescriptive approach in Robot Educator).
-A very simple, yet effective “Remote Control” for the EduBot that you can use in the classroom.
-Reference to other robotics resources such as PowerPoint ideas, Robot films, excursions and NXT Books.
- Whilst the program objectives, understanding goals, essential outcomes etc. are specific to the Tasmanian Curriculum in Australia, they can be easily adapted and tweaked for other systems.
-Most (if not all) lessons have been trialed and tested at Teacher workshops and in class with teachers and students.

They can be found on my website http://www.proactivepd.com.au/ and are freely available for use in class by teachers and students. I do however value any feedback or suggestions related to them (and naturally ask that Intellectual Property and Copyright be respected).
Cheers
Chris

Classroom Activities for the Busy Teacher: NXT

We have just released our first dedicated resource book for teachers "Classroom Activities for the Busy Teacher : NXT"

This book outlines a 10 week set of lesson plans for teacher wishing to implement robotics in their classroom. A set of robotics challenges are presented, centered around the LEGO NXT MINDSTORMS system. The workbook includes 10 robotic based challenges as well as 3 additional modules with assessment activities covering Robots in Society, Flowcharting and Multimedia Presentations.

It is aimed towards Middle Years schooling (ages 9 - 15) although the challenges can be adapeted to suit older age groups.

Each module includes:

• A real world scenario
• Basic theory of the concepts presented
• Teachers notes outlining the most common issues and how to solve them
• Example Programs in the NXT-G development environment
• Extension activities
• Student worksheets

Sample pages can be downloaded from here and the full book can be ordered from the cafepress site http://www.cafepress.com/domabotics

--
Damien Kee

NXT Classroom ready to roll

Remember the post one month ago on a new site being under construction, aimed at teachers and called NXT Classroom

"to provide the NXT community with a place where beginners could learn simple programming, keep up with NXT news, post tutorials and run their own courses." ?

Ross, the maintainer of the site, has announced that the site is ready for use now:

"The site features:

• A customizable joomla install that allows registered users to submit content
• Fireboard forums - fast and integrated with the site
• Chatrooms - big enough to allow teachers to have guests in chats with students (max 40, can be raised)
• RSS feed from the NXT Step blog
• A moodle install where registered users can run their own course with their school students or a general course for the community
• An events calendar for people who like FLL competitions

I just thought everyone would like an update, the site is stable and ready for full use. Thanks for all the offers of help, I hope everyone enjoys the site over the coming years."

Go for it!