By Courtney Nguyen
GEORGETOWN — Excitement is high these days in Joanne Harrington's sixth-grade science class as students learn about engineering using Lego NXT robotics kits. As part of a new lesson this year, all sixth-graders will have the chance to make and program a robot.
"There are a few steps involved," Harrington said. "The kids build their robot and program it using sensors, which are sensitive to light and dark as well as touch." Robots can also be programmed to play music.
On Oct. 27, Harrington's class was abuzz as groups of students showed off their creations. Calum Perry and Maggie Noelk programmed their robot, named Enchiladas, to spin quickly for eight seconds, then rotate in slow motion.
Another robot named Meatball was programmed using two motors and two sensors, so it would back up, touch an object, turn around, then go to a black line. "It was really fun. My partner is good with computers, so I learned from her," said Gillian McDonald, Meatball's co-creator.
Students also do activities in which the robots work in synch with one another, like a domino effect, Harrington said. "This helps teach cooperative learning and working with other teams to make programs work together," she said.
The middle/high school purchased 16 robotics kits to help students understand the eight steps of the manufacturing process. "It's all part of the manufacturing technology learning standard," Harrington said.
Harrington said she hopes the program continues to grow, with students learning more complex technology by programming the robots in increasingly complicated ways. "This is just the first year. I hope it keeps going," Harrington said.
Kady McGinn, whose robot is named Yoyo, smiled as she reported the whole project was a fun learning experience. "I really liked programming the robots and learning how everything works together," she said.
