Back in August 2014 I posted about the robotics program (read that post here) that I was introducing to the eighth students in the district where I teach. After two semesters and five classes of robotics I can honestly say that students need some sort of programming course in their schedule.
Watch this short video where my program was highlighted with three other high quality projects.
The trouble with technology is that you cannot sit still. You have to continually move forward working to integrate into the classroom new and innovative ideas each and every year. The plan for next year is to add high school robotics courses to the existing eighth grade course. This will allow more students to take advantage of a robotics course. It will also allow advanced courses for students with more of an interest in programming and robotics. The robots will also change a bit. Instead of using the LEGO EV3 robots, students will couple the LEGO NXT with TETRIX to build more robust and powerful robots.
A special thanks to the GAR Foundation for funding this project. Without the funding this project would never have become a reality.