It used to be that a computer in every classroom was the goal; but with the emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) growing, the new goal may well be robots in every classroom. With a slew of educational robot kits available, suitable for every grade level, teachers have a new weapon to get children excited and engaged. After all, what child doesn’t love robots?
Robots come in countless forms but at their most basic, they are machines that can sense, think and respond. Basic kits for beginners will build a foundation for the logic needed in robotics. For the youngest learners, The Primo line uses a visual instruction board to teach simple commands. The child learns the basics while controlling a robot using commands such as forward, back, left and right.
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The Cubelets robot blocks are a great introduction as well. A set of blocks contains sensor, logic and action blocks which the child can assemble in endless possibilities as they begin to understand the logical sequences driving the robot.
As students gain more understanding of how robots work, educational kits become more interactive and complicated. The Arduino robotics kit is a great example of kits that can grow with the student’s knowledge since students can build countless projects from the ground up with no soldering required. The best part is since Arduino is open source, components can be purchased from various manufacturers.
Preschool to high school students can all join in the robotics fun while learning vital STEM principals and since the field is expanding every day, options will continue to grow.