Do robots have a place in the classroom?

First off I liked the Steinbeck quote above. I have a background in electronics and programming, now I teach. I agree with Steinbeck that the higest goal of teaching should be inspiration. When I teach using robots it is like teaching how to have fun with science.

Robotics is still in its infancy, don't expect intellegent robots for some time if ever. They just follow what we tell them to do like computers. But as a tool they can model the 3D world we live in, computers can't. They need to have sensors and actuators for input and output to the world.

Robots are useful for teaching physics and poblem solving. They can be very useful for teaching but require a lot of attention on our part. This gets the student directly involved with makeing the robot do what he wants it to. It can be a rewarding experience but also frustrating, a lot of problem solving goes into simple tasks.

We are proud of our students here at Wahiawa Middle School who have competed both at the state and at the national levels in various robotics competitions, placing against both middle and high school teams! It is a great opportunity to reach a diverse array of students and to provide a challenging, team-based experience that focuses on essential skills necessary for the future. Above all, it's loads of fun, and our team gets bigger and bolder each year!

Mr. Lee
Robotics Coach
Wahiawa Middle School, Hawaii

Voted for "Maybe"... Indeed, in specific areas such as science, robots can be simply indispensable. However, in the humanities use of robotics is hardly possible, at least at the current level of development of artificial intelligence.

Every educator should check out www.usfirst.org Robots are the culmination of all areas of technology and using them as a teaching tool is the greatest gift I have ever given my students and myself

I have been building robots with 3rd grade two other for three years and with 6 graders for two years. The children love it. Simple machines can't become more real. Cooperative learning is imperative. The students Love them. It must be done gently, but it sure is worth doing. They are getting less expensive every year also. I even let the class decide which ones we are going to build and at the end of the year six lucky winners go home with their own robot. Wah! I know I don't want robots instructing anything, but I sure want my children to know that robots are for real and I'd rather have them learn how to make rather get displaced by one.

I navigated to this article after reading two others on your site relating to Netiquette. Maybe Ms. Sharyn Loshakoff needs to cool off by reading those articles.

If a robot had been programmed to filter out that rude response, the staff of Edutopia, and the very generous Mr. Lucas would never have had to read it. Mr. Lucas didn't have any obligation to ever create Edutopia, but he did. Now the entire Edutopia community is asking for help to keep it going and take it to the next level. There is nothing wrong with that. There is a big difference between not thinking and paying for what is well worth it.

Moving on to robots. When working with robots, kids learn logic and problem-solving, both very important skills. Learning to build and program robots, yes. Having robots teach, not so much. Personal connections make up a large part of what goes on in a classroom.

Aloha Wes,

If I learned any thing at all during the 2 short years I went to college on Maui was that a collective understanding of all cultures expand one's mind set and ventures far beyond an individual's expectations. Technology by all means is a must for our future & our youth.

Gone are the day's when I rented a tin roof house for close to nothing on an old plantation & traded bananna bread for fresh lobster.

Keep up the good!

Suzy Stader