Re: [school-discuss] Way cool Linux Robotics web app

[Daniel Howard <dhhoward@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

dblank@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Thought I'd mention a couple of projects and facts about robots,
> education, and open source:
>
> - most research-level robotics is done under Linux
>
> - there are many open-source robotics and AI projects, including Python
> Robotics at pyrorobotics.org, which lets users use Python (I'm involved
> with that project)
>
> - you can use Interactive C for many competitions, like Botball.org, which
> runs under a variety of OSs. Interactive C is free.
>
> - there is a new project underway to develop educational materials using
> robots. See roboteducation.org. I am involved (and so is Microsoft). The
> code we are developing will be "shared source" and will not require any
> proprietary code. You can read some reviews there
> (blog.roboteducation.org) of low-cost robots for education.
>
> I'd be very interested in helping anyone get started in educational
> robotics; drop me a line if interested, or post a comment on the blog.
Count me in Doug!  One thing I discovered when talking to the teacher 
today was the concern of how to correlate curriculum goals to Robotics, 
particularly in the younger grades.  Unfortunately, we appear to have an 
environment where teachers worry when they try to be creative, and feel 
the CYA urge.  So, I downloaded the Georgia curriculum standards, and am 
building a matrix for her, here's the start, beginning with Kindergarten 
(yes, I believe Kindergarteners will be fascinated with Robots too).  I 
think the opportunities to enrich both math and science curriculae with 
robotics are many and diverse.

Activity: Explain how the robot moves around via sensors and motors 
(sheesh, we could even kill two birds with one stone and get the room a 
Roomba vacuum cleaner and let 'em study how it moves)

Curriculum: SKCS2 Students will have the computation and estimation 
skills necessary for analyzing data and following scientific explanations.

Activity: Using Kturtle, explain how the number of turns and the number 
of degrees of the turn changes the shape of the polygon drawn by Kturtle	

Curriculum: SKCS2 a. Use whole numbers for counting, identifying, and 
describing things and experiences.

Activity: Using a solar cell powered robot car, show how it does not run 
in the dark but will run outside in the sunlight, showing that the sun 
provides energy.

Curriculum: SKE1 Students will describe time patterns (such as day to 
night and night to day) and objects (such as sun, moon, stars) in the 
day and night sky.
c. Recognize that the Sun supplies heat and light to the Earth.


--
Daniel Howard
President and CEO
Georgia Open Source Education Foundation