Having a robotics curriculum in schools is arguably essential these days.. We interviewed Caroline Shiell, the Life Sciences Educator at Southdowns College, to find out more about the robotics curriculum they chose and how it has benefitted their pupils. Here’s what she had to say.
Q1: What is your overall experience with Resolute Robotics and the courses they offered as well as the overall experience from your school?
A: It was a very good experience, the pupils were able to learn new skills, from building a car robot from scratch to programming the robot to follow a line. The course was understandable and well put together. Pupils are guided step-by-step through the building and programming process. Resolute teachers are on hand to assist with any questions and where pupils need additional help. The pupils enjoyed the course and learnt a lot from it.
Q2: Did the students gain new knowledge in the field of programming and robotics?
A: Absolutely. Many of the pupils had never built a robot from scratch and had not learnt C++ programming, until this course.
Q3: Was it valuable for the teacher to partake in the course?
A: Most definitely. In order for the educator to know how to build and programme, this is important in order to assist pupils in other robotics projects in the future.
Q4: Did it increase your pupils’ understanding of Robotics. Are they more prepared for it in the upcoming years?
A: It did increase the pupils’ understanding of robotics and it has definitely prepared them for upcoming years.
Q5: How is the course different from what your pupils’ are currently doing in their Robotics extra-curricular club?
A: Currently, most of our pupils are only focusing on programming EV3 kit robots and Raspberry pi. The Resolute Robotics course is different in that the pupils are building a car robot from scratch and learning how to programme an Arduino, this included ‘line following’.
Q6: Would you recommend Resolute Robotics to other schools?
A: Most definitely. Pupils can learn a lot from this course.
If you’re interested in implementing a robotics curriculum in your school, Resolute Robotics were Southdowns College’s trusted supplier. Resolute Robotics have attended a few of our Schoolscape events and have also featured in our webinars for schools. You can check out the interview we did with them and a WITS lecturer talking about the importance of robotics in schools here (you’ll also find contact info for the team from Resolute Robotics).