A Global, Collaborative, Robotics Pilot Course

TECHNOLOGY

The instructors firmly believed that students and teachers could do innovative things with basic technology. All that was required for participation in the project was access to a computer connected to the Internet, and experience with and access to LEGO® Mindstorms. Palloff & Pratt acknowledge that the Internet enables students to connect with individuals and groups all over the world (1999). The results of a National Education Association (NEA) survey indicate that faculty in higher education believe that distance learning can be quality learning (2000).

LEGO® was chosen as a common tool for the project because of its worldwide availability and shared language. LEGO® produces and markets an internationally recognized line of building toys. The LEGO® Mindstorms Robotics Invention System was designed in collaboration with MIT’s Media Lab and was named after Dr. Seymour Papert’s revolutionary book “Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas” (1980). Papert’s book shares his work using computers as tools to create powerful constructionist learning environments. Constructionist learning is an active process in which people actively construct knowledge from their experiences in the world (Papert 1980).

The robotics program at Wichita State University was inspired by Papert’s research and methods. The College of Education offers several robotics courses for preservice
and inservice teachers, including a “Robotics in the Classroom” workshop in which teachers learn to design, build and program robots using LEGO® Mindstorms Robotics Invention Systems. During the workshop, teachers learn to use robotics as a tool to engage their students in real problem solving and collaborative learning while learning
math, science, and technology concepts at a concrete level. A second level robotics course, “Robotics in the Curriculum,” is offered for teachers who are experienced using robotics with students and want to further develop robotics activities connected to curriculum standards. This course includes a robotics summer camp where teachers
work with small groups of 4th - 8th grade students in a practicum situation where they use and refine lesson plans tied to standards and develop assessment tools for evaluation. Teachers utilize online communication tools to share, reflect, and finalize their experiences, lesson ideas, and assessment strategies during and after the camp.

Resources

Hiltz, S.R. (1995, March). Teaching in a virtual classroom. Paper presented at the 1995 International Conference on Computer Assisted Instruction, Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publishers.

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Questions or comments, please contact: Tonya.Witherspoon@wichita.edu or Karen.Reynolds@wichita.edu