The Technology faculty invested in 10 sets of Lego’s ‘mindstorms’ robotics packages, and have been working with a number of different year groups to expand their knowledge of coding.
Sessions with Year 8 involved students working in groups of 2 or 3, coding pre-built robots to move around. This was initially in straight lines, before progressing to add turns and eventually moving onto using an Ultrasonic sensor – which stopped the robots from colliding into each other, objects in the room or other students! The robots were programmed to turn away when they came within a pre-programmed distance from these obstacles. Students then completed challenges to test out their coding skills.
Programming the Lego robots uses a wide variety of important skills, not just their knowledge of code. These include:
• Persistence
• Teamwork
• Analytical
• Mathematics
• Problem-solving
• Debugging
We were also delighted to welcome Year 6 students from Childer Thornton & Little Sutton Cof E Primaries who worked with the with robots, programming them to move around and getting to know students from another school – making new friends through technology. These students will be returning back to school during our Welcome Day on Wednesday 11th July to aid in their transition to secondary school.
Moving forward, in the summer term Mrs Griffiths and Mrs Wigfall are planning on setting up a Robotics Club where students will be able to build robots from scratch and develop a much deeper knowledge of coding. If you would be interested in joining the club, listen out in notices or see either of the teachers involved.