Activity:

Pre-course Preparation

Knowledge Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Knowledge of some good practises about coding and robotics for schools in Estonia, Finland, Sweden and UK

Awareness of the fact that different  methodologies used for training courses can have a big impact on the competence of teachers to use coding and robotics in the curriculum. Best results are gained with face to face training courses. Trained teachers, together with good teaching resources are the clue.

Robotics kits and equipment can be different; what is really important is that technology has to be joined with methodology, resources and scenarios and teachers’ motivation.

Activity:

Course Introductions

Knowledge Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Information about Birmingham, its history and its multicultural society

Robotics as a new revolution

Information about other participants

Awareness that ICT and robotics are now influencing everyday life and society, so there is the need to prepare students for the future job market.

Activity:

Presentation of Robotics for Schools Course objectives

Knowledge Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Objectives of the course

Use of RoboQuest as a teaching tool

Knowledge about Robots for schools Project

Awareness that educational robotics and coding at school can help students to develop several competences for the future job market and useful for digital citizenship.

Activity:

Group Tasks

Knowledge Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

How to build a robotics hand

Understanding of a mechanism involved in robotics.

Learn problem solving techniques

Ability to adapt the builder design to the aim of the task

Activity:

 Study Visit - Attend Local School

Skills Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Use of coding at schools

Assessing some Scratch activities

Sharing of experiences on coding and robotics in the curriculum. Awareness that coding and robotics are only personal matters of teachers at the moment and not yet part of the curriculum

Activity:

Tuesday - Black Country Atelier

Skills Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Basics about electronics, circuits and programming with Arduino.

Basics of building a simple robot and coding it with Arduino

Working with breadboard and LEDs (blinking one or more LEDs through coding with Arduino)

Ability to build a simple robotics prototype, with motors and sensors. Driving it on straight line

Activity:

Wednesday - Black Country Atelier

Skills Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Examples of Arduino programs to drive motors and interacting with ultrasonic sensor

Working to adjust different programs in order to drive a robotics prototype in a straight line, following a wall.

Get everything working and robot completing the task.

Activity:

Lecture Dr Jeremy Wyatt: University of Birmingham

Skills Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Basics knowledge about robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Knowledge about statistics behind Artificial Intelligence

Awareness of the fact that working with robots means:

-to cope with uncertainty

-to plan ahead

-to be aware of what you know

-to make useful assumptions

-to seek consensus

Ideas for teaching the way to localise a robot in the environment

Activity:

Thursday - Black Country Atelier

Skills Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Working with a servo motor

Basics about 3D printing

Ability to integrate 2-3 programs in one to make a robot completing a more complex task

Ability to draw simple shapes with SketchUp software

Activity:

Friday - Black Country Atelier

Skills Acquired

Skills & Competences Acquired

Basics on 3D printing and laser-cutting

Robotics in the school curriculum

Ability to model a 3D object and print it.

Create a scheme of a robotics lesson (also through a RoboQuest)

Team working