Coding and Robotics

     When you think of coding and robotics in education you may envision high school juniors and seniors working with computer programs and building robots right? Well think again because coding and robotics is now a part of elementary classes everywhere! Isn’t that exciting!? As a child I always loved math and science (yes, I am a part of that weird minority), but I would have loved to be a child growing up in this modern world where coding and robotics have become accessible to students in all grades, not just high school.

     In a world that has become so technologically advanced, it is important to prepare kids for the world they will be working in in the future. Although concepts of programming and coding may sound too difficult for younger students, even kindergarten students can quickly grasp concepts of sequences that stand as the foundation of coding. Ultimately coding is just writing instructions that a program or a robot can execute. Robots are so cool, because they allow students to see their thinking and work in a real way as their robot performs the task that was intended, and they are so much fun to work with!

     Working with coding and robots seem so fun and engaging to students, but they are actually learning much more than they may think. Kids are given the opportunity to improve communication skills as they work with other students. The students must work together to complete tasks efficiently, which fosters teamwork and respect between peers. Another biggie that all students need to learn at a young age is perseverance! Coding can be difficult, and there will be multiple failed attempts before a success. Coding is an awesome way to teach students that failing is okay as long as they keep trying! Another skill that is encouraged through coding and robotics is problem solving. Students can receive a problem or task and determine the best way to program their robot to perform the desired task! These are skills that aren’t the main focus of coding, but are definitely beneficial for students at such a young age.

     One new thing I learned about was all the interesting ways you can use robots and coding throughout all content areas. One of my favorite examples, was using the BeeBot on a map in a Social Studies lesson. How creative is that?!