Grand Erie students face-off in Vex Robotics Challenge
Students in Grades 4 to 8 from five different elementary schools were challenged to swap the workbooks for robots and rely on each other to troubleshoot best practices.
Ten students from Major Ballachey Public School, Prince Charles Public School, Houghton Public School, King George School and West Lynn Public School competed in a VEX Robotics Challenge on Wednesday, May 25, 2016.
Each school was supplied 12 kits to build different robots to bring to the challenge. Their day started with completing various competitions including soccer and basketball that comprised of a robot wired in by remote control.
“The whole point of this challenge is not about relying on instructions but having them problem solve what robot is most effective to perform the task assigned,” said Jeff Dumoulin, Information Technology Teacher Consultant.
“We’re working through the iterative process. You need to change and adapt based on what you’re doing. There’s no way to do this without problem solving.”
The afternoon had students complete a preplanned obstacle course from another school. Students had to assess the obstacle course and program their robot to navigate through block coding. A number of curriculum connections were relevant throughout the day including math, science and literacy.
“They were challenged to think, measure and figure out how to manoeuvre through. It was all about troubleshooting, processing and refining,” added Dumoulin.