Robot Takeover!

Official Description: Understanding robotics, an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering, and how to use machines to help and assist humans is becoming increasingly important in our tech-laden society. While many of our young people intuitively understand the basic technological interfaces of our modern machines, they oftern lack the soft skills to leverage their knowledge for advanced problem-solving purposes. In this workshop, attendees will engage with the five different fields of robotics - Operator interface, Mobility or locomotion, Manipulators & Effectors, Programming, and Sensing & Perception - to better understand a high-quality framework of afterschool intergration and implementation.

Layman's Description: You will play with a bunch of different robots, including: littleBits®, Cubelets®, Sphero®, and DJI Robomaster®. With each different robot-type, you will experience a varitey of challenges and learning goals which can be readily brought back to your afterschool programs.

DO Conference Hype: In addition to teaching our young people fundamental engineering, design, and programming skills (and allowing them to see and interpret results in real time). robotics ties in numerous literacy, physical science, mathematics, and social studies skills. More over, students engaging in robotics develop personal and professionally relevant “soft skills” such as planning, teamwork, and perseverance. Future advancements in transportation, education, medicine, industry, and exploration will all require that our students become increasingly capable in the fields of robotics. The time is now to prepare yourself, and your students for the robot takeover!

Presenter: The facilitation of this workshop is a triumvirate of expert afterschool educators. Nathan Paine has worked on the front-line of 21st CCLC afterschool programs for many years as a tutor, AmeriCorps member, and most recently serving as a 21st CCLC Site Coordinator at Sager Middle School in College Place, WA. Becca O’Connor has 5 years of experience as 21st CCLC Site Coordinator at Green Park Elementary in Walla Walla. She has facilitated many different robotics offerings in her programs and at various science/STEM conferences. Her MSW has helped her incorportate many different social-emotional learning skills and practices into the hard sciences. Aylin Contreras, having just completed her first year as a 21st CCLC Site Coordinator (Berney Elementary, Walla Walla), has a passion for computer science and technology. A recent CS graduate from Eastern Washington, she has really enjoyed seeing her afterschool program students challenge themselves and grow through rigorous and fun STEM projects. All three afterschool Site Coordinators focus on collaborative and strategic skill-building through hands-on learning in their programs.