Although America is the world leader in science and technology innovation, the educational system is not preparing enough science and technology workers to maintain leadership. In an effort to prepare youth for the 21st century, Nebraska 4-H conducted a 2-day workshop using robotics to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. A subsequent competition was held at the State Fair to debut robots to the community. The competition was popular with fair-goers and let youth experiment with their robot designs and programming. To engage more youth, Nebraska will pilot the 4-H CCS curriculum and expand the State Fair competition

Ansorge, John

Barker, Bradley S

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

The Journal of Extension Volume 44 Number 5 Article 22 10-1-2006 Using Robotics as an Educational Tool in 4-H Bradley S. Barker University of Nebraska- Lincoln, bbarker@unl.edu John Ansorge University of Nebraska- Lincoln, jansorge@unl.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Barker, B. S., & Ansorge, J. (2006). Using Robotics as an Educational Tool in 4-H. The Journal of Extension, 44(5), Article 22. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol44/iss5/22 This Ideas at Work is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. 	 JOEHOME JOURNAL GUIDELINES ABOUT	JOE CONTACT NATIONAL	JOB	BANKCurrent	Issues Back	IssuesOctober	2006	//	Volume	44	//	Number	5	//	Ideas	at	Work	//	5IAW60Using	Robotics	as	an	Educational	Tool	in	4-HAbstractAlthough	America	is	the	world	leader	in	science	and	technology	innovation,	the	educationalsystem	is	not	preparing	enough	science	and	technology	workers	to	maintain	leadership.	In	aneffort	to	prepare	youth	for	the	21st	century,	Nebraska	4-H	conducted	a	2-day	workshop	usingrobotics	to	teach	science,	technology,	engineering,	and	math	(STEM)	concepts.	A	subsequentcompetition	was	held	at	the	State	Fair	to	debut	robots	to	the	community.	The	competition	waspopular	with	fair-goers	and	let	youth	experiment	with	their	robot	designs	and	programming.	Toengage	more	youth,	Nebraska	will	pilot	the	4-H	CCS	curriculum	and	expand	the	State	Faircompetition.	IntroductionNebraska	4-H	is	working	to	prepare	youth	with	21st	century	skills	and	training.	The	cornerstone	ofthat	effort	is	to	disseminate	a	hands-on,	minds-on	program	that	utilizes	robotics	to	teach	science,technology,	engineering,	and	math	(STEM)	concepts.	To	debut	robotics	in	Nebraska,	the	authorsheld	a	2-day	workshop	with	members	of	the	state's	Technology	Team.	A	competition	was	held	atthe	Nebraska	State	Fair	to	showcase	the	team's	efforts	and	present	robotics	to	the	community.BackgroundAmerican	students'	low	proficiency	in	math	and	science	is	a	major	concern	in	building	acompetitive	21st	century	workplace.	America's	economy	is	highly	dependent	on	advancedtechnology,	but	research	indicates	that	the	United	States	is	producing	fewer	science	andtechnology	workers	(Porter	&	van	Opstal,	2001).	International	test	scores	show	that	Americanstudents	are	relatively	poor	performers	in	math	and	science	(Lemke	et	al.,	2004).The	use	of	hands-on,	minds-on	educational	tools	like	robots	may	reverse	the	downward	trend	inSTEM	fields.	The	research	literature	regarding	robotics	in	education	suggests	that	robotics	can	beused	to:Engage	students	(Barnes,	1999;	Mauch,	2001;	Nourbakhsh	et	al.,	2005;	Robinson,	2005;Rogers	&	Portsmore,	2004;	Miller	&	Stein,	2000);Teach	scientific	and	mathematic	principles	through	experimentation	(Rogers	&	Portsmore,2004);Promote	math	and	science	careers	(Barnes,	1999;	Rogers	&	Portsmore,	2004;	Miller	&	Stein,2000);Develop	problem	solving	skills	(Barnes,	1999;	Mauch,	2001;	Nourbakhsh	et	al.,	2005;Bradley	S.	BarkerExtension	4-H	Youth	Development	Specialist/Assistant	Professorbbarker@unl.eduJohn	AnsorgeNebraska	4-H	Graduate	Assistantjansorge@unl.eduUniversity	of	Nebraska-LincolnLincoln,	NebraskaRobinson,	2005;	Rogers	&	Portsmore,	2004);	andPromote	cooperative	learning	(Nourbakhsh	et	al.,	2005;	Beer,	Chiel,	&	Drushel,	1999).In	addition:Female	students	are	more	likely	to	appreciate	learning	with	robots	than	with	traditional	STEMteaching	techniques	(Rogers	&	Portsmore,	2004;	Nourbakhsh	et	al.,	2005);	andRobotics	may	be	effective	for	at-risk	or	under-served	student	populations	(Robinson,	2005;Rogers	&	Portsmore,	2004;	Miller,	Church,	&	Trexler,	2000).DescriptionIn	the	spring	of	2005,	the	Nebraska	4-H	department	held	a	2-day	workshop	for	members	of	theTechnology	Team.	The	team	is	comprised	of	10	youth	ages	15	to	19	with	an	interest	in	technology.The	workshop	covered	topics	including:Computer	programming	(variables,	loops,	conditions,	counters);Engineering	concepts	(gear	ratios,	vehicle	design);Data	collection	techniques	to	use	with	sensors;	andMath	concepts	(threshold	values,	ratios,	measurement).Problem	solving	and	computer	program	debugging	procedures	were	emphasized	throughout	theworkshop.	For	example,	to	debug	a	program,	team	members	were	taught	to	use	musical	notes	toindicate	what	function	within	the	Robolab	program	was	executing	at	that	precise	moment.	Bylistening	to	the	notes,	the	team	members	could	determine	if	the	robot's	behavior	was	working	theway	they	had	planned.Although	there	are	a	number	of	different	commercially	available	robotic	kits	available,	Nebraska	4-H	elected	to	use	the	LEGO	Mindstorm	for	Schools	kits.	Because	most	youth	have	experience	usingLEGOs,	they	can	easily	transfer	these	skills	to	building	robots.	The	LEGO	Mindstorm	kits	arecomprised	of	828	parts,	including	axles,	gears,	motors,	and	sensors.	The	kits	come	with	aprogrammable	microcomputer	with	three	output	and	three	input	ports	for	controlling	sensors	andmotors.	In	addition,	the	robots	are	programmed	using	a	specialized	programming	language	calledROBOLAB.At	the	end	of	the	workshop,	students	were	sent	home	with	the	laptops	and	Mindstorm	kits	toprepare	for	the	State	Fair	competition.	A	bulletin	board	type	Web	site	was	developed	to	fostercommunication.	The	site	permitted	members	to	exchange	ideas	and	to	post	images	and	video	clipsof	the	robots	in	development.	The	rules	and	arena	layout	were	also	shared	via	the	Web	site.The	State	Fair	CompetitionThe	competition	was	designed	to	allow	students	to	showcase	what	they	had	learned	aboutengineering	and	programming.	The	arena	was	a	3	by	3	foot	white	melamine	surface	with	a	1/2-inch	black	electrical	tape	border	(Figure	1).	The	objective	of	the	competition	was	to	locate	andpush	their	competitor's	robot	out	of	the	arena.	The	black	border	permitted	the	use	of	the	lightsensor	to	keep	the	robots	inside	the	arena.Each	contestant's	robot	competed	in	a	round-robin	tournament.	The	competition	was	broken-downinto	rounds;	each	round	consisted	of	three	bouts	lasting	1	minute	each.	The	winner	of	two	boutswould	win	the	round	and	gain	three	points.	A	draw	would	give	each	member	one	point.Figure	1.The	Competition	Arena	with	Two	LEGO	Mindstorm	RobotsEach	contestant	in	the	contest	used	a	different	strategy	to	try	to	win.	One	used	a	tracked,	tank-likerobot,	while	another	focused	on	using	large	wheels	and	gears	designed	to	provide	maximumtorque.	Another	contestant	focused	on	maximizing	the	use	of	sensors.	An	alternative	approach	wasa	robot	that	walked	around	the	arena	on	legs.	The	competition	drew	a	large	enough	crowd	toconvince	the	Technology	Team	members	to	return	to	the	fair	several	other	days	to	put	onexhibition	matches	for	fair-goers.Technology	Team	members	comments	indicated	that	they	enjoyed	the	experience.	Unfortunately,the	beginning	of	the	tournament	was	a	little	uncertain	because	the	first	robot	flew	off	the	arenaand	shattered	on	the	floor	while	the	other	robot	did	not	move.	The	non-moving	robot	won	the	bout,and	it	took	a	few	minutes	to	repair	the	second	robot.The	team	members	were	allowed	to	make	modifications	to	their	robots	and	their	programsbetween	rounds.	It	was	encouraging	to	see	the	team	members	experiment	with	their	robotsdesigns	and	programming,	and	make	essential	modifications.	Ultimately,	the	winner	of	thetournament	was	the	only	female	participant.Here	are	some	suggestions	for	running	your	own	competition.Purchase	LEGO	Mindstorm	for	Schools	Robotics	kits	(http://www.legoeducation.com)	andbecome	familiar	with	how	to	build	and	program	robots.Organize	a	hands-on	robotics	training	workshop	for	interested	participants.	At	a	minimum,	theworkshop	should	cover	the	following	topics:Basic	robot	building.Basic	robot	programming.Basic	sensor	programming	and	building.Line	tracking.Establish	rules	and	scoring	for	the	competition.Build	your	arena.Run	your	competition.Conclusion	and	Future	DirectionsBased	on	the	success	of	these	efforts,	Nebraska	4-H	will	be	helping	to	pilot	a	new	set	of	4-H	CCSrobotics	curriculum.	The	curriculum	will	lead	students	through	a	set	of	increasingly	challengingrobot	building	and	programming	activities.	By	the	time	students	are	done	with	the	program,	theyshould	be	able	to	design	and	build	impressive	robots	to	compete	in	the	next	State	Faircompetition.	Technology	Team	members	expect	next	year's	competition	to	be	much	larger	andmore	competitive.Robotics	may	be	a	valuable	tool	for	integrating	science	and	technology	into	4-H.	More	research	isneeded	to	determine	the	effectiveness	of	using	robotics	to	teach	STEM	concepts.ReferencesBarnes,	D.	J.	(2002,	February-March).	Teaching	introductory	Java	through	Lego	Mindstorms	models.Paper	presented	at	SIGCSE	2002	Technical	Symposium	on	Computer	Science	Education,Covington,	Kentucky.Beer,	R.	D.,	Chiel,	H.	J.,	&	Drushel,	R.	F.	(1999).	Using	robotics	to	teach	science	and	engineering.Communications	of	the	ACM,	42(6),	85-92.Lemke,	M.,	Sen,	A.,	Pahlke,	E.,	Partelow,	L.,	Miller,	D.,	Williams,	T.,	Kastberg,	D.,	&	Jocelyn,	L.(2004).	International	outcomes	of	learning	in	mathematics	literacy	and	problem	solving:	PISA	2003results	from	the	U.S.	perspective.	Washington,	DC:	U.S.	Department	of	Education,	National	Centerfor	Education	Statistics.Mauch,	E.	(2001).	Using	technological	innovation	to	improve	the	problem	solving	skills	of	middleschool	students.	The	Clearing	House,	75(4),	211-213.Miller,	D.	P.,	&	Stein,	C.,	(2000).	"So	that's	what	Pi	is	for"	and	other	educational	epiphanies	fromhands-on	robotics.	In	Druin,	A.	&	Hendler,	J.	(Eds.)	Robots	for	kids:	Exploring	new	technologies	forlearning	experiences.	San	Francisco,	CA:	Morgan	Kaufmann.Miller,	G.,	Church,	R.,	&	Trexler,	M.	(2000).	Teaching	diverse	learners	using	robotics.	In	Druin,	A.Hendler,	J.	(Eds.).	Robots	for	kids	exploring	new	technologies	for	learning.	San	Diego:	AcademicPress.Nourbakhsh,	I.,	Crowley,	K.,	Bhave,	A.,	Hamner,	E.,	Hsium,	T.,	Perez-Bergquist,	A.,	Richards,	S.,	&Wilkinson,	K.	(2005).	The	robotic	autonomy	mobile	robots	course:	Robot	design,	curriculum	design,and	educational	assessment.	Autonomous	Robots,	18(1),	103-127.Porter,	M.,	&	van	Opstal,	D.	(2001).	U.S.	competitiveness	2001:	Strengths	vulnerabilities	and	long-term	priorities.	Washington,	DC:	Council	on	Competitiveness.Robinson,	M.	(2005).	Robotics-driven	activities:	Can	they	improve	middle	school	science	learning?Bulletin	of	Science,	Technology	&	Society,	25(1),	73-84.Rogers,	C.,	&	Portsmore,	M.	(2004).	Bringing	engineering	to	elementary	school.	Journal	of	STEMEducation,	5(3&4),	17-28.Copyright	©	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Articles	appearing	in	the	Journal	become	the	property	of	theJournal.	 Single	 copies	 of	 articles	may	 be	 reproduced	 in	 electronic	 or	 print	 form	 for	 use	 in	 educational	 or	 trainingactivities.	Inclusion	of	articles	in	other	publications,	electronic	sources,	or	systematic	large-scale	distribution	may	bedone	only	with	prior	electronic	or	written	permission	of	the	Journal	Editorial	Office,	joe-ed@joe.org.If	you	have	difficulties	viewing	or	printing	this	page,	please	contact	JOE	Technical	Support©	Copyright	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	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Using Robotics as an Educational Tool in 4-H

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Using Robotics as an Educational Tool in 4-H

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