The Sioux Falls School District’s mission statement is “To educate and prepare each student to succeed in a changing world”. Our world is changing,especially the computer science word, faster than we can keep up. Futurists predict that most of my students are going to need, at least, as basic understanding, of computer programming, in their chosen career field. Because of this, I believe I need to offer as many, real-world experiences for my students as I can.
The NAO V5 Evolution humanoid robot video.
The NAO V5 Evolution humanoid robot gives me the ability to show my students immediate results. My students will be programming the robot and then get to see that robot interact with them or even better, our cluster students, in our special
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My classroom students will work on the programming to meet the needs of our SPED students. Not only will the SPED students be able to interact with the programs my classroom students write, they will also be able to program the robot to complete tasks.
Here is a three-minute video showing the types of interactions my students will be programming the NAO to complete: A Story of Robots and Autism
Computer science can be misconstrued as something that requires prior knowledge when in reality computer science is full of mathematics, science, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. In addition, all those skills are transferable to most areas of the real-world.
I teach 250-300 students each semester, so 500-600 per school year. I expect to use the NAO robot for many years to come and because the software for the NAO is open source I don’t have to worry about the software becoming out-of-date. If I use the robot for five years, it will impact upwards of 3000 students. I fully expect to be able to use the NAO for many years over
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The last time I checked with one of their technology integrationists, they have two NAO robots. The robots are being used for a wide-variety of tasks, just as the NAO I am requesting, would be.
There is robotics, of many different kinds and purposes, being used in our district but I do not know of a NAO robot. What makes, the NAO V5 Evolution humanoid robot, different is the virtually unlimited capability and continuous use, that gives students immediate feedback and real-world use. NAO gives my students, an opportunity, to take abstract science and math concepts and visually produce results. Here is a great article supporting the use of NAO in education. Teach STEM Skills with NAO Robots
NAO software allows students to write in code in the following programming languages:
C++
Python
Java
.Net
Matlab
Urbi
C++, Python, and Java are currently languages that are commonly used in the computer programming world. This means my students will be getting, even more, real-world experience by using languages that will help them outside of school. The software also allows for differentiation within each of the languages. Students with ZERO coding experience will be able to use the software. Students who are more advanced will be able to use the most advanced features within each programming