by admin | Jun 27, 2018 | Junior Robotics, Robotics, Robotics holiday programs, Robotics In The Classroom, STEAM Education, STEM Education, Technology programs for kids in Melbourne
One of the ways of teaching robotics in the classroom is to make robots tell the story. The Ozobot is one such engaging robot with a whole dose of fun in our STEAM classrooms.
Using visual code, the Ozobots can carry out specific tasks such moving faster, slowing down, line jump, u-turn and more all while telling a story (eg. Ozobot starts to slow down (snail dose code) when approaching the haunted house and runs away quickly (nitro boost code) when followed by a ghost!
Our Junior students have loved the Ozobot and the number of activities we have done over the past two terms especially when telling a story, because in a story, those visual codes become more powerfully etched in their memory, along with their growing knowledge of Ozobot.
by admin | Aug 28, 2017 | Robotics, Robotics In The Classroom, STEM Education
In a snippet, we explain why we think a robotics education rocks!
Robotics is a very specialized field of study which encompasses a lot of learning with hands on activities. It is fun, engaging, complex and tests our patience to its limits, all in one breath. It makes us learn how to communicate and collaborate with others, builds our problem-solving skills and helps us learn many new ways of doing things.
Most importantly, we develop an open mind – open to various possibilities and this makes us adaptable to different scenarios – for real, there is a lot of that in robotics! Above all, we become better people because we build up our resilience when faced with various scenarios.
Hey, you become a solution finder and you become undaunted by problems – how great is that and it all starts in the classroom by first yelling “My robot doesn’t work!!” Don’t be afraid to ask for help and then be sure to set yourself on the solution pathway to solving the problem.
by admin | Feb 6, 2017 | Digital Literacy, Educational Robotics, Reflections, Robotics, Robotics In The Classroom, STEAM Education, STEM Education
According to ISTE, the four C’s of education are Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Creativity.
This is 2017 learning, where students will not just be passive consumers of technology but actually understand why and how things work and how to make effective use of technology and enhance one’s learning.
These four C’s are more apparent in the academy than mentioned. Not only are kids and teens delving into robotics, they are doing far more than just playing with or programming a robot. They are learning (without knowing they actually are) about communication, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity. By simply discussing ideas for their robotics projects or troubleshooting errors, they are working together with their team to find solutions to problems.
Thinking through the problems with a mindset geared towards a solution, collaborating with their team to ensure their robot works well and being creative with their solutions – makes a mind blowing experience (we don’t deny the tons of frustration involved, the communication malfunctions and series of little errors, of course!)
Yet, students tell of how much they are engaged in the classroom, their joys when they discover they could solve a problem, plus their frustrations when they could not and this makes for their reflective learning at Innovate Academy. We love the four C’s of education and continue to see them in the classrooms.
However, more than that, we also add on our core values such as patience, persistence and perseverance which students find essential in the 2017 classroom too (you need to have the three P’s too). They are never underrated.
by admin | Dec 8, 2016 | Coding, Educational Robotics, Government STEM projects, Innovate Academy Events, Robotics
Innovate Technology and Robotics Academy is proud to have been invited by the Mauritius Government to conduct STEM workshops for kids and keynote presentations to the public.
Innovate Academy was invited to conduct keynotes on STEM education at the largest InfoTech show held in early December 2016. It was truly an enjoyable occasion to be able to bring our expertise on STEM subjects, robotics in the classroom and inspire the youth in Mauritius to explore and discover innovative solutions used in Innovate Technology and Robotics Academy’s programs in Melbourne, Australia.
Thank you for the honour, MRC. We are grateful for the wonderful opportunity to meet and train such fantastic students in Mauritius.
by admin | Dec 5, 2016 | Robotics, Robotics Competitions, STEM Education, Vex Robotics, Vex Robotics Competition Melbourne
Innovate Technology and Robotics Academy’s Team Robotic Boomerangs 89999A (consisting of 3 members and of Vex IQ World Championships 2016) made a trip down to Wangaratta, Victoria where the Vex Robotics Nationals were held.
There were 28 teams participating and all were school teams except for our Team Robotic Boomerangs. The team did very well and rose up to the challenges of the day and ended off in 2nd position in an alliance match with two other schools which was truly incredible and a testament to the dedication and passion of Innovate Academy’s students.
To top off the sweet end, our boys bagged the Judges’ Award for their Engineering Diary, their ability to explain their robot design and capabilities plus their overall performance.
Judges Award is presented to a team that the Judges determine is deserving of special recognition.
Considering this is our first time sending a team towards the Vex Robotics Competition, this is an excellent result! Congratulations Team Robotic Boomerangs!
by admin | Oct 20, 2016 | Educational Robotics, Robotics, Robotics Competitions, STEM Education, Vex IQ Robotics, Vex IQ Robotics Competition
On 17 October, Innovate Technology and Robotics Competitions held a VEX IQ Robotics Challenge with the latest game, Crossover.
Under a minute, teams had to play the Crossover game and take as many of the Hex balls over to the other side and stash it into the racks and eventually mount the bridge and balance it together with the other team’s robot, in an alliance format.
What a game it was as teams really played their best to get the Hex balls over to the other side and many of the teams managed to get the robots to balance on the bridge in the teamwork challenge.
So proud of our students for taking on the Tournament Champion Award and Robot Skills Award. More importantly, the students who displayed graciousness and core values despite the results have done themselves and everyone proud.
It is great to win but the gracious and kind behaviour demonstrated by the teams who participated is the best and sweetest victory. #neverforgetyourcorevalues #graciousness #kindness. That is truly robotics at its best.
Congratulations everyone!
