Communications of the ACM
Learning Robotics Is Becoming Fundamental for Youth
"Our goal has been to support learners to move beyond being a consumer of technology, to becoming creators," says Sharon Locke, director of the STEM Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Credit: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Sharon Locke is associate professor and director of the STEM Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Educational robotics is a game-changer for teaching STEM. Over the past several years the STEM Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, with help from partners U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base, and the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities, has loaned robotics kits to educators and parents for free. The kits are now one of our most frequently requested items.
Educational robots come in all shapes and sizes, from caterpillars to dogs to customizable platforms. These relatable robots help spark students' interest in learning more, and also provide a glimpse into robotics research being done around the world.
Given the inevitability of robots in our future, we should be doubling down on our efforts to teach robotics to the next generation. Robotics has the potential to improve lives in personal and meaningful ways, and we can shape the future of this technology by developing new robotics talent.
From The Telegraph
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