Ecobots Case Study - EP Rio

CASE STUDY

The Hummingbird Kit Fosters Critical and Creative Thinking with Grade Seven Students in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Educator

CIENTEC–ESCOLA PARQUE GÁVEA, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL Roberta Brandão, Educational Technology Supervisor Luís Affonso, Pedagogical Coordinator Igor França, Science Teacher Luciana Salles, Robotics and Programming Teacher

“BOTH BY DOING AND THINKING, THE HUMMINGBIRD ALLOWS STUDENTS OF ALL SKILL AND INTEREST LEVELS TO EXPERIMENT AND LEARN ABOUT PROGRAMMING AND ROBOTICS.” — ROBERTA BRANDÃO EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SUPERVISOR

STUDENTS TELL A PERSONAL STORY AND DELIVER AN ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE WITH THE CREATION OF ECOBOTS Classroom Setting The Hummingbird was a great addition to a new grade seven STEM course curriculum that Roberta Brandão, and three of her fellow teachers, was helping to develop at Escola Parque, in Rio de Janeiro. They used the Hummingbird during the last nine weeks of a course called CienTec—short for “science and new technologies” in Portuguese.

They typically work with students in the computer lab and have four classes of about 30 students each.

Type of Project Students worked on the “ideation” and “implementation” of an EcoBot.

Goal of the Project The goal with the EcoBot design was to foster critical and creative thinking about how new technologies may affect sustainability on a personal and a societal level. They challenged students to design expressive robots that told a personal story while encouraging others to think about how technology can help reach a sustainable environment. All EcoBots were developed using recycled materials and other items brought by the students.

Curriculum They were able to implement and integrate the Hummingbird into a brand new curriculum and make adjustments as needed.

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CASE STUDY

“Plug-and-play” programming environment allows novice students to see results immediately Creation

STUDENT RESPONSE Students less experienced with programming and robotics are inspired Students want to take projects home instead of switching to something else Grade seven students are engaging in and pursuing deeper forms of learning

“WE SEE GREAT POTENTIAL IN USING THE HUMMINGBIRD TO BUILD CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS WHILE STUDENTS REFLECT ABOUT KNOWLEDGE AND LITERACY OF SCIENCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES.” — IGOR FRANCA, SCIENCE TEACHER

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For the EcoBot design, students worked in five collaborative production teams during the ideation phase. The teams consisted of art and storyboard, scripting and narrative, materials and assembly, programming, quality control and demonstration. Each group presented one design proposal that was voted on by the entire class.

Implementation Each classroom presented a short demo video of their EcoBot (including the making of) for online publication. The EcoBots were presented to students, parents, staff and teachers during a school-wide science and culture fair.

Programming A basic programming level was used because most students had limited exposure to programming languages. Most of them (especially boys), however, have had some experience using robotics components.

Student Response Escola Parque has had a very positive response especially with students less experienced with programming and robotics, and girls who would not necessarily have attempted either on their own. Additionally, they had a surprising response from a number of students who asked if they could continue building on their robotics projects. They typically have to push middle-school students to go deeper and work longer on projects, since most of them expect fast results and want to switch technologies quickly. However, they found that the Hummingbird helped their grade seven students engage in and pursue deeper forms of learning.

1.888.762.2503 info@qupiron.com qupiron.com/hummingbird This product or portions thereof is manufactured under license from Carnegie Mellon University.