Carol Hand - Careers in Robotics

INTRODUCTION

E xcellent education has always involved giving students the chance to do things themselves, to learn by creating, making, and practicing. In the past, these opportunities have often been haphazard, done only when time, space, and materials permit. But modern educators are accepting the challenge of educating students for the technological future. They are implementing STEM programs, which provide interdisciplinary education in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEAM programs, which add the arts. Educators are integrating applied design, skills, and technologies into school programs. Often, they do this by designing student makerspaces.

What is a makerspace? One of the best definitions comes from Michelle Davis, winner of the Canadian Innovators in Education Award in 20152016. In an article by A. Campbell, Davis says, A Makerspace is a place that enables student making; it inspires creation, invites problem-solving, risk-taking, collaboration and experimentation; it encourages our students to identify as creators of content, rather than mere consumers of it. In short, a makerspace is a special place designed for students to work on exciting real-world problems that channel their creative impulses and build their skills.

At Gleneagles, an elementary school in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the makerspace is run by Davis, Charity Cantlie, and Cari Wilson. It introduces young students to robotics through six fun makerspace stations. At Station 1, students use iPads to program two Spheros (tennis-ball-sized robots). They can program the Spheros to roll in any direction, spin, flip, and change colors. At Station 2, they work with the VEX Robotic Station, where they can create functional robots using LEGO-like kits that snap together. At Station 3, students build their own robots using simple materials such as cardboard, cups, and tape. Station 4 promotes literacy. Students are asked to create their own online robot-related story using Storybird, an iPad app. At Station 5, they work with motorized, programmable cubes called Cubelets, which snap together and stay connected by means of magnetic faces. Cubelets can be combined in many ways to form exciting new inventions. Finally, at Station 6, students learn science fiction writer Isaac Asimovs laws of robotics and the history and invention of these laws.

The learning by doing that happens in a makerspace stimulates both creativity and skill development. Here, students in a makerspace develop measurement skills while cutting wood for a project.

Makerspaces can begin in elementary schools such as Gleneagles. Projects become increasingly advanced in high school and college. According to a 2017 study by the New Media Consortium and the Consortium for School Networking, coding and robotics makerspaces will be trending topics in schools over the next five years. The emphasis on coding is based on the understanding that computer literacy will be as important for future students as reading and writing. As high school and college students build and program robots of increasing complexity, many of them will participate in robotics competitions. These competitions will help them tackle specific, real-world challengesand give them a leg up into future robotics careers.

MAKERSPACE OR HACKERSPACE?

Some people define makerspaces by the presence of technological equipment, such as 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC (computer numerical control) machines, and robots. These are definitely a part of many makerspaces, but they are not essential. According to the website Makerspaces.com, the tools matter much less than the mind-set. A maker mind-set is more about creating something out of nothing and exploring your own interests, the website says. The idea of makerspaces comes from the 1990s, when the first hackerspaces were formed. These were places where groups of computer programmers worked together to hack programs, taking them apart, learning about them, and revising them to do new tasks. Later, as fabrication tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters became affordable, hackerspaces evolved into makerspaces. Today, because the term hacker has developed a negative connotation, most people now prefer the term makerspace.

A makerspace may simply be the science lab, where students engage in creative, exploratory work rather than completing rote, or canned, lab exercises. Schools with sufficient funds may set up a designated makerspace lab within the school. Makerspaces may be outside the school, within the home, family, or community. There might be a makerspace in the local library or science museum. A parent teaching his or her child to cook, fix the car, or build a birdhouse or model airplane is serving as a mentor in a makerspace.