When YouTube, Robots, and STEM Collide to Create an Extraordinary Experience for High School Students

Last week, students from my English and Earth Science classes had an incredible guest visitor.  Not only did they learn about STEM/STEAM careers and robotics, but each and every one of them left for the day empowered with the knowledge that they had written their first line of code and programmed a robot to follow their commands.  It was an inspiring, empowering, educational, and entertaining experience for everyone involved!  

Last year, when I went to NASA as a Social Media Correspondent  (you can read about my adventure HERE), I met a man named Elias with his very own, very cool YouTube channel called Smart Robots Review.  His episodes include everything from reviews of smart robot tech and new STEM robots to NASA launch coverage and space exploration robotics projects.  I invited him to visit a total of 24 of my students, including a mix of those both with and without special needs.  And while the presentation began with a comical, short video and informative speech on STEM/STEAM careers, the real heroes of the day were the robots he brought.

Each session began with a preview of an episode from Elias' channel pitting R2D2 against the infamous R2Q5.  Students were engaged from the get-go as they watched the two robots epitomize good vs evil in the whimsical video.  Elias then explained what STEM/STEAM careers are and their importance, emphasizing that robotics fields in particular are not only growing, but also need artists just as much as engineers.  

Then came the moment we had all been waiting for... the introduction of the robots.  First up was Cozmo by Anki; the cutest little robot with the ability to play games, do tricks, explore autonomously, and even learn your name.  Students learned how to use block-based code in order to program Cozmo to move around in shapes, talk to other students, demonstrate emotions, and complete various tasks.  The clear fan favorite though was programming Cozmo to have the most adorable temper tantrum imaginable.

After the Cozmos were well loved and explored, Elias brought out the big guns... the Sphero Astro-Droids, R2D2 and R2Q5.  Students engaged with the Sphero Star Wars app to move the droids around the room and enable them to perform various emotions and mini-scenes from the movies.  As you can probably imagine, these were a big hit as well.

The final robot we met was a talkative little guy named Max from Meccano.  Max loves to dance so we turned out the lights, turned up the music, and let him loose to bust a move!

By the end of each one hour session (there were three of them), students had programmed a robot, written at least one line of code, and had the time of their lives.  Even some of our teachers got in on the fun.  We can't thank Elias enough for coming to our classroom and we hope to see him, and his robots, again soon!