As they go through their school years in North Bellmore, students get to explore many different kinds of robots as part of the district’s vibrant computer science program. Recently, kindergartners at Saw Mill Road Elementary School not only had an introduction to robotics, but they had some experts to help.

The youngsters gathered in the computer science room to work with Blue-Bots. The floor robots can be simply programmed by pushing buttons on the top to create an algorithm, giving it rules to follow. The moves were simple – forward, backward, right turn and left turn.

Helping them out were sixth grade tech buddies, who have used many different types of robots over the past several years and are familiar with more advanced levels of computer programming. They helped their kindergarten buddies program the Blue-Bots to get from the starting point to an end point on floor mats. Together, they mapped out the planned moves using directional cards before running the program.

“It’s very important for students to learn from each other,” computer science teacher Cathy Schlaich said. “They need to talk to each other to solve problems.”

Ms. Schlaich explained that the activity taught students many lessons that can be applied beyond robotics, such as collaboration, critical thinking and perseverance. She emphasized the value of trial and error, reminding students that if the robot’s program wasn't correct the first time, they should go back and do it again.

Click here to view the photo slideshow.

Date Added: 5/8/2024