Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics & Internet of Things (IoT)
Teaching students how to thrive in an interconnected and automated world, and to excel in seeking opportunities and decision-making through the use of technologies.
To explain why we should teach children how to program robots and IoT in schools, we first need to understand what they are.
What is Robotics?
A robot is a mechanical device that can be programmed to follow a set of instructions. The robot has a processing unit, sensors to perceive its environment, and motors and actuators to move its limbs or wheels. It may speak, make other sounds, or flash with lights and colors in response to the environment as per instructions.
Robots need the ability to follow programmed instructions and not just be controlled remotely.
What is IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet.
IoT enables human-to-human, machine-to-machine, and human-to-machine interactions that will shape how smart devices and vehicles will operate in the near future.
Robots and IoT are no longer confined to factories and research laboratories. Advancements in computing technologies, AI, materials etc. have all changed the way automation and decision making can be performed in public areas, at home, in school and at the workplace. This requires a much wider part of the society, especially young children, to become aware of how robots are made and can be controlled, and how they are part of systems where other technologies co-exist – such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IOT).
Technology is critical for innovation, yet schools struggle to get students interested in this area. There is considerable anecdotal evidence that students respond well in subjects involving programming of robots. This is because:
- Children find it fun
- It is an effective way of introducing programming to students
- It provides skills useful in future employment
- It is suitable for children with a range of abilities
- It demystifies complex technologies (eg. IOT, AI)
Education therefore plays a fundamental role. St Uriel Education‘s panel of educators and experts have carefully selected industry leading partners and crafted lesson plans that promotes highly-accessible and multidisciplinary education programs for students and professionals.
An investment by the school, educators, parents and students to learn robotics comes from hard earned money. Apart from top grade curriculum and lesson plans, St Uriel Education carefully select vendors based on the following stringent criteria:
- Robot’s design must allow the teaching of multidisciplinary knowledge.
- Robot is designed to withstand the rigors of extended periods of training.
- Robot comes with high quality software applications that is easy to understand, yet powerful enough to showcase the mechanical, electrical, electronic, computing capabilities of the robots.
- Robot and its related software or accessories must be built with safety and security features in mind. The manufacturer must have security policies and procedures in place to prevent interconnected robots from being hacked or identity of students being disclosed to unauthorized third parties.
- The manufacturer must have good service support, and knowledgeable support team.
- The manufacturer must have a proven track record of designing and developing innovative, educational robots.
St. Uriel Education provides our resellers and partners with the Edtech robots, software and curriculum to train Young Roboticists from as young as 5 years old!
Roboticists are generally involved in the design, programming, construction, and testing of robots. They can work on any stage of development, from creating software to building hardware and troubleshooting the finished product. It’s not necessary to have in-depth knowledge of every stage, however. For Young Roboticists, you get to learn coding and getting the robots to behave at your command!
The multidisciplinary nature of robotics makes teamwork essential. Hence we organize the R2T2 Asia Challenge together with R2T2-Collaboration to enhance the application of knowledge through teamwork.
St. Uriel Education also provides training for educators who want to be Certified Trainers – learning to develop robotics lesson plans, and who also wants to be part of the team at St. Uriel Education that provides international and local training to schools.
