Robotics
To educate more engineers pupils may need some encouragement. Robotics seem a sensible choice.
Virtual robotics
A combination of LEGO Digital Designer and Lego Mindstorms [1] could allow to design and program virtual robots.
An interesting goal for expert users (e.g. to pass an exam) could be to create a factory that built other robots.
Robotics Mentoring
A limited number of actual hardware robots could create motivation (through "artificial" scarcity) for pupils to want to be allowed to work with the hardware robots. Robot games like Robot Odyssey [2] could be used as qualification and for mentoring purposes: Pupils are motivated to solve the game as qualification, as entertainment and because a mentor offers support and encouragement in solving the puzzles in the game. A mentor would probably need guidance in how to help a pupil to solve puzzles him - or herself, not through solutions given by the mentor. A Journal entry stating that the game had been solved could be required to run the software that allowed to program actual robots.
References
- ^ Lego Mindstorms, LEGO Digital Designer
- ^ Robot Odyssey - A 1984 TRS-80 Color Computer robot programming game from The Learning Company (Java Version DroidQuest is free for personal or educational uses)
External links
- Fischertechnik Robotics
- ASURO - 50 € robot from DLR School Lab (German Wikipedia), English: arexx.com
- CeeBot, ColoBot - Robotics games