CULLMAN, Ala. – How do you put a little something extra into your homemade Valentine’s Day card? Team up with a robot and some paint to give it a little extra design flair.
That was the approach taken by East Elementary School students in Cullman this week, as they used their robotics curriculum to make one-of-a-kind Valentine’s gifts for their teachers. Students controlled a robot with an iPad as they painted over a card for their teachers.
They placed tape down on top of a heart design, then pulled the tape off once the paint dried, with the use of a small robot students could code and control with an iPad. Homeroom classes made one card together for their teacher.
“The students were so excited, and they love it anytime I bring robotics into the classroom,” East Elementary Library Media Specialist Savannah Wood said. “It’s just a great act of kindness for their teacher, and another avenue for us to reinforce our computer science curriculum in a creative new way.”
The project also sets up some future computer science lessons, as Wood said students will be learning more about coding with ramps later in the school year. Thanks to the Valentine’s Day project, they should be a bit more familiar with the robotic tools they’ll be using.
