Robotics, programming, and other STEM-related skills are rapidly replacing conventional and manual jobs. The relevance of digital skills in the 21st century cannot be exaggerated, as a significant percentage of emerging jobs require digital and technical skills. This is why everyone must learn a digital skill to stay relevant, not only in their careers but in other aspects of the society as well,
Young kids and teenagers are not left out of the web, as many tech companies have created an opportunity for them to learn these digital and STEM skills to meet up and even surpass the demands of the 21st century. Kids should be the primary targets of this emerging and booming technical world, because the future is purely tech, and kids need to be equipped with these skills to adequately prepare them for the future.
Robotics for high school students offers them the opportunity to learn real-world robotics. Asides from robotics, students will also acquire computer skills, programming, technical, engineering, and Math skills, all of which are relevant in today’s world. Many structured robotics programs and curricula for high schoolers comprise complex projects and activities that equip them with real-world robotics. This article accentuates everything you need to know about robotics in high school, as well as the curriculum and programs for high school robotics.
All About Robotics for Teens
Robotics for teens typically equip kids with math and science skills. It also serves as a motivation for students who want to build a career in engineering and robotics. High schoolers will also engage in complex projects that build their critical thinking and prepare them for college life. Unlike robotics for elementary and middle school, students at the high school will engage in complex coding projects that will test their programming, problem-solving, robotics, and technical skills. Each learning stage is an intentional effort to expose kids to the rudiments of robotics, electronics, and STEM.
Using sensors, micro:bits, microcontrollers, ports, inductors, motors, sensors, transistors, etc., high schoolers will learn the rudiments of advanced robotics and building robots. Beyond the practical aspect, students at the high school should understand the various laws and components behind the making of a robot. For instance, high schoolers should be able to define, compare, and apply various scholarly stances on robotics and engineering, e.g. analog and digital signals for robots, Watt’s law, Kirchhoff’s law, binary numbers, electronic circuits, and many more.
Robotics in high school is also a benchmark for students’ progress in other academic and non-academic fields, including science, math, engineering, and electronics. They will engage in robotic group competitions, where they can share ideas as a team and create a physical robotic project. The best way to teach robotics to high school students is to get them familiar with the basic and advanced components of a robot, as well as their functions. There are several robotic kits aimed at teaching students all about robotic components, their uses, and a guide on how to build a functioning robot.
In addition, students at the high school need basic supervision from teachers. At this stage, they understand independence and can think critically and independently to solve problems. So, teachers should endeavor to allow their students to get creative and wow them with amazing robotic projects, while they offer basic supervision. High school robotics is complex but fun and easy to learn!
All About Robotics for Teens
Teens, who are aged 12 and above, have surpassed their formative age, and learning at this stage builds upon the knowledge they have garnered since they were kindergartens. The majority of teenagers are computer experts; you’d be surprised to discover that they are even more computer and digitally literate than most adults. This, however, does not necessarily mean that teens have to be amateurs or experts at robotics and programming.
Not every teen had the opportunity to begin learning robotics at a young age; some of them might be new to the concept of building robots, programming, and engineering. There is no age limit to when a person should start learning robotics and programming- anyone, including adults, can code. It is quite easy to teach robotics to teens because teens are independent thinkers who have learned the art of problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork.
Things to Know about Teaching Teens Robotics
There are certain things to focus on for robotics in high school. They include:
Robot Construction
High school robotics concentrates largely on robotic features, components, and construction. Students will learn how to build solar robots, dancing robots, unicorn robots, and many other great robots.
Robotic Terms and Components
High schoolers will also learn how to install sensors, motors, and microcontrollers to develop their engineering skills. They will also master various simple and complex robotic components, as well as how to control them. The basics of building a robot involve how to make it move and perform simple functions like jump, hand-shake, turn around, run, avoid obstacles, etc., all of which will form the foundation for bigger and more complex tasks.
Robotic Theories
Beyond solving a problem, high school students will also solve contextual questions by citing previous scholars and theories on the subject. They should be able to draw ideas from different sources, collate them, and come up with their own objective views. The same applies to robotics; high schoolers are expected to learn certain robotic-related laws, such as Watt’s laws, Kirchhoff’s voltage law, and ohm’s laws, among others.
Programming
Beyond robotics and engineering, high schoolers must learn to program. For beginners, block coding is recommended, and kids who have experience with coding can use text-based programming languages.
Programs and Robotic Kits for High School Robotics
Robotics Summer Camp
The robotics summer camp for high school students is aimed at students in the 9th-12th grade. Kids can come together to build a chassis in the form of a skeleton robot with wheels and gears. They will learn about motors and sensors, as well as how to control the robot. The robot will be able to avoid obstacles and increase its speed at given commands.
Robot design, engineering, electronics, and programming are some of the things kids will learn from the summer camp. To mark the end of the camp, each team will have their robot tested with multiple challenges, including transportation and terrain challenges. There will also be a presentation challenge where team members will discuss the design and mechanisms of their robot.
The robotic summer camp builds computational thinking, creativity, teamwork, engineering, robotics, and programming skills in teens.
Misty Robot
With the Misty robot, robotics in high school just got super interesting! The Misty robot is an advanced robot with visual processing tools and components. The robot is mobile and can interact with humans. The misty robot also creates room for growth in students, as they can always extend its functionality.
High schoolers who do not know robotics can begin with the Misty robot, as it uses visual programming language. Students can also use text-based programming languages like C# and Python. With misty, students can focus on the elements and rudiments surrounding the making of the robot.
Kiddwill 13-in-1 Educational Robotic Kit for teens
High school students can create up to 13 different dimensions with the Kiddwill robot, including a zombie chaser, walking crab, running beetle, and surfer. It is a DIY kit with guidelines for kids to build at home or with their friends. The robot consists of certain features that make it water-friendly, which means it can conveniently move on water.
Kiddwill is a solar-powered robot and teens will learn the mechanisms behind this innovation. Kiddwill is STEM-inspired and gives kids the opportunity to get creative, brainstorm, and create an amazing robot while having fun!
Sphero Bolt Coding Robot
Sphero coding robot is an advanced robotic ball equipped with a quick start guide, programmable sensors, a home-learning guide, and a colorful LED. The STEM coding robot is suitable for teens and kids from the ages of 8 and above. Teens can engage in multiple games and activities, plus they can create new games with the Sphero ball.
In addition, high schoolers can learn how to program the robot with blocks or Javascript, using the Sphero Edu app.
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EngageK12
High school students can learn all about designing, engineering, science, arts, electronics, technology, architecture, and many more. EngageK12 is a combination of over 100 robotic courses for kids in kindergarten, middle, and high school.
Teens can browse through the robotic STEM courses available for them and explore as many as they want!
Frequently Asked Questions
High school robotics focuses on robotics components, as well as how to create a functioning robot from scratch. Robotic projects for teens are complex and require a deep knowledge of robotic elements, including sensors, LEDs, motors, etc. High schoolers will also learn the importance of teamwork, independent thinking, and computational thinking, among others.
The various structured robotics programs and curricula for kids enable all kids, including kindergartens to have access to robotic lessons and toys/kits. Our article on robotics for elementary school kids and robotics for middle school provides deep insights on how to teach robotics to kids across these levels.
Depends on your age and level of expertise. Online robotic courses are categorized into age grades and types. You have to select a course based on your grade. Programmable robots for kids, however, are considered one of the best online curricula for kids to learn robotics, programming, and STEM.
More Inspiration for Robotics for Kids
- Easy Robotics Projects for Kids
- Why Kids Should Learn Robotics
- Robotics for Elementary School Students
- Robotics for Middle School Students
- Robotics for High School Students
- Programmable Robots for Kids
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