Schools
East Islip HS Tech Students Push The Robotics Envelope
Student groups had six weeks to design, build and test a robot.
Press release from East Islip School District:
Feb. 22, 2021
East Islip High School’s robotics classes recently completed a multi-day tournament with their newly constructed VEX Swept Away game robots, guided by technology teacher James Connell.
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The student groups had six weeks to design, build and test their robots prior to the competition, which is designed to help introductory robotics students learn about competition robotics.
This year presented some interesting challenges, as many of the students were part of the district’s hybrid model of instruction. This meant that they were only constructing their robots for half the week while studying and learning robotics theory – such as gear ratios, electronics and chassis design – for the second half. Since the school has been utilizing Google Classroom for the entire year, the matches were recorded and posted on class Google streams with daily results so that students could rewatch, study and analyze their teams’ victories and losses. This proved to be an asset for the students in designing and creating the best competition robots possible.
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East Islip Middle School technology education students were also invited to watch and study some of the matches live via Google Classroom, to help make them more familiar with the high school’s robotics program.
The high school’s robotics students will be studying programming next, so that they can design and create new robots that can drive autonomously for a forthcoming new modified game.
“This year’s robotics classes really pushed the envelope and made excellent competition robots,” Connell said. “I’ve never seen top performances like this before and I’m looking forward to seeing what they will come up with next.”
“As a person who has a very serious interest in a career in robotic engineering, I feel like this class has provided me with a good start on that path,” said high schooler Kaitlyn McCall. “Competing against my peers and having my robot perform at such a high level was an amazing experience.”
This press release was produced by East Islip School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.
