The STEAM Engine Rolls On: Spheros for Coding and Creativity

(MENAFNEditorial) The STEAM Engine Rolls On: Spheros for Coding and Creativity My students need Sphero Robots and tablet devices to operate them with. My Students

My students are from a diverse suburb in Birmingham, Alabama. Students at our school come from a myriad of races, ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, family makeups, ability levels, religions, native languages, and so on. We truly are a melting pot, and I am overjoyed at the amount of diversity among my students. We are a 4-5th grade intermediate school serving approximately 750 students each year.

My students have grit, perseverance, and an enthusiasm for learning that is unstoppable!

They approach new learning tasks with determination and are ready for a challenge. They love being engaged in tasks which require collaboration and allow for creative freedom. They are funny and kind, respectful and a joy to be around. In short, my students ROCK and I am lucky to be their teacher!

S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics education) plays a vital role in today's classroom. This project uses Sphero robots and Fire tablets to pack all of the S.T.E.A.M. elements in one powerful punch! Sphero Robots are amazing, engaging devices for inspiring creativity and curiosity while teaching the concepts of coding and programming - skills which are highly relevant and necessary in the 21st Century. Amazon Fire tablets have a myriad of uses and will be utilized above and beyond the scope of this project; but, for this project they will be used primarily to run various apps, including the SPRK Lightning Lab educational app and Sphero EDU app. These apps allow students to code and program the Spheros to complete a variety of tasks from beginner to advanced level, reaching students of all abilities! They also allow students the opportunity to collaborate with their peers across the globe, encouraging cross-cultural connections and creating a greater sense of being a global citizen.

By donating to this project, you will open up endless opportunities for students to discover how to think critically and problem solve, code and program, all while having FUN, expressing creativity, and being a "KID!"

The project materials will be used in the general classroom as well as in my after-school Team M.A.R.S. (Missions in Aeronautics, Rocketry/Robotics, and Space) class. Students will engage in a variety of learning tasks involving the Spheros and tablets, all of which incorporate S.T.E.A.M. education. Students will learn to code and program, conduct experiments utilizing the robots, track data, and write reports on their experiences. They will encounter challenges and be given missions to complete using critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving skills. They will be allowed creative time to use the Spheros and tablets in artistic ways. The opportunities are truly limitless!

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Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose.org reach more classrooms

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