Lego Robotics- MNCPPC Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Center (South Tech Rec)

Do you have an aspiring Scientist or Engineer between 8 and 14 living in your house, eating your food, and growing like a weed on your resources? Its probably time to start teaching them to fish on their own, so that they can migrate away from your payroll into a financial independence. I am teaching two courses starting this March that use Lego Robotics as a context for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning. The two course are offered on Saturday with the sole purpose of learning to think, team, and decide like Scientists and Engineers. I will be using an experiential education -- Do, Reflect, and Apply -- approach as I facilitate STEM competence development. Lego Workshop NXT Robotics courses start on March 1 and run for 4 consecutive weeks at 7007 Bock Road, Fort Washington, MD 20772. Please register online using SMARTLINK using the following barcodes. Registration opened on February 18 for these courses. Register early since space is limited to the first fourteen student learners per class. 

You are probably thinking that you are the harried family already. Adding this one would not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Recreational learning with us will get everyone off the couch on Saturday morning. Showing our children with our actions that they are important while going to the GYM or STEM together will leave a lasting impression. Increasing the family’s physical activity and mental stimulation with South Tech Rec instructors, managers, and staff might be the missing element your looking for where mom and dad can connect with their son(s) and daughter(s) through activity partnerships.

One stop activity central alternatives for consideration: Families with multiple children, do not worry what you’re gonna do with two hour blocks of free time. MNCPPC Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Center (South Tech Rec) is a recreational learning complex where learning is fun. MNCPPC Department of Parks & Recreation collocated with the Technology elements of South Tech Rec four side-by-side basketball courts, an elevated walking track, a large cardio exercise area, circuit training equipment, a teen only exercise area, an aerobics dance room, and so much more. On the Technology side, parents and other family members are welcome to use the Cyber Café’s free, social-media friendly, Wifi access point. South Tech Rec is a multi-media paradise with similar classes in Chemistry for Kids, Lego Play, Math Tutoring, Science Exploration, Science Discovery, Computer Skills for Seniors, and Video Production. On the Recreation side, patrons registered in SMARTLINK with ID cards that are 17 and under are authorized to use portions of the Recreational exercise area at no charge -- including a state of the art -- Teen Fitness area (Sorry no Adults Allowed). Zumba, Martial Arts, and other classes require a modest fee that can be discussed with front desk staff prior to registration. The four story Rock Climbing Wall is now open for patron use for a nominal fee. 

Recreational-Learning Instructional approach: Two Saturday Lego Robotics classes will leverage experiences leading to learning that will dwell on activities long enough for youth patrons to see patterns of observations, generalize from their own observations, and understand how to use these observations again in a new situation in the same way Scientists and Engineers learn.  Beginning and intermediate will be challenged through guided activities where they will be given age-appropriate challenges that will require them to team with classmates. They will experience activities by performing Lego design and construction activities. In the classroom dynamics, they will be given the opportunity to share (in their own words) what they observed. I will discuss what are the most important and common themes from individual approaches pointing them toward competence in individual lesson topics. Patrons would then generalize from the group’s experiences by relating the activities to their daily lives and how to apply to new situations.

Who am I? I am a recreational instructor that is facilitating STEM youth development through Lego NXT design, construction, programming, and testing at the Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Center (South Tech Rec) in Fort Washington, Maryland. My supervisor - Ms Shante Stokes - has offered these courses each of the last three sessions, but has only had community interest in the beginners course thus far. Now that there have been about twenty-five graduates of the beginners class, there is room for an intermediate offering as well. If you have participated with a club and competed in a FIRST Lego League (FLL) competition, then this course is designed with you in mind. These courses will allow you to connect with like minded competitors in your community to enhance your project-based learning skills and sharpen your teaming abilities.

Course summaries:

(1) Youth patrons age 8 to 14 without Lego NXT experience in a club, FIRST Lego League competition, or without Labview programming experience should start with BEGINEERS level. Register with SMARTLINK Barcode 1401672 for four-week course that starts on Saturday, March 1 from 9am to 11am. The title of the course is “Lego Workshop NXT Robotics, Beginner's Level, age 8 to 14. I will facilitate experiential learning in a high tech classroom equipped with a SMARTBOARD linked to a Windows laptop. Project teams are not expected to bring their own Lego NXT robot to class. Patrons will use South Tech Rec provided Robots powered by our Lego battery packs connected to Labview programming software installed on Windows computers. The cost is $70 for residents and $84 for non-residents. By the end of the course, youth patrons should be familiar with Lego construction components, understand how to assemble simple NXT robots, and how to program the Lego brick to move while completing simple tasks. Students will have the opportunity to think like scientists and engineers in the sessions. It would be useful for patrons to journal their learning using a small 1-inch three 3 ring binder for handouts and notes. A personal 2GB flashdrive exclusively for Robotics programming might be useful for students that want to retain their custom programming after the four week course ends. 

(2) Youth patrons age 8 to 14 with Lego building and programming, FIRST Lego League competition, or Labview programming competence are invited to register for INTERMEDIATE level. Register with SMARTLINK Barcode 1401817 for four-week course that starts on Saturday, March 1 from 2pm to 4pm. The title of the course is “Lego Workshop NXT Robotics, Intermediate Level, age 8 to 14. I will facilitate experiential learning in a high tech classroom equipped with a SMARTBOARD linked to a Windows laptop. Project teams are not expected to bring their own Lego NXT robot to class. Patrons will use South Tech Rec provided Robots powered by our Lego battery packs connected to Labview programming software installed on Windows computers. The cost is $70 for residents and $84 for non-residents. By the end of the course, youth patrons should be familiar with Lego construction components, understand how to assemble simple NXT robots, and how to program the Lego brick to move while completing simple tasks. Students will have the opportunity to think like scientists and engineers in the sessions. It would be useful for patrons to journal their learning using a small 1-inch three 3 ring binder for handouts and notes. A personal 2GB flashdrive exclusively for Robotics programming might be useful for students that want to retain their custom programming after the four week course ends. 

In closing, I look forward to facilitating these courses for students 8 to 14 with our technology assistants. If you have experience as a parent that could complement experiential learning in Robotics in this 4 week period, then contact me at SouthTechRec@aol.com (email). If you have students 10 to 16 with FIRST Lego League competitive experience that could complement a demonstration day, then also contact me at SouthTechRec@aol.com.  

John Edwards