Eighth Graders Put Robot Creations to the Test

The engineers of the future are getting a leg up at Seaford Middle School, where robotics is a core component of eighth grade technology classes. Students have been taking on progressively harder tasks, but the tech-savvy generation has consistently been up to the challenge. 

Most recently, eighth graders were working with VEX IQ Education kits to build robots that could pick up and move cubes within the field. This was the first challenge of their year in which they programmed their robots to move without use of a remote control to drive them. Students relied on writing code correctly for the task to be successful. 

Technology education teacher Gregory Broas said that students started the year by building basic robots from a kit, before making their own enhancements. They learned how to program their robots using VEXcode Blocks, a drag-and-drop platform that is based on the Python coding language. Students then began some simple driving challenges.  

With their knowledge of robotics growing, it was time to add claws to their robots for the cube challenge. After writing the code, students watched intently to see if the programming was correct as the robots moved through the field to grab and move blocks. The next task will require programming the robots to only pick up cubes of a specific color.