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Lesson ideas and teaching resources to introduce your class to the fascinating world of robotics. Photograph: Alamy
Lesson ideas and teaching resources to introduce your class to the fascinating world of robotics. Photograph: Alamy

How to teach … robotics

This article is more than 8 years old

Design a mechanical arm, explore robots in space and debate whether machines can be creative. Here’s how to give your robotics lessons the kick of life

Students making mechanical arms and watching motorised vehicles whiz across the surface of distant planets can mean only one thing: robotics lessons.

The topic, a relatively new addition to the design and technology curriculum, was introduced last year to prepare more young people for jobs in engineering and to combat a major skills shortage in this area.

So, ahead of the new teaching term – and to inspire future engineers and computer scientists – here are some fun ideas ideas for giving your robotics lessons the kick of life.

Primary schools

What do your primary students already know about robotics? Find out by asking them to draw a picture of what a robot looks like. As a class, talk about what these robots can do and how they might move. Do a lot of the robots look like metal humans? Use this lesson plan to introduce the idea that there are many different types of robot. If students designed one to help with an everyday task, what would it be like?

Far from doing the washing up, in reality robots are used to explore planets in the solar system. With this in mind, Nasa has created a collection of activities about how robots have been used on its missions to Mars. This activity simulates a robotic exploration in which students have to identify what has been hidden inside a bag, while this activity looks at data gathered by two robot rovers called Spirit and Opportunity. Students can also watch Nasa’s Robonaut 2 use its robotic hand in this video clip.

Students may now like to have a go at making their own using card, straws and elastic bands. What could a real robotic hand be used for? Students can draw a picture or write down their ideas.

Experiment with telling a robot what to do by using a programmable toy such as a Roamer, Pro-Bot or Bee-Bot as described in this activity by Barefoot Computing. The focus is on allowing students to tinker with the device to find out how it works, what it does and how it can be used. If you don’t have a floor robot, use these “Fake-Bot” templates to help students rehearse a sequence of programmed moves. Can they guide their robot through an obstacle course using a list of simple directional instructions that cannot be changed once the robot has set off?

Explore programming further with upper primary pupils by using this activity to create a 2D robot made of card. The aim is for students to understand how commands are translated into code. A slightly more complex version of the activity involves making a 3D robot face that reacts to different sounds.

To get pupils across the whole primary curriculum thinking about robotics, get them moving like robots in drama, or designing costumes for a robot parade in art. In English class, read The Iron Man, by Ted Hughes, and ask the class to analyse the robot illustrations that accompany the poem. You could also watch The Iron Giant, a film is based on the book, and get your students to think about which version of the story they prefer and why.

Secondary schools

Kick off your lesson for secondary students by looking at this introduction to robotics by VEX Robotics. Working in groups, encourage students to research what different robots do, who they are used by and what they look like. Can they find examples of robots that are used for good or bad? Groups can record their ideas on printable slides from this PowerPoint.

Designing and modelling a 2D robotic arm is the focus of this activity from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). Students must work in groups to design and build an arm that is capable of lifting an object with a gripper. The resource is accompanied by a presentation that explains the main parts of a robotic arm. As a homework task, students could research how robotic arms are used in industry. Is there anywhere in school or at home that robotic arms would be useful?

Other fascinating resources from the IET include this group activity about controlling a “swarm” of search and rescue robots, this lesson plan and presentation about choosing appropriate materials for robots, and this video about robotic surgery. If you want to get your students building and programming 3D robots, you might want to consider the VEX Robotics curriculum, which comes in two varieties – plastic or metal. Other VEX resources include a micro project to produce a Clawbot and a lesson about how bumper switch sensors can be used to control a robot’s movements.

After considering the construction, application and programming of robots, you might want to encourage some broader debate surrounding robotics. This animated video from TED, for example, asks if robots can be creative. Working in groups, students could research whether machines can be programmed to create high-quality works of art. If so, is it the machine or the programmer that should be credited?

Debate can also be triggered by looking at the latest news and developments around robotics. How do students feel when they see the headline: Company aims to build robots that rival humans and animals? Is this technology going too far? Can students give examples of new ways robots could be deployed in the future?

Finally, get your young charges truly inspired by encouraging them to enter a robotics competition or join one of the workshop, camps, and conferences that take place around the UK. Check out Robotevents.com for details.

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