{"id":2390,"date":"2018-11-07T15:23:32","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T20:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emsdev.digpants.com\/?p=2390"},"modified":"2021-02-08T16:25:36","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T21:25:36","slug":"ems-students-earn-college-credit-with-robotics-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/2018\/11\/ems-students-earn-college-credit-with-robotics-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"EMS Students Earn College Credit With Robotics Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With Artificial Intelligence on the rise, Kevin Carini brings hands-on experience with robotics to Eastern Mennonite School, preparing students for the future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s going to be robots doing something in most households in the not-too-distant future,\u201dhe reflects. \u201cSomebody needs to know how to code them and fix them. That\u2019s really the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8597\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8597\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics-675x450.jpg 675w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics.jpg 1732w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8597\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Mi \u201919 in Robotics II class at EMS.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In his second year with EMS, Carini teaches dual enrolled General Chemistry, dual enrolled Robotics I and II, and STEM exploration for 7th graders. He brings with him 13 years of experience teaching high school chemistry and physics, and four summer programs of robotics training through James Madison University (JMU) under the leadership of Nick Swayne and Dr. Joseph Enedy.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to new a partnership with JMU\u2019s physics department, EMS students now have the opportunity to earn dual-enrolled credit for Carini\u2019s robotics classes. While earning credit for Robotics I and II at the high school level, eligible students can also earn college credit for JMU\u2019s ISCI-Robotics 101.<\/p>\n<p>Swayne, member of Harrisonburg City Schools\u2019 School board and Executive Director of Virginia-DC FIRST Lego League (FLL), has worked with Carini for 10 years. \u201cI am always impressed by Kevin\u2019s passion for teaching and learning and his ability to pull kids out of their comfort zone,\u201d he said. \u201cI know many of his students never imagined themselves doing robotics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFew small private schools like EMS have the capacity to recruit someone of Kevin\u2019s caliber to focus on his areas of expertise,\u201d Swayne continued. \u201cYour students are lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Three levels of Robotics study<\/h3>\n<p>Students have the opportunity to take three levels of robotics at EMS.<\/p>\n<p>En el <strong>STEM exploratory course<\/strong>, 7th graders learn about electronics through hands-on experiences building circuits, programming Lego Robots, solar cars, and eventually creating model rockets to end the school year in a bang.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Robotics I<\/strong> introduces students to robot basics: circuits, design, building, and programming on arduino boards. By January, they complete a robot that can avoid obstacles, back up, and turn. By April, they build robot arms using 3D printers and servomotors, a rotary actuator that allows for precise control of angular positoin. The class\u2019s final project uses Seaperch kits to build an underwater robot, which students will test at the JMU Recreation Center.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Robotics II<\/strong> builds on what students learn in the introductory class, expanding their application to build more complex robots, remote control cars, and microcontrollers.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Robotics II class, Eastern Mennonite School\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ds3hu722APw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really like learning how to code,\u201d says Adam Stoltzfus \u201920. \u201cIt\u2019s like learning another language.\u201d Stoltzfus built a robotic arm in Robotics II this fall (<em>video above, robotic\u00a0arm,\u00a0built in Robotics II, fall 2018<\/em>). \u201cI hope to get into Virginia Tech and major in some sort of engineering,\u201d he says. \u201cThis experience will help me to know more as I go into college.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur Robotics I class starts for beginners,\u201d Carini said. \u201cThey know nothing, I assume, or most of them don\u2019t. By the time they get to January, they have built, programmed, and wired a robot that will move around and avoid obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8596\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8596\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics2-300x232.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics2-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics2-582x450.jpg 582w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics2-768x594.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics2-1024x792.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robotics2.jpg 1608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8596\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lleyton Stutzman \u201921 built these robotic arms<br \/>controlled with Arduinos, a circuit board that can\u00a0be used to control motors, sensors, and more.\u00a0\u201cI constructed it with masonite, wood, a 3-D\u00a0printed claw, and servo motors for the moving\u00a0parts,\u201d he says. \u201cOverall I am happy with my end\u00a0result, but the claw is too weak to pick up anything.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Because both classes are project-based, Carini can teach Robotics I and II at the same time. This allows students to learn from their peers, which he says \u201chelps to scaffold students to higher levels of understanding.\u201d By observing their Robotics II classmates, beginner robotics students can see potential in their own growth and aspire to the same projects next year.<\/p>\n<p>In October, Carini secured a $650 4-VA grant towards the purchase of two 3D Flash Ford Finder printers for the Robotics Makerspace. Part of the grant requires collaboration with the local Harrisonburg City Public Schools, which will give EMS and HCPS students new opportunities to learn through each school\u2019s STEM activities.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8586\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8586\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8586\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Robotics_class_at_JMU-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Robotics_class_at_JMU-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Robotics_class_at_JMU-610x450.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Robotics_class_at_JMU-768x567.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Robotics_class_at_JMU-1024x756.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Robotics_class_at_JMU.jpg 1646w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8586\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kevin Carini, front right, took Robotics II students\u00a0to JMU earlier this fall to visit their 3D printer lab.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The printers move the school\u2019s STEM and Robotics initiative closer to a completed makerspace, something Carini says he is \u201csuper excited\u201d to be a part of.<\/p>\n<p>A makerspace is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public\/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools, according to makerspace.com. In educational settings, \u201ca makerspace presents readily-available materials that can act as a provocation for inquiry, as well as modern technology and items\u201d with which to invent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 3D printers arrived at EMS on October 16. Students immediatley excitedly put them to work making their first tester cube.<\/p>\n<p>Carini\u2019s excitement in the classroom is contagious and students pick up on that enthusiasm, developing passion and desire to learn more about all the subjects he teachers. \u201cThe reason I do it is because I enjoy it. I just want to share my enthusiasm with my students,\u201d Carini said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe passion and energy of our science teachers for their subjects is a school-wide trait of all of our teachers,\u201d said Patsy Seitz, director of academics for EMS. \u201cWe know our students will experience academic excellence in all of our classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Opportunities ahead<\/h3>\n<p>Upcoming opportunities for robotics students include attending lectures at JMU, FIRST Lego League (FLL) in December, and FIRST Technology Challenge (FTC) spring semester. Beginning in January, the FTC group will meet after school to work on completing this year\u2019s mission: simulating a rover landing and mining on Mars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast year we got dead last,\u201d Carini said of the FTC competition, \u201cbut that\u2019s okay for being rookies. The only way to go from here is up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carini keeps looking up, hoping to introduce more STEM courses to EMS in the near future. New offerings would include Robotics III, Advanced Placement Computer Science, and a coding class for students to learn programming languages like Java.<\/p>\n<p>He also wants to fully convert the shop classroom to a Makerspace and soldering area for robotic creations, as well as expanding robotics curriculum to the elementary school level, providing EMS students of all ages with creative spaces to engage technology.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Artificial Intelligence on the rise, Kevin Carini brings hands-on experience with robotics to Eastern Mennonite School, preparing students for the future. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be robots doing something in most households in the not-too-distant future,\u201dhe reflects. \u201cSomebody needs to know how to code them and fix them. That\u2019s really the future.\u201d In his second\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[27,28,19],"class_list":["post-2390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","tag-carini","tag-robotics","tag-stem"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2390"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}