COE partners with South Korean educational robotics company
Educational robotics is a growing field with the potential to significantly impact the nature of learning science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM) in K-12 school environments.
With the demand for STEM education increasing in today's workforce, the University of Georgia College of Education's Department of Career and Information Studies has established a partnership with Roborobo Co., Ltd., one of the leading robotics education companies in South Korea.
The partnership will bring Roborobo's robotics kits and education programs to the United States for the first time, according to Ikseon Choi, an associate professor in learning design and technology who is leading the project.
The UGA Educational Technology Center (ETC), based in the College of Education, will be the hub for this collaboration and its staff will deliver educational robotics workshops for area K-12 teachers, students and parents.
Roborobo representatives will visit UGA from March 30-April 4 to participate in an initial series of workshops, demonstrations and meetings. They will host a demonstration of their product for COE faculty on Monday, March 31 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 319 of Aderhold Hall. All interested faculty are invited to attend.
Along with Roborobo, the ETC will lead a free Robotics Teacher Workshop for area K-12 teachers on Wednesday, April 2 from 8 a.m. to noon at River's Crossing, Room 143. Teachers will gain hands-on experience in assembling and programming robots.
As a gesture of commitment to the partnership, Roborobo has already donated $4,000 in robotics kits to UGA. The company will donate an additional $19,500 worth of kits when they visit to be used by UGA, the ETC and local schools.
With underpinnings in the pedagogical theory of constructionism, which is learning when we make or tinker with an object, educational robotics provides opportunities for students to think more deeply and allows them to relate their problem-solving strategies to real-world contexts. Robotics education often includes assembling robots according to plans or to one's own design. Students then program their robots to perform specific tasks. There are even student robotics competitions in which the best design and performance wins.
It is the vision of Roborobo, Choi and the ETC to grow robotics education, including the development of national and international competitions in the U.S., beginning with Georgia.
The ETC has a staff of four educational technology professionals working with school districts in the region and throughout Georgia to provide professional learning, consulting and service for educators to promote the use of technology in support of teaching, learning and leadership. For more information, contact: Emily Hodge, UGA Educational Technology Center at 706-542-0240.