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WELCOME
Programmed Robotics in the School Makerspace (PRISM) is a project funded by the Burroughs-Wellcome Fund's Student Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) (2020-2022) with a grant to North Carolina State University's Colleges of Education and Sciences. The project trains 16 student and 8 teacher leaders from 8 middle/high schools per year at summer institutes on 4 targeted programmed robotics platforms that are popular in makerspaces (Cubelets, Sphero RVR, mBot, LEGO EV3). Four NC counties are targeted (Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba), but educators in neighboring counties are also welcome to apply (Iredell, Lincoln, McDowell, Wilkes). Training is intended to seed or expand maker clubs in schools with further students engaged in robotics challenges the year following training. The project introduces students to related STEM college and career tracks through industry experts associated with the NC Center for Engineering Technologies (NCCET) (spring field trip). |
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PROJECT RATIONALE
STEM career opportunities in the Piedmont Unifour region include the heavily mechanized manufacturing industry (over 425 manufacturers) and new data centers in the NC data center corridor. While mechanization has reduced some jobs, new career opportunities have emerged for those who can install, troubleshoot, and program robotics, and who can program servers and manage data. It is important for students to know how to work with robotics, as recent reports indicate they will increasingly be found in the workplace and replace as many as 800 million jobs by 2030. Hence, this project trains students and teachers to work with programmed robotics platforms in particular that are common to maker clubs and that can be merged with probeware for data collection/analysis, providing students with exposure to related engineering technology and computer science in preparation for work in these sectors. |
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PROJECT LEADERS
Project leaders include Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Kevin Oliver (Professor of Learning Design & Technology, NC State College of Education), Co-PI Regina Barrier (Director Northwest Office, Science House, NC State College of Sciences), and Co-PI Dr. Parks Newby (Teaching Assistant Professor, Technology Education, NC State College of Education).
Project leaders include Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Kevin Oliver (Professor of Learning Design & Technology, NC State College of Education), Co-PI Regina Barrier (Director Northwest Office, Science House, NC State College of Sciences), and Co-PI Dr. Parks Newby (Teaching Assistant Professor, Technology Education, NC State College of Education).