Programming Robots for Educators: A Hands-on Workshop with LEGO Mindstorms EV3

Who should attend? Educators who are currently using or planning to use LEGO Mindstorms Ev3 robotics to teach computer programming concepts in their classes. Mindstorms are aimed at middle school- level and up.

What will I learn? Participants in this workshop will build skills in programming, including different data flow controls using outputs (motors, lights and sounds) and using inputs (up to four types of sensors and also buttons) from the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 materials. After a short introduction, participants will be able to work at their own pace and try various short projects of their choosing.

Who is leading the workshop? Cathy Helgoe, senior project manager, Creative Research & Development at LEGO Education, will lead the workshop. Cathy develops learning materials and has been involved with robotics projects for many grade levels for many years.

Do I need to bring my own robotics kit and/or laptop? No. We will provide loaner kits and laptops with Ev3 software for up to 20 educators to use during the workshop. If you have your own Ev3 kit and laptop with software, please bring it to use, thus allowing more educators to participate.

Can I bring my LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit? The workshop will focus on programming with Ev3 kits, rather than the older NXT models.

Will this workshop help me to teach Unit 6 of Exploring Computer Science? This hands-on workshop offers the opportunity to become familiar with programming the Ev3 robots. The workshop is not curriculum-specific, however, and is open to educators beyond ECS teachers. ECS teachers should also plan to attend their Unit 6 Workshop on April 9.

Can I bring my child/student to the workshop? The workshop is designed for educators and will focus on programming and educator strategies for teaching computing concepts. For opportunities for youth, check out:

http://caite.cs.umass.edu/students/FallOpsStudents2015.html

http://holyokecodes.org

Schedule:

8:45 - Check in, coffee

9 - 12 noon workshop

Parking at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center is convenient and free.

FAQs

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Please email caite@cs.umass.edu.

Can I update my registration information?

Yes.

Programming Robots for Educators Workshop