COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (AP) - If at first you don’t succeed, reprogram and try again.
It is a message known all too well by seventh- and eighth-grade students in Stephen Larson’s computer programming course at St. John’s Preparatory School, the St. Cloud Times (https://on.sctimes.com/2gkdCHa ) reported.
Larson, who has spent the past five years at St. John’s Prep, has encouraged his students in the trial and error art of computer programming and robotics.
“I think technology is helping kids understand programming quicker and faster,” he said. “And more kids are becoming involved as it becomes easier to do.”
Over the course of a semester, Larson’s students learn the basics behind programming language on iPads before applying their skills to programming Arduino robotic units.
It’s a basic skill St. John’s Prep senior Nathan Bromanhas been perfecting for the past several years.
“I actually started working with the Arduinos four years ago,” Broman, 17, said. “It was my first experience with coding.”
At about $85 per kit, the Arduino units are composed of a breadboard, resistors, switches, buzzers and LED lights that allow students to create a variety of projects powered by computer coding. Those projects include things like the “Love-O-Meter,” - a system that lights up based on temperature - or one modeled after the Magic 8 Ball - a system that provides simple phrases randomly displayed.
Donations from parents have funded the purchase of many of the Arduino units, said Jill Pauly, St. John’s Prep’s director of communications and events.
It is an investment parent volunteer Glenn Holt has seen pay off in the classroom.
“It’s really encouraging,” Holt said. “They grab their computer, fire up the software, type in the commands, compile the data, see if there are any errors and upload it.”
Holt said having the kids understand the basics behind programming is wonderful. But before the Arduino units, it was somewhat limited.
“These kids are just so excited to get their hands on the Arduinos,” he said. “When they first started working with them they were pretty hesitant. But now they are asking much better and challenging questions. And they are learning even more about programming.”
That was part of the reason 13-year-old Bryan Meyer decided to take the elective course.
“I decided to take it because I have a fascination with robotics,” he said.
One of Meyer’s final projects was to design coding for the Arduino unit to power a small fan.
“Bryan is really a coder,” Larson said. “He has taken this and run with it. And he’s built some good interactive projects.”
Custom interactive projects was a goal 14-year-olds Keegan Lembcke and Jeremiah Weber had in mind for their project.
Working on the Magic 8 Ball project, the two adjusted the wording to display phrases they could relate to.
“We modified it to say stuff from one of our favorite games,” Lembcke said. “We have about eight or nine different answers programmed in.”
While both have learned from trial and error, Weber said the experience has been very beneficial.
“Computer programming is unique,” Weber said. “There is a lot of problem solving involved, and it’s so rewarding to get something right. You can learn on your own and mess around with it. Sometimes you learn more that way.”
For 13-year-olds Xinyi Jiang and Priya Moran, robotics and computer programming are a chance to build and test physical items.
“It’s nice to see how things come together,” Jiang said. “And if you aren’t sure about something, you can take it apart and put it together again.”
Even though Broman never took Larson’s class in middle school, he is capitalizing on Larson’s experience independently.
“I’ve done a lot of work outside of school,” said Broman. “There really has been a recent surge in do-it-yourself technology. And with all of this technology now available to us, you can just buy some of these kits online and the tutorials are super easy.”
It’s inspired Broman to look into an aerospace engineering career.
“This has definitely influenced me to go into a do-it-yourself field,” he said.
Larson hopes his students will all have a similar experience to Broman’s. And one way he intends to do that is engage them early and often.
“Kids need to understand that this is a skill set that they can leverage,” Larson said. “It will make them more valuable in the workplace. But they need to start looking at these courses in middle school as an avenue to get them to that final stage. Because it will allow us to work with the kids better and give them that opportunity.”
___
Information from: St. Cloud Times, https://www.sctimes.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.