Robotics in the classroom: learning by coding, building and problem-solving

It’s nearing 3 p.m. in Luke Ferland’s technology classroom at Riverhead High School. Students crowd around a table, shoulders hunched as they try to puzzle out what’s wrong with the machine in front of them.

“Maybe it’s the coding,” one says.

“No, it can’t be, we’ve run every code,” someone else replies.

The students are members of the Riverhead robotics team, and they are gearing up to show off their robot at Riley Avenue school, but they’ve hit a slight snag — the robot’s motor won’t run.

“I’m not worried,” says Ferland, who is watching his students work through the problem. “It sounds a little weird, but that’s what this club is all about. Finding something wrong, and figuring out how to fix it.”

The robotics club, which has been running for two years now, just got back from its latest competition, where it competed against around 30 teams from other schools, each with their own uniquely designed robot. Riverhead’s team designed a light-weight machine that utilizes a conveyor belt, sensors, wheels and gears to complete a simple task: picking up a ball and then launching it across the room.

“Today we’re getting ready to do a demonstration for the kids at Riley,” Ferland said. “The idea is to show them how cool learning this stuff can be and try to get them interested in STEM as early as possible.”

STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, teaches students invaluable skills with a focus on problem-solving. And with jobs in the STEM sector anticipated to increase in the next decade more than any other industry, students at Riverhead High School are jumping at the opportunity to learn.

Beginning next year, Riverhead will start offering a robotics course alongside its after-school club. The class will meet every day and help students build a knowledge of robotics – and the engineering behind it – from the ground up.

“I’m very excited to teach it, because in the club it’s hard to get everything in,” Ferland said. “The club is once or twice a week, where as a class will meet every day. We can do in-depth units on coding, on design.”

Many of the club’s students have expressed interest in taking the course, he added, even though they already know most of the basics.

And although he enthusiastically recognizes the importance of STEM, Ferland also encourages his students to join not just his club but any other activity that interests them, regardless of whether or not it interferes with the robotics club’s meeting times.

“I tell them, take advantage of what’s here. If there’s something we offer and they’re interested in it, they should pursue it,” he said.

As such, the number of students at a robotics club meeting can fluctuate anywhere from 10 to 25.

“Some days we won’t have as many kids because they’re off pursuing something else. We’ll sometimes get students walking by the room and seeing a robot on the desk and thinking — ‘wow, that’s cool, I want to do that,’ and we’ll get new members that way. I try to make it accessible to everybody,” he said. “Anyone who is interested, we try to find a role for them.”

And there are a lot of roles to fill. In order to compete, students must design their robot, build it and document their progress, all on their own. Some students are learning the C programming language to control the robot’s movement and speed.

“It’s amazing how much they can do on their own. I’m just the facilitator,” he said. “The design, the engineering, that’s all theirs. I give them the tools to make it happen and the guidance when necessary, but I make it a point not to get too involved.”

Two weeks ago the students attended the Vex Robotics: Nothing But Net competition in East Rockaway. To prepare, they were tasked with creating a robot that could shoot foam balls into a net. At the competition, the students get paired with a team from another school, and together try to score more points than their opponents.

“Our robot is an interesting one, because it was light-weight and simplistic,” Ferland said. “It is an ever-evolving machine. It’s all trial and error, and the students have to figure everything out. When there’s a problem, they’re the ones who have to fix it.”

The problem they are puzzling out today is eventually solved when the students deduce that an overheating motor is preventing the robot from running properly. The robot is now in fine, working condition and ready to wow the students at Riley Avenue.

“There’s always something we can do to make it more efficient, more accurate — which is good, because it means the students are always thinking about it,” Ferland said.

The robot operates both manually and autonomously through the code that students write themselves, and uses a sensor to detect when a ball is near the machine. When a ball is sensed, the conveyer belt begins to run, grabbing the ball and launching it through the air.

The competition is designed with cooperation and communication in mind, and it emphasizes sharing knowledge with the other teams. Students who are better at coding will go around and try to help other teams that might be struggling, and parts and tools are lent between competing teams.

“Communicating a technological idea is a difficult task, especially if you don’t know who you’re communicating with,” Ferland said. “At these competitions, students learn to pull together and help each other. If another team has some kind of technology you don’t, you can ask to borrow it. We’ve lent out tools, we’ve even let someone borrow Mr. Happy,” he said, referring to a worn-out, bright orange foam ball with a smiley face drawn on in permanent marker.

“Mr. Happy is our mascot,” one of the students chimes in. “He’s been with us through it all.”

And though the team didn’t make it past the qualifying round of the competition, Riverhead’s students did not walk away empty handed. They received the Judges’ Award, given to a team that the judges believe deserves special recognition.

Ferland said the students effort, teamwork and perseverance likely earned them the trophy.

“Even with the knowledge that they wouldn’t be moving on the competition, they wanted to stay, they wanted to spend the day in the practice arena working with the other students and making their robot better and better,” Ferland said. “These students work so hard, and it really shows.”