The Internet of Things community in Ghana (IoT Network Hub) in Partnership with Coderina Ghana organized two weeks robotics training for kids between the age of 6 and 14 to empower and provide them with the necessary skills to develop innovative technology.
During the training participants were introduced to basic electronic components, basic Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment), basic Arduino Nano (Micro Controller), basic Robotics and basic Arduino Programing using C Programing Language.
As part of the practical session, they were taught how to turn on LED bulb using Arduino, how to write a single program to turn off a LED bulb,how to design, build and assemble robots using local materials such as woods, plastics, tins, etc. (wood and plastic was used for the training) as well as how to test and run their ROBOTS.
After the two weeks training, the students were able to build a robotic car from scratch using the raw materials and basic electronic components provided.
Speaking on the initiative, Joshua Opoku Agyeman, CEO of IoT Network mentioned that, they came up with the initiative to prepare students for the future.
According to him, “learning to program a computer is an excellent skill to have to make students more likely to get a job in the future, and earn more money in their lifetime. When students program physical robots, it’s easier for them to see what goes wrong as they learn what robots can and cannot do.
“They learn the skills needed to create precise and accurate instructions and have fun while learning valuable lessons. Teaching robotics in schools gives students the opportunity to address the growing demand of teaching STEM subjects while learning how science, engineering, math, and technology work together and interact,” he said.
He mentioned that, they intend to extend the initiative to almost all the schools in Ghana as a way of preparing the students for real life situations whiles increasing their creative skills.
StephanieHorsu/techvoiceafrica.com
