Here are some key quotes from the robotics interviews I conducted with students this year. I will discuss them later. Enjoy. There are some great quotes that show what this robotics experience is like from the student’s point of view.
What Robotics Is Like And How It Is Different Than Other School Work
It’s more fun to actually be building something. If you took a class in robots and just learned about things, if the teacher just drilled information into your head, it would not be as fun as building and experiencing it to learn. Grade 6 Girl 2
Absolutely [different from other schoolwork.] It’s [robotics] more interactive because mostly what we are doing in school is paperwork. With this you get to experiment, instead of just doing something, like math, you got a question, you figure it out. With this you can like, change it up, experiment. Grade 6 Boy 1
Most people can’t really try and engineer a robot, try and play with it, and make sure it works but we had the chance to do it. Grade 5 Girls Team 1
I didn’t think you would use all that math and science to build that robot. Grade 6 Girl 2
It was very interesting that we got to build a real, live robot. I never imagined I would build a robot. It was really cool. Grade 5 Boy 1
It’s more fun [than usual schoolwork.] It’s a lot different – sometimes mathematical. You have to think in a different way. This would make this would make this happen. Each step is connected. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
It’s fun because it allows you to challenge yourself in a different way, than just your mind, because you have to be able to figure out how things go together because that’s physical memory. Grade 6 Boy 1
You can actually do something, not just watch someone else do it. Grade 5 Girls Team 1
It’s fun and different in a different way. I just think it is more fun. The way you think. Easier is some ways, harder in some ways. The way you think is more fun to think that way than the other way. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
I do prefer doing Mindstorms or WeDo over just building because I really like programming. You can think more about what would make something happen if you add gears or other stuff. Once I make it be able to do something, it’s really satisfying to see things move. It feels good. It’s cool that you get something to move and that it’s moving because [before] it was just a pile of Legos. It’s satisfies you once you done with it. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
I really liked it because it was different, not something that you do everyday with a normal subject, something you look forward to, not something that you do everyday like math and science. You get to work with your hands a lot. Grade 6 Girl 1
Robots are something that you don’t learn on a board, you kind of learn by doing it with your hands. You look at it and observe it more. Grade 6 Girl 1
It’s more exciting. It’s special. Grade 6 Girl 1
I would like to do it longer. Grade 6 Girl 1
I am really glad that we do have them [robots] at this school. We have a lot of cool technology stuff that we do here. I mean, starting younger with computers you get to learn to use the different computers and you get to… We can program stuff. You got to try to put [things] together. Grade 6 Girl 1
I like building. I never do Legos but it was fun to figure out how to build them and figure it out on your own without a lot of teaching. Grade 6 Girl 2
It was just fun to try and figure out something. It was hard but it was really fun. Grade 6 Girl 2
This is more fun. I learn faster on Lego than other subjects. I find it more interesting. I can get involved in it really easily. Grade 6 Boy 1
I learned that you need to use a lot of different skills, from writing to most of the different subjects like math for the programming and other subjects too. Grade 6 Boy 1
Robots aren’t usually something you see around. These are really simple ones. When you think about robots, you think about R2D2, movies, and stuff. They aren’t real but these are. Grade 5 Girls Team 1
It’s different because you don’t usually engineer things in school. It is more hands on than the rest of our school work. [Hand’s on] is more fun and, in certain places, it makes it easier to learn. Grade 5 Girls Team 1
I like doing Legos without directions because you can’t put things in the wrong spot. Grade 5 Boy 1
Other schoolwork is more like writing and papers. [Robotics] is more interactive, hands-on so I like that. We don’t do it that often so it’s more fun than sitting and doing paper. Grade 4 Girl 1
I like doing the “not following the program” more because you get to make it up. Grade 4 Girl 1
It’s fun to see what they [robots] do. Grade 4 Boy 2
I like [open ended challenges] because everyone’s are different and I like having to get new ideas. Grade 4 Girl 2
I could do it [WeDo] without having to ask grownups all the time and not follow directions. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
My other schoolwork I could not do all day. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
I am learning how to program and other things about the computer in a really fun way. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
Building freehand, you’re learning you get to decide what it’s going to do and what it will be like. Grade 4 Boy Team 2
On the Engineering Design Process
It was hard so it made us jump up and down when it finally worked. Grade 5 Girls Team 1
We don’t usually build things. It’s just fun building things and getting things to work and then it does something good at the end. You feel good about what you made. Grade 6 Boy 2
It teaches us to keep trying. Even if you fail, you can succeed if you keep trying. Grade 6 Boy 1
It’s also about working together to make these crazy, awesome things. Grade 6 Boy 2
It was pretty fun trying to figure out how some of the pieces of the robot work. Trying to figure out how to make things work. Nothing usually works the first time. You usually have to try a few times to get something to work. I really liked the robots. It’s fun. Grade 6 Boy 2
I really liked the way we did it. We started with the basics at the beginning and moved up to harder stuff and then did the challenge. Grade 6 Boy 2
Be patient, everything is not going to work the first time. You just have to keep changing it until it works. Grade 6 Boy 2
Tiny little things can make big differences. Grade 6 Girl 1
Don’t copy other people. Try to do it on your own because you learn more on your own. Grade 6 Girl 2
Watch your mistakes and how you can improve on them. Grade 6 Boy 1
You may get frustrated at certain points. Don’t give up when things aren’t working out. Grade 5 Girls Team 1
On the paper, we drew out the three different plans. We thought over which would do the best and which one had the best chance to catch the burglar. I’m not a big planner but it was good to get your ideas out on paper and see what the different ways were. Grade 4 Girl 1
It was a challenge to make up my own program. Grade 4 Girl 1
