“The kids get to create a robot and do some basic programming,” Erickson said. “Pretty cool.”
Erickson explained that the students had their choice of building and programming a planetary exploration vehicle or a robotic gymnast over the next three days. Erickson gave the class a brief walk-through on his iPad, explaining how to hook up the controllers to the Netbooks and launch the Lego Mindstorms software program, and then the 20-plus students paired up and got to work tinkering. It was robotics time.
 Kegan Whittemore, left, and Alberto Contreras battle with robots during a class at Half Moon Bay High School this summer. |
“This is a breath of fresh air since the kids are pretty burned out by this point,” said Jones, noting that with only three days left for summer school, kids needed a change. “This’ll help them down the road, without a doubt. I have no idea how to do this stuff and technology is important to learn.”
The chamber’s robotics program is just a small part of the overall technology picture for the district, said Anne Bailey, director of technology for the Cabrillo Unified School District. She says the district is making a concerted effort to increase technology in the classroom, looking to incorporate small-scale pilot programs like the robotics program, and is unveiling larger measures to increase tech literacy.
Bailey said that beginning this fall the district plans to form a technology curriculum committee tasked with streamlining and updating the technology systems from the different schools in the district. The curriculum committee will be formed at the beginning of the school year and will consist of the principal and one teacher from each school in the district.
Bailey hopes that that group will collaborate to decide how to make technology a familiar part of the classroom experience. The district currently follows the technology plan laid out by the state board of education, but the curriculum committee will aim to streamline those guidelines.
The Cabrillo district’s tech programs are currently funded through Enhancing Education Through Technology grants through No Child Left Behind on the order of $2,000 to $3,000 a year, says Bailey. Most of the rest of the technology funding comes from the general fund, bond fund and curriculum money, but she’s hoping that the district can net a sizable federal grant to really increase tech dollars.
Jim Hollis, director of Innovation Incubator of Pivot Learning Partners, just helped Cabrillo Unified School District, along with four or five other school districts within the Pivot consortium, apply for a $30 million grant from federal stimulus dollars to get technology up and running in schools. Only a few grants will be awarded nationwide, and Hollis says Cabrillo Unified is a major contender.
“That’s one of the items we would like to see funding go toward, keeping classrooms up-to-date,” said Chris Dobbrow, co-chariman of the Yes on Measure E campaign. Increasing technology in schools was a line item of the Measure E campaign and Dobbrow said it was one of the most important elements for voters.
“Technology is important for kids to know. They shouldn’t just be able to use cell phones and Facebook, but be able to make a spreadsheet and do Web design,” he said. “Those are things they need to compete in the workforce.”
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