Innovation Saskatchewan has developed a program that brings robotics into classrooms in northern Saskatchewan. RoboX is a program that teaches students digital literacy through building robots and coding.
“An initial pilot with the Northern Lights School Division and Lac La Ronge Indian Band engaged teachers in northern communities to learn about robotics from Kindergarten through to Grade 8 and how they connect to curricular outcomes,” SIEC Executive Director Janet Uchacz-Hart said.
The program consists of two parts:
Training teachers fun ways to teach robotics and coding to their students; and
Hosting hands-on workshops that will give students an opportunity to build and program robots while learning about the role of technology in our lives.
The program’s goal is to increase awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Children exposed to those subjects at the elementary and high school levels are more likely to continue studying them after graduating.
“This pilot project with Innovation Saskatchewan takes a holistic approach to education with the integration of student learning and teacher training,” Saskatchewan Science Centre CEO Sandy Baumgartner said. “We are grateful for their support in bringing it together.”
The program is aligned with the education curriculum, which makes it easy for teachers to incorporate it into their everyday lessons.
RoboX was developed in partnership with the Saskatchewan Science Centre and Saskatoon Industry-Education Council (SIEC). SIEC trained more than 28 teachers from 10 communities in northern Saskatchewan to incorporate robotics and coding into the education curriculum. Saskatchewan Science Centre’s outreach team hosted the student engagement workshops at schools in those 10 communities.