The Rambler
Volume 21/22, Issue 2, Winter 2022
Robotics by Isabel Doran
Roblox by Ruth Doran
Photo by Stephen Millette
Robotics is coached by science teacher, Mr. Schursky and it can be taken as an elective class and is also held during after school hours. Any student in grades 6-8 who is interested in robotics can be a part of this class. Read on to hear what some members of the robotics team had to say about this class. Rambler: Why did you choose Robotics? Neel Mistri: I chose robotics because I like building robots. R: What do you do in Robotics? Lee Birch: We build robots to compete in tournaments. R: How long have you been doing robotics? NM: I have been involved with robotics for one and a half years. R: Does it take practice to make robots? NM: It does take practice; practice allows you to build a better robot. R: Do you need to start from scratch? NM: Yes, most of the time the robots are designed and built from scratch. R: Why do you enjoy robotics? Stephen Millette: I like to keep designing and make something that works well and that is successful. R: How long were you interested in doing robotics? LB: I have been interested in doing robotics for continued on next page about 5 years.
Google Images
Roblox is one of the biggest apps in the world, and you’ve probably been hearing its name because the company recently went public, and its stock price climbed so high it was temporarily worth more than gaming giants EA and Take-Two combined. But it’s also a popular app with 42.1 million people who play Roblox daily and its popularity has been surging during the pandemic. Daily active users were up 85 percent in 2020, compared to the year before. Until recently, though, I didn’t really understand what Roblox actually was, despite the app having been around since 2006. (Just to give you an idea of how long that is in tech years, the App Store for iOS launched in 2008.) So, I spent some time in the world of Roblox to help explain what all the fuss is about. In Roblox, in the span of 15 minutes, you can easily check out a handful of games in just about any genre you can think of. In a popular third-person horror game called Piggy, I had to flee from a terrifying pig wielding a baseball bat. One of the top Roblox genres is “obbys,” short for “obstacle courses,” where you have to navigate precarious platforms and avoid, well, obstacles. (wonderopolis.org) 2
