TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Elementary Robotics Program

The 2022-2023 school year was the launch of the SJA Jeju robotics program in the elementary school Robotics is an exciting and engaging way to integrate STEM into learning and teach students skills in problem-solving, teamwork, design, and coding During this school year, we have seen the creation of an ES Robotics team as well as the development of a robotics curriculum integrated into classes

ES Robotics Competition Team

It has been exciting to involve the 5th-grade students in this new program this year. The students first proved they were proficient in coding, and then they began building.

ES Robotics in the Classroom

Along with VEX IQ for our after-school competition program, VEX has also been adopted into the ES tech curriculum For our K-2 students, and to introduce classes to robotics and coding, we have begun using VEX 123, a simple yet exciting robot that allows students to practice coding and develop their skills with algorithms and problem-solving We also have VEX GO kits for grades 3-5 students, a slightly more advanced set that teaches students not only programming but also gives them the opportunity to build and assemble robots

This is the first year for robotics, and we hope to expand classroom access to robotics in the coming years through story-telling, design challenges, and student-choice programs

As a school, we have adopted VEX Robotics as the platform we use and the VEX IQ Challenge as the competition to participate in. The VEX IQ Challenge this year, Slapshot, involved using our robots to release pucks from traps and then shoot them to the other side of the field. The field had point values for certain areas and for releasing the pucks from the traps Along with the middle school team, the elementary school robotics team competed with other schools in the GEC and in several SJA Jeju tournaments between our ten teams This gave students the opportunity to see other designs and rethink their own as they developed their growth mindset and robots Since this year has gone so well, we are excited for the program’s expansion for next year