My Visit to RoboKind
I had incredible time visiting RoboKind in Dallas, Texas. The best way to describe the experience is by using an analogy. The experience made me feel like Charlie Bucket in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I always wanted to have the opportunity to learn more about how RoboKind created my favorite humanoid robot, Robon, who I code as a teaching assistant in my classroom. When Charlie's dream came true, and he enters the chocolate factory he sees things that were created beyond his wildest dreams, and he saw a lot of chocolate too. We did have chocolate because I brought it from Hershey, PA (my home state). However, the main point was that I saw things that stretched my current thinking about how all students can gain equal access to education now and in the future. Roald Dahl's book was fiction, but the things that I saw were real!
The other thing that changed my perspective is learning more about the behind the scenes of developing transformative educational technology tools. In Roald Dahl's book you visualize these amazing creations, but it is rare that you think about everything that went into the development process. One of my favorite parts of the visit involved learning more about the different versions of the humanoids. There are so many different intricate details that go into the process of taking an idea to create a humanoid robot and actually being able to see the vision transform into a physical creation. When I shared my observations with my 9 year old daughter, she said, "It makes sense why Richard Margolin persevered in the process of creating Robon. He did it because it mattered." She is correct. The humanoids from RoboKinds are making a positive impact for my students and students around the world. These humanoids are being used to help develop social skills with students who have Autism. Further, there is a curriculum used to teach students how to use visual block coding. The students are able to use their code to work with an avatar, but then the code can be connected to the physical humanoid robot too. This is a versatile platform that can be used in so many different ways.
I always respect EdTech companies that value the opinions of the teachers and students who are using these resources. We need to continue to have teachers and engineers partnering together to help create meaningful instructional experiences for our students. I learned a lot from talking to the engineers and everyone who works at RoboKind. I have left this experience with a lot of ideas! I am looking forward to finding ways to best help students learn more about the newest form of literacy: coding. I want students to realize the value in being able to transform their thoughts into a physical creations. I want students to realize that it is ok to fail forward, but it is important to always continue to work hard throughout the design process because it matters!
