ME
NU
Donate Now

Jake O’Neill

Development of a unit on robotics to refine programming skills

2018 STEM Scholar
Brockton, MA Edgar B. Davis School

Jake’s Big Idea: Jake’s students built a messenger robot that delivered messages to other classrooms and teachers in their school. They learned basic computer programming, developed a scale drawing of the school that was used to code an Ozobot to go from room to room, and built and programed a Vex Robot.

Jake worked to develop a robotics club to help students advance toward competing in robot competitions. He also used the robots to help other teachers convey their lessons. For example, he worked with social studies teachers to use the Ozobots to mimic troop movements during historical battles.

Follow this link to learn exactly how to replicate this Big Idea!

Interesting Facts: Prior to becoming a teacher, Jake was an environmental geologist. In his work he investigated hazardous waste sites, including local sites as well as state and federal Superfund sites.

In his own words: "A unit on robotics would allow me to take the students’ computer programming skills to the next level while at the same time introduce them to more critical problem-solving skills."