Pupils can't get enough of robotics

By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- Instructional aide Megan Ondo barely finished helping one pair of pupils line up their robotics arms before another pair called out for her attention.
Shouts of "We're done, Miss Ondo, we're done!" punctuated the air and kept her moving.
It's like this every period the pupils get time in the recently opened robotics laboratory at Farrell Elementary School, Ondo said, as she moved on to assist yet another pair of pupils in adjusting their experiment.
Farrell opened the lab to fourth- and fifth-graders in early November, said Steve Gurrera, elementary school principal.
The kids can't get enough, Ondo said, explaining that they get engrossed in using the robotic arms.
"They don't want to leave. They only get 25 minutes [per period]. They never give up. They just keep trying and trying until they get it," Ondo said.
Pupils now get two lab sessions a week.
"They love it. They're catching on so quickly," Ondo said.
Their efforts are in the preliminary stages right now, said Carole Borkowski, assistant principal.
Lessons: They are learning to work as a team and to master some basic robotic arm movements using joysticks.
Later, they will advance to computer-directed robotics, programming their moves into a computer and letting the computer drive the robotic arm, she said.
There may even come a time when the lab will implement pupil competitions, challenging pupils to complete specific tasks with accuracy in a certain time period, Borkowski said.
Ondo said they'll also have to master operating a robotic arm while viewing its movements through a video camera and will also get introduced to the use of robotics in the field of hydraulics, she said.
Cross-training: Borkowski said Ondo will coordinate with teachers in math and science classes to incorporate the robotics program with things those teachers are covering.
That could involve areas such as problem solving, cognitive thinking and physics, as well as the more traditional math and science applications, Ondo said.
The pupils will also be exposed to the use of robotics in the workplace and learn about careers using robotics, Borkowski said.