College of Science, Engineering & Technology
Robotics and coding webinar - the future has arrived
The Unisa Science Engagement Centre (USEC), a strategic project within the Unisa College of Science, Engineering and Technology (CSET) and the Department of Info,rmation Systems in the School of Computing, in collaboration with the Centre for Lifelong Learning (UCL) recently hosted a webinar entitled Robotics and coding in education, where to start and what are the opportunities?
Gladius Sethosa, Asanda Nogqala and Sam Kekana of the UCL with Dr Patrcia Gouws
The event and what the robotics and coding project represents is in the context of the changing world of technology, in which interest in coding, robotics, gaming, artificial intelligence and related fields has exploded, especially among the younger generations. This explosion of interest has meant that the associated subjects should be developed and taught in schools. Not to be left far behind, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa introduced the robotics and coding curriculum for schools and simultaneously launched a pilot project in several schools across all the provinces of the country, intending to help develop skills in this field, to catch up with leading countries, where these subjects have successfully been introduced. The goal is to build knowledge and mobilise broader uptake of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) subjects in an ongoing effort to develop the critical skills set of the 21st century.
Dr Patricia Gouws of USEC showcasing robots
Opening the event, Sam Kekana, Director of the UCL, lauded the USEC team on their pioneering work in the field and fulfilling the university's mission of engaged scholarship and community outreach. He praised the collaboration between the two units, saying that such future collaborations will achieve much.
Led by USEC facilitators showing the guests how it's all done, the first part of the day was spent demonstrating the robotics activities in which the robots were put to their paces.
The USEC team singled out two robots to share their stories. First, the ten-year-old robot named Angel, which represented South Africa in Spain in 2013, is still very fit and running despite the older technology powering her. Robot Mario, with dog gears, is another excellent robot design. Unfortunately for Mario, the Covid-19 lockdown cancelled his trip to represent the country at the World Festival.
Led by Dr Patricia Gouws, Director of USEC, together with her ably talented team consisting of Tumelo Nhlapo, Andzani Sibiya and Kabelo Pheeha and the three USEC interns (Phinali, Marina and Zinhle) ensured the day's event was a resounding success as the 300 plus online guests were wowed.
The I-SET robotics project has developed several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the Unisa MOOC portal and Short Learning Programmes (SLPs) as well as practical robotics workshops for the public, allowing educators, facilitators, students, school learners and visionary community leaders in South African and beyond, an opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in this field.
The USEC team traverses the length and breadth of the country on invitation, setting up I-Set hubs of robotics excellence in communities, loaning robotics equipment to engage with and sharpening 21st-century skills further. While not retiring the older EV3 robots, they have also introduced the latest Spike Prime kits.
Andzani Sibiya of USEC demostrating one of the robots
The USEC team, which seldom rests - working long hours during the week and on most Saturdays of each month - has vast ambitions of reaching one million learners by 2025 and ensuring a robotics team in every school. This requires the upskilling of educators who are willing to coach robotics teams.
"Just as we have national rugby teams, soccer teams, basketball teams, why shouldn't we have robotics teams?" questioned Dr Gouws as she shared pictures of the teams they developed over the years, representing South Africa at international competitions.
Students engaging with the robots
"With robotics, transferring skills through games and competitions is far easier than the staid old teaching method. It's easier to build a sustainable pipeline of skilled learners this way", she added.
"Robotics is here to stay. Fundamentally, it is disruptive and changes things fast. Don't fear it. Rather embrace it," said Gouws, closing the webinar.
#Unisa150
* By Phora Mafeno, Marketing Specialist, Unisa's Centre for Lifelong Learning
Publish date: 2023/11/02
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