Walking into a middle school classroom, there is an expectation of a calm and decorum – quiet students, a teacher speaking in the front of the room.
And then there’s
robotics – where brains charge, arms fall off, girls scream for 15 seconds, and
people keep shouting, “Keep it simple, genius.”
In one corner, a
group is huddled together drawing diagrams on the white board. A few girls are
racing around the room searching for just the right piece (not a 2x4 – a 6x4!).
There are those who are building. Those who are coding.
Meet the VEX
robotics classes at Bais Yaakov of Baltimore.
* * *
VEX robotics is an
international organization that hosts robotics competitions. Each year, VEX
introduces a new “game” for robots to play. All participating schools design,
construct, and program robots to compete in the competition. Each round of the
competition is 60 seconds, with two teams playing at a time. CIJE, the Center
for Initiatives in Jewish Education, organizes these competitions for Jewish
schools.
The eighth graders
at Bais Yaakov have competed in two competitions this year, with the
seventh-grade team joining for the second. The BY robotics club consists of six
groups. There are many different tasks the robot must do throughout the
competition, so each group builds and programs a robot that will be able to
succeed in the different aspects of the game.
This year’s VEX
competition consisted of a playing field with a gate down the middle. Small
orange disks were contained in three different kinds of dispensers. The robots
had to push, lift, and turn a wheel to release the disks from the dispensers.
After the disks were on the ground, the robots then had to push or shoot the
disks under the fence to score points. Two teams work together to score maximum
points within the allotted minute of time.
* * *
Complicated,
intense, and loads of fun is how the girls who worked long and hard for a whole
year to build the competing robots describe what they did.
Two girls, Ayelet
Elman and Shana Horowitz, told me about their experiences of being on the
robotics team and competing with other schools.
Meira Levi: Is robotics a real class? Do you actually
learn?
AE: I definitely learned the most in
robotics, more than any other subject this whole year. You learn a lot about
engineering, tinkering with all the pieces, using motors, and placing gears
next to each other. Also, you learn a lot about programming. We use block
programming, which means that each command is preprogrammed, and you just line
them up next to each other. It’s very important that your code is correct, or
your robot won’t work properly. Most of all, robotics is trial and error
through and through. We rebuilt our robots so many times! We would design and
build a robot, test it out, and then have to start all over again from the
beginning.
SH: My group had that experience as well!
Every group had to start over multiple times! Robotics is a really good
challenge.
ML: What’s your favorite part about being on
the robotics team?
AE: We have robotics twice a week, once
during school and once after school. Every Monday night, when we would stay
after school, it was really fun. There’s a really nice camaraderie in the
class, and I enjoyed spending time with my classmates.
ML: You have to work together a lot; is that
hard?
AE: Yes, definitely. But it’s nice that we
don’t work by ourselves; it would be impossible to do on our own.
SH: Even though it’s hard sometimes to work
together, it’s good to have a team. You can’t do it by yourself. Everyone is
good at different parts of robotics – some are excellent programmers, some are
really good builders, and some are amazing drivers. You all have to come
together to be able to do well.
ML: What’s the hardest part of being on the
team?
AE: Nothing ever works the first time. It can
take ages to get it right. We had to take apart our robot and rebuilt it so
many times.
SH: But then, when you finally get your robot
to work just the way you wanted, it’s so satisfying.
ML: So you build your robots, practice,
practice, practice, and then go to the competition. What’s it like to compete
with other schools?
AE and SH: Nerve-wracking.
AE: At the competition, there are so many
people watching you. The first few rounds, we did not get high scores. Then,
once we got our stride, we started doing a lot better. I remember at the first
competition, one time, I got a really high score; we were so happy.
SH: The competition is very stressful. There
is someone on the microphone announcing which teams are up next, everyone is
cheering and yelling, and the scores are being announced, so it is very hard to
hear anything. In addition, we are used to practicing with other Bais Yaakov
teams. At the competition, we are paired with teams from other schools, so we aren’t
used to working with each other. You never know what to expect because you
don’t know the skill of the other robots.
ML: Sounds like the competition is both a load
of fun and very stressful. Would you do robotics again, if you had the chance?
AE and SH: Yes, for sure!
AE: Robotics gives you a lot of experience.
Nowadays, many jobs require coding and engineering, so here I am, receiving my
first lessons!
SH: I love the challenge – it’s so fun.
Building robots with other girls…, It’s better than any other class!
ML: What would you tell other girls who may
want to be part of a robotics team?
AE: Go into it with a good attitude. Even if
you lose, it doesn’t actually matter because you learned something and had fun.
And honestly, it’s very possible that you will lose. Robotics is hard.
SH: But don’t ever give up. Even if the first
time it doesn’t work, it will work eventually, so keep at it!
* * *
Sage advice!
Because of the robotics teams’ tireless efforts, Bais Yaakov took home all four
first place trophies this year, among many other awards. With tremendous help
from school administration, teachers, and our CIJE coordinators, our robotics
classes were a huge success. VEX has already announced next year’s competition
– “Full Volume” – and we can’t wait to take it on!
Meira
Levi taught eighth-grade robotics, along with Mrs. Rochelle Goldberg and Mrs.
Miriam Schechter.
