NCompass Live: Pretty Sweet Tech - Can Librarians Teach Robotics?
Channel: Nebraska Library Commission
Date: 26/09/2019

Recorded on September 25, 2019
NCompass Live - http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ncompasslive/

New special monthly episodes of NCompass Live! Join the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet, as she guides us through the world of library-related Pretty Sweet Tech.

Robots have been relatively popular in library makerspaces and after school programs. But do we really know what a robot is and why we need robots in the world? Can librarians tackle robotics? If we’re going to teach robotics, this information can be helpful. This session will cover the following topics:

    What is a robot?
    How are they being used in the world?
    Robots inspired by fiction and other fields
    Which coding concepts can be learned from a toy robot?
    Good robots to use in your library makerspace
    Pros and cons to teaching robotics in the library

I’ve been teaching Lego Mindstorms EV3 for a few years now and have learned a great deal during the process. A great deal of this presentation also comes from consulting experts in the field at conferences, reading articles from technology-based organizations like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), various TED talks, and a variety of other sources. Hopefully this inspires your library to pick up a robot and start playing!