SPIRIT Briefing

1
SPIRIT Briefing

• Bing Chen, Neal Grandgenett
• Elliott Ostler, Paul Clark

http//ceen.unomaha.edu/TekBots/
2
Status of current NSF grants

• NSF Adaptation and Innovation (160K) 2006-2008
  Incorporate the TekBot into NU CEEN programs
• NSF ITEST SPIRIT 1.0 (1.2M) 2006-2008 Use
  TekBot to teach engineering fundamentals and
  robotics to middle school teachers
• NSF Discovery K-12 SPIRIT 2.0 (2.99M)
  2008-2012 Develop a robotics curriculum for
  national distribution

3
Objectives of SPIRIT 2.0

1. Develop a Grades 5-8 educational robotics
   curriculum to enhance STEM concepts
2. Refine the instructional effectiveness of the
   curriculum
3. Integrate assessments into the curriculum to help
   teachers
4. Replace the TekBot with the CEENBoT/NUBoT with
   hardware, GUI tutorials
5. Create cyberinfrastructure support (matls,
   lessons, info, assessments, online diagnostics)
6. Scale the project to national levels via two
   summer workshops (one in Nebraska and one via
   distance learning) to use the curriculum

4
CEENBoT/NUBoT
5
CEENBoT/NUBoT attributes

• Employs RC grade level parts available to
  hobbyists
• Stepper motors versus servo or dc motors for
  greater precision, control and longevity
• Infinitely reconfigurable a true
  university-level engineering product for K-12
  space
• Chosen by NSF to develop a national educational
  curriculum to support STEM

6
Current SPIRIT Participants

• Primary collaboration between NU and Omaha Public
  Schools targeting gt100 middle school math and
  science teachers (3 yrs)
• Expanded inclusion to elementary and high schools
• Adapt university TekBot learning platform to
  teaching middle school STEM topics
• 52 Minority District, with more that 50,000
  students. Fully available test site.
• Also good participation from other districts

Photo by Ashley Washburn
7
(No Transcript)
8
Planned Curriculum Cyber-infrastructure
9
Also Undertaking Center/Startup

• NU start-up company created to meet the
  production demands for robots and for customer
  service from K-16 schools, colleges and
  individual customers
• Continual refinements/upgrades of curriculum
• Sponsoring ongoing hardware-software robot
  innovations and continued improvements
• Offering of institutes, grade courses, etc.
• Marketing to potential clients nationally and
  globally

10
Potential Markets

• K-12 schools throughout US for in school and
  after school programs
• Other ECE programs (and ME) within US (over 400)
  to give students intellectual stimulation
• Community colleges for transfer programs
• Interested individuals who are engineering
  tinkerers at heart

11
Timetable

• Space secured for manufacturing and storage
  12/07
• Start-up company created 1/08
• SBIR grant preparation 2/08
• Develop business plan 6/08
• Production of first 1,000 bots for SPIRIT 1.0 and
  AI grants produced with CEEN staff/labor 8/08
• Start-up manager and staff are hired 12/08
• First National SPIRIT 2.0 Workshop Fall 2011

12
Center Builds Upon

• NSF SPIRIT (1.0 and 2.0)
• Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in IT
• New Robotics Platform
• Teacher Training (Robotics)
• National Curriculum Efforts
• NSF 4H Robotics and GIS (ITEST)
• Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in IT 2.0
• Summer and After School Programs
• Developing Special Curriculum Resources
• Using Lego Mindstorms NXT Kits

http//www.ceen.unomaha.edu/TekBots/ http//4hset.
unl.edu/itest/index.php
13
How can you help us get there?

1. Provide ideas, suggestions, criticisms
2. Review developing lessons of key teachers
3. Review developing lesson modules for writing team
4. Help us figure out the cyberinfrastructure
   strategies
5. Help us with formative and summative evaluation
   reports
6. Help us figure out the Center operational process
7. Help us connect to new ideas, literacy, and other
   possibilities
8. Tell us that we are not insanejust a bit crazy
9. Other possibilities?

14
Final Comment
We have not succeeded in answering all of your
problems. The answers we have found only serve
to raise a whole set of new questions. In some
ways, we feel we are as confused as ever, but we
believe we are confused on a higher level and
about more important things. Omni Magazine,
1992