Students in school divisions across Saskatchewan could be able to take a Robotics and Automation class, announced the Ministry of Education this morning.
The robotics class has been cleared for implementation after piloting in 18 school divisions last year, and will now be offered to school divisions for students in Grades 7-12.
Robotics and Automation is part of the roster of Practical and Applied Arts (PAA) electives. Content from the Robotics curricula can be included in PAA courses for students at the grade 7-9 level, and high school students can take the 10-, 20-, or 30-level Robotics and Automation course to fulfill their PAA elective requirements.
Prairie South School Division piloted the course as a part of their Virtual School last year, with a test class of five students, and will be continuing to offer Robotics as an online distance education course this year with a limit of 10 students.
By offering the course online, Prairie South finds that even a handful of students interested in a class can have it available to them.
Vanier Collegiate also piloted the course last year, at a Grade 10 level, and have expanded this year to offer both a 10- and 20-level physical class with a capacity of 20 students.
“We’ve had a robotics club that’s been building robots for a while, about four years, and from that, we’ve had the interest [in offering a class],” said Vanier instructor Daniel Atkins.
Vanier has plans to expand the course next year to offer a 30-level curriculum, and Atkins would like to see high school robotics grow enough to host a battle-bot tournament to show off the student’s creativity and skill.
“We’re trying to build not just kits, but robots that can hopefully do what we want them to do, if we’ve got it right, so it’s challenging,” said Atkins.
The class includes skills like coding and electrical work, and offers students an educational opportunity that is relevant in the current science and technology climate.
The offered curriculum was developed in partnership with a number of experts and organizations in the province, including Saskatchewan Polytechnic — who offers many programs that relate to robotics, such as the Electronic Systems Engineering Technology course — and SaskCode.
The decision on whether to offer a Robotics and Automation course is determined by the board of education within each school division.
