# T5.31 - Coding, Robotics, & Student Voice
This interactive session will focus on how coding and robotics can be integrated in the classroom and utilized to engage and empower students. Particularly for students who struggle with traditional paper and pen tasks, robotics can be utilized to differentiate instruction and provide greater ownership. In the session I hope to provide participants with the opportunity to try out EV3 and We Do robotics as well as various apps and websites for coding. In addition to providing lesson ideas, I will share my personal experiences with teaching coding and robotics. This including taking an elementary robotics team to a high school and university tournament. My robotics team was the youngest team and first elementary team to ever participate in the UOIT Engineering Robotics Competition in the event's 10 year history. Despite some of the students having behavioural and academic challenges, the students did extremely well in the competition placing first in many rounds and making it to the semi finals. After winning a trophy and being interviewed by City TV, the students found a new sense of confidence and pride in themselves. This led to improvements in their academic performance at school. These students, who before never felt like they had any voice in the school, now have a huge voice not only in the school but also in our board as they are now helping to develop training videos for the EV3 robotics. These videos will be used to help to train all teachers receiving robotics kits in our board.
7. What is coding?
• “Code is the list of instructions given to any
computer in order for it to perform the
desired actions. Every time you switch on a
PC, a mobile phone, a calculator, even a
microwave, code is being run.”
24. Traditional Classroom
Teacher led instruction
Students are passive
Whole group
Application is homework
Individual
Students in rows
No collaboration
Worksheets and textbooks
Content focused rather than skills Real world application No differentiation