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LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Students at Laramie High School will be using drones and robots to help learn geometry, algebra, trigonometry and calculus this year.
The school got a state grant of nearly $69,000 to use robots, software and 3-D printers to teach science, technology, engineering and math, the Laramie Boomerang reported Tuesday (http://tinyurl.com/n2oxgub).
"I think the more places you can show kids where math is used, the more important, I hope, it becomes to them," said Dennis Hogsett, one of three math teachers who landed the grant.
"The research shows that when they can actually put it to something that's applicable, it helps them retain the information," he said.
For example, by programming a robot to shoot baskets, students would be using physics to determine how far the robot has to throw the ball. The computer will record and plot the data so the students can write equations, Hogsett said.
Math teacher Paul Street said the robots could also be a motivator for students who have never been attracted to math.
"If they're not particularly interested in doing math already, and they're saying, 'What's the point of this,' we're hoping this can help motivate kids to say, 'Oh, a robot does these things, and that leads to this kind of math,'" Street said.
"So, part of the model is to raise problems and questions that naturally arise from what these robots do," he said.
All Laramie High math department teachers are getting a drone, a robotic rover, a robotic ball and a robotic arm along with a tablet computer that controls the robots.
The hardware is made by RobotsLAB of San Francisco, which develops robots and programs for education.
RobotsLAB CEO Elad Inbar and chief operating officer Mike Rogero conducted a daylong training session for Laramie High math teachers Monday.
"Math is too abstract; (students) don't get it, they fail," Inbar said. "This is what we hear from teachers all the time, and this is why we created this."
The program will bring in 3-D printers and other technology later, Hogsett said. It could also expand beyond math and science.
Funds from the grant will also allow Hogsett to travel to other schools with robotics programs to gather information and ideas.
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Information from: Laramie Boomerang, http://www.laramieboomerang.com
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