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=Welcome to the Midlink-Robotics Project Page! =

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I. Project Description
This project is meant to exemplify 21st Century Learning in the Science Classroom using robotics as a medium for creativity, higher order thinking, problem solving, trouble shooting, programming, etc. The project was initially piloted with 7th grade general science students in a private school- Cary Academy.

An interview with the instructor for the project was conducted by the Friday Institute by Marinegraphics and may provide important background information. This video can be viewed here:

media type="custom" key="2960601"

II. Project Purpose
This project was an extension of an electricity, magnetism, and electronics unit. The unit was conducted at the end of the year after our school testing. As mentioned above, the project was meant to exemplify 21st Century Learning in the Science Classroom using robotics as a medium for creativity, higher order thinking, problem solving, trouble shooting, programming, The students loved the unit and would have enjoyed doing it the whole year!

III. Project Handout/Rubric/Assessment
Although students worked in teams, as specified on the project page, teams were given grades via a rubric based upon multimedia integration, challenge accomplishment, collaboration, and formatting of their team wiki. Individual students were tested via a performance based assessment where they had to program and modify their robot to accomplish certain tasks with successive tasks getting more difficult. Individuals were given a specified period of time for their individual testing.

Here is the assessment used last year:

1.) Wiki Development:
First a wiki must be designed to accommodate the multimedia record for each team. This can be done by compying the pages here and modifying them. It does help to have some prior wiki development experience.

2.) Tools:
Lego Mindstorms Kits and Software PC's or Mac's connected to the Internet (Laptop Cart) Free Wikispace or Other Wiki Site Other: Tape, Meter Sticks or Tape Measures, Assorted Obstacles Digital Camera(s)- Optional (Preferably ones that can record sound and small video segments) FlipCam(s)- Optional Photos can be hosted on the wiki Videos must be hosted elsewhere- perhaps TeacherTube or PhotoBucket. The amount of multimedia integration is up to you but facilitates analysis and critical thinking.


 * Flexibility and Temperament for Controlled Creative Chaos*** :)

3.) Students will need to join the wikispace.
This can be accomplished easily by creating a list of student usernames and passwords and contacting wikispaces. If you are a K-12 educator and have registered your wiki with our free K-12 education Plus plan, you can create student accounts in bulk yourself. You can make up to 100 accounts at one time. To create accounts, just follow these steps:
 * 1) Navigate to your wiki.
 * 2) Select "Manage Wiki."
 * 3) Under People select "User Creator."
 * 4) Choose the wiki you would like to add the users to.
 * 5) You can enter the list as text or upload an excel or .csv file with usernames and passwords. E-mail addresses aren't required to create accounts. For more information on setting up the list of accounts, see our section on formatting your account list.
 * 6) The bulk user creator will guide you through the process of setting up your accounts. If you have any questions, send us an e-mail at help@wikispaces.com.

Robotics
[|Lego Mindstorms NXT Home] (http://mindstorms.lego.com/eng/Stockholm_dest/Default.aspx) [|First Lego League] (http://firstlegoleague.org/community/HomePage.aspx) [|The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Inventor's Guide] [| The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Idea Book: Design, Invent, and Build] [|Building Robots with LEGO Mindstorms NXT] [| Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT to the Next Level (Technology in Action)]

Wikis
Wikispaces (http://www.wikispaces.com)

For Your Reading Pleasure
[|Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society] by Michael Resnick [|New Pathways into Robotics: Strategies for Broadening Participation by Rusk, et. al.] [|Computer as Paint Brush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society by Michael Resnick] [|Classroom Robotics: Case Stories of 21st Century Instruction for Millennial Students by King and Gura] [|Scratch and 21st Century Skills by the Lifelong Kindgergarten Group at MIT]