I am pleased to be heading to the great Keystone State (PA for those who are a bit weak on their American history) for the annual Keystone Christian Education Association (KCEA) annual conference held at the lovely Willow Valley Resort located in the Amish lands of Lancaster PA. I am presenting 2 robotics workshops in which the teachers will work in teams of 3 to build and program a Lego Mindstorm NXT robot. This is a great exercise for students as it gives them exposure to computer technology, computational thinking skills, team work, communication, problem solving – all the stuff they need to secure a job in the 21st century of the Information Age.

Here are some past blog postings about the robotics teams I’ve taken out to various high schools around the USA.

KCEA Robotics Workshop Presentation

KCEA Robotics handout

My BJU Robotics Team and I enjoyed a great day in Hampton GA, home of the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where we meet with the great students of Bible Baptist Christian School. They came up with some fascinating robots. They especially liked the ones that responded to noises! They also learned the similarities and differences between robots and humans, the crowning jewel of God’s Creation. One of the biggest differences is that of a free will – the ability to make independent decisions.

I would like to welcome the students that participated in this event to leave their comments – did you enjoy it? what did you learn? would you recommend the event to your friends?

My BJU Robotics Team and I enjoyed a great day in Athens GA, home of the Georgia Bulldogs, where we meet with the great students of Athens Christian School. They came up with some fascinating robots. We especially liked the one that would crawl, no matter what the obstacles. I think it would make a great sermon object lesson on determination – run the race that is set before us!

I would like to welcome the students that participated in this event to leave their comments – did you enjoy it? what did you learn? would you recommend the event to your friends?

I did my best to make it to your fine school last week, but the Lord clearly had another schedule in mind. My flight was late Wednesday night into Atlanta due to “the worse storms in 5 years” in the Atlanta area. Tornadoes, lightening, hail, wind all came together making air travel impossible. I finally got to your school at 5PM Thursday. Mr C gave me a tour, boy was I impressed! You guys have great facilities in the gorgeous mountain shadows of the Rockies.

I left my robots & workshop materials with Mr C. I hope he will be able to show you guys how to build and program robots. I’d love to hear back from you about your experience. Please post a comment to this blog so I can hear about your experience. I enjoy showing Christian young people how to build robots and to challenge them to consider how complex God’s creation is! If God has given you an interest in computer technology I want to encourage you to consider using your abilities to bring glory to your Creator. There is no greater field of study to allow you to do so than Computer Science!

Just this past week a former student of mine emailed me and said his company was looking to hire 51 software developers here in Greenville, SC and he was only able to find 10 qualified people! Don’t let all the news of the failing economy detour you from seeking a degree in math, computer science, science or engineering. There are lots of jobs available to qualified people. And BJU is a great place for you prepare for careers in these fields!! (ok, enough of the shameless plugs)

After you have build and programmed your robot, please post a comment sharing with me what you did and what you thought of the activity. And if any of you want more information about a career in computer science, please let me know. I’d be happy to meet you next time I’m in the Denver area – I love the mountains!!

Mr Dan Wooster

professional “bit builder” and educator  (ask Mr C what bits are all about)

Here are some great looking photos of some great looking students that I’m praying will someday come to BJU and let me teach you how to be a great bit builder for God’s glory!

My students & I had an exciting 2 days working with the high school students @ Bible Baptist Church & School in Savannah GA & Sumter Christian School in Sumter SC. We showed the students how to build and program robots using Lego Mindstorm NXT kits. They expressed much excitement & enthusiasm as they learned about various senors, motors & gears as well as being introduced to the challenging & rewarding world of programming.

My purpose for this blog entry is to provide a place for the students to share some of their experiences. So I welcome all the students who participated to blog away!