7 Benefits of Learning Robotics as a Child
Both in the workplace and in the school, robotics seems to be all the rage these days. There are many good reasons for that, actually many solid reasons for that. Robotics for kids is becoming more and more popular since robots will rule the world in the future. Discover how technology and robots will affect the lives of your children by boarding the train to the future.
Let’s start by defining what the term “robotics” entails. Engineering, technology, and science all intersect in the interdisciplinary field of robotics, which studies robots. The final product is a robotic device that mimics human behavior or executes human commands (through code). A fundamental understanding of engineering (how to build the robot physically), technology (to comprehend how each component of the robot performs), and programming are prerequisites for success in robotics (how to program its functions).
This may appear unduly complicated at first, and at the highest (professional) level, it most certainly can be. However, robotics is no longer just a career for the most brilliant scientists who are capable of thinking beyond what the rest of us can possibly comprehend. Robotics is a subject that is taught at colleges and even in elementary schools, where it is becoming more and more popular every year. In other words, it’s a set of abilities that kids as young as 5 can begin learning.
Here’s why robotics for kids is so vital and why your child should definitely become involved in this movement, in our opinion.
Our future depends on robots
Additionally, the future of the labor market is important. This is not some dismal vision, but rather an intriguing reality. In a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, transportation, exploration (from space to war zones), household work, GPS, and many more, robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are already in use. Their use will continue to grow significantly over time.
But rather than replacing us, these machines, AI, and their rising utilization are opening up a brand-new job market. Therefore, their appearance is not a danger but rather a wonderful opportunity. AI and robots require ongoing design, production, programming, upkeep, and improvement. Your youngster may help in this situation. Only those knowledgeable in robots, engineering, coding, and mechanics are able to carry out such tasks. Such adaptable employment won’t just be in high demand, but also be well-paid. Thus, introducing robots to children at a young age is nothing less than a wise investment in their future.
Children learn difficult concepts easily through robotics.
One does not just learn robotics by learning robotics because robotics is an interdisciplinary field. On the other hand, one also dabbles with science (especially physics – speed, movement, action-reaction, force, etc.), math (i.e. if we want a robot to walk a specific distance in this many instances, what distance should it move in one of the instances?) and other subjects. and engineering (constructing things, learning how they interact, what mechanical elements are required to make a realistic function conceivable, etc.), design, and other related fields (designing your own robot in a way that pleases the eye and fulfills criteria of functionality is both an artistic and design feat).
Even for an adult, let alone a youngster, all of these topics and ideas are difficult by nature. But when they are taught through play and toys, they stop being a lesson and start to feel more like a normal occurrence. Like learning a language by just immersing oneself in its culture, without paying attention to its laws and grammar, and then realizing weeks later that it has fairly organically ingrained itself into one’s head. This is exactly how the aforementioned scientific ideas infiltrate children’s minds when they study robotics. Although kids might not even be aware of it, they do understand them and will utilize them when necessary, such as during a physics class at school.
Coding is enhanced by robotics.
Unless they are being commanded in real-time, robots operate according to directives that are typically pre-coded. Even so, they would need to be pre-programmed in order to be able to carry out specific tasks in real-time upon the pushing of a single button. As a result, coding and robotics go together like chocolate and vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and jelly, and children and play. Robotics is a great discipline to introduce young children to coding because the two are so closely related that it is difficult to imagine one without the other.
A tool like Robo Wunderkind, for instance, teaches coding and robotics to children at the same time and at varying levels of difficulty, making both ideas understandable at every stage and introducing them to STEM at a pace that they can handle.
Robotics fosters the growth of numerous practical skills.
As mentioned previously, robotics is a multidisciplinary subject. But it also promotes and educates soft skills that appear to have little to do with STEM, rather than simply serving as a catch-all discipline for a number of sciences. These are only a few:
Design thinking: is a solution-based approach to challenging challenges that emphasizes analytical thinking together with adaptable persistence and patience. Practically every area of life can benefit from design thinking. Additionally, in the context of robotics, problem-solving is linked to a physical end-result, which makes the process of developing a solution simpler to conceptualize.
Creativity: The greatest way to train creativity is to alternate between open and close types of brain activity. Robotics and programming are skills that support both types, including the more open and playful (open) and the more strict and narrow-minded (closed) ones. One of the most effective methods for teaching these two modalities is play-based learning.
Confidence: We have witnessed it ourselves on all the youngsters who play with their Robo Wunderkind sets how tremendously empowering it feels to create something of your own, something that functions to your liking and that you built with your inventiveness. Children are taught robotics in a way that values their own perspectives on their tasks, promotes teacher-student dialogue, and fosters open-ended questions. (Instead of merely a form when the teacher talks and the student attentively listens.)
Teamwork: One of the best methods for kids to learn respectful cooperation is by having them work together on a job with all of their diverse viewpoints and approaches to a problem. Our curriculum encourages students to work together with one Robo Wunderkind set, which results in a quicker completion of their task and, unsurprisingly, more fun than playing alone. Additionally, it teaches kids how to present their ideas, discuss them, and test them to discover which one solves their problem the most effectively (perhaps with a little supervision and direction).
Children who play with robots are prevented from ever claiming, “I don’t comprehend technology.”
It’s safe to suppose that we’ve all seen a young person become discouraged by the lack of early success in a new activity and exclaim, “I don’t get it!” before giving up. This kind of frustration is common, but robotics teaches kids to be excited and spurred forward by the strange and uncharted, rather than to get upset. People get into coding and robotics because they want to solve unknown problems, and eventually the idea that a problem is “unsolvable” will be irrelevant. Thus, engaging in STEM activities transforms irritation into interest and, eventually, innovation.
Children return to the real world after learning about robots.
In some ways, it makes sense for parents to worry about how much time their kids spend online and in front of screens these days, but robots makes it unnecessary. Children learn to engage with the physical world through real-world robots just as much (if not more) than they learn to write the program that will run them. Additionally, this code is employed to provide options that are mirrored in the physical outcome and to enable the convergence of abstract technology and everyday life.
In other words, a robot enables ‘invisible’ technology to become a tangible thing, bringing it much closer to children and their understanding and, in turn, bringing them closer to the physical side of new technology production.
Children love robotics so much!
Robotics for kids is primarily about the excitement of creating something novel and unexpected, the anticipation of learning whether it will function, the elation at witnessing one’s ideas and imagination come to life, and the self-assured belief in one’s own progress. It may seem unfair to put the most crucial aspect at the very end. It is important to not undervalue the endorphins and intrinsic motivation that come from such creative play.