Curricula for Instructors

Robot 250 is a project celebrating the city of Pittsburgh through a combination of technology and the arts. Robot 250 brings technology and creative learning opportunites to children and communities within Pittsburgh and empowers them to design robots that enhance or highlight their communities.

Neighborhood Networks is a participatory design program focused on community robotics for local representation and action. Examples of such groups include block-watches, community gardeners, and preservationists.

Traditional introductory computer science courses are heavily focused on teaching programming, so much so that the general public considers computer science and programming synonymous. While this pedagogical strategy is effective at laying a strong foundation for programming skills, it creates curricula which do little to motivate students. Programming exercises rarely incorporate real-world data.

The goal of this program is to expand interest in computer science among secondary school students. We plan to achieve this through the introduction of unique robot-based modules in to the high school computer science curriculum.

A Robot Diary is a customizable robot designed to serve as a means of expression for its creator. Using light, sound, and movement, users can choreograph their Robot Diaries to be responsive to a diary entry or other piece of text. Users can also enter into a community where they are able to share the contents of their Robot Diary with others. Ultimately, the robot diary provides a unique means of exploring, expressing, and sharing emotions, ideas and thoughts while promoting technological literacy and informal learning.