We all have read poems when we were young students and
some of us are still fond of reading them. The beauty of poem is that it
conveys powerful meaning in few words; it has ability to touch our heart and
convey our deepest feelings. But have you ever heard of Robotics Poetry? No? Well neither did I, till I came across an
amazing article
talking about 7th and 8th graders developing deep
understanding of poetry in Allegheny Valley School District, Pittsburgh, by
playing around with robotics. Rather than focusing merely on STEM this school
district is working on STEAM where ‘A’ stands for arts (creativity). The
emphasis is on integration of left-brain and right-brain so that A Whole New Mind mentioned by Daniel
Pink can be developed in the students. The thinking that is emphasized over
here is that capacity to innovate, create will determine the jobs and salaries
of people in future.
Students created awesome dioramas with robotics
tool kits containing sensors, motors, LEDs and a controller. These students
spent two weeks analyzing the poems - The Pasture by Robert Frost, The Human
Seasons by John Keats, El Dorado by Edgar Allan Poe…..and creating visual
imagery for their dioramas. They recorded themselves reading the poems aloud in
‘Audacity’; these voice files turned on the LEDs and motors leading to change
in light and movement of different objects in their dioramas! Out of all the
dioramas I liked The Pasture by Robert
Frost a lot. Take time to watch these beautiful artifacts and share your
thoughts!
