Old Town Academy
Old Town Academy K–8 Charter School in San Diego, CA, has made Pro-Bots a big part of their STEM curriculum. Pro-Bots are used from second through fifth grades for increasingly complex activities. Pro-Bot, dubbed “Racer” by the students, generates a great deal of enthusiasm and motivates students to work hard to successfully accomplish their tasks.
Fifth grade students faced a complex challenge of moving Pro-Bot to locations around which multicolored pegs were set up as diagrammed above. They programmed Pro-Bot to knock over pegs only of a certain color.
Fourth grade students were challenged to hit five
bullseye targets sequentially. This required measuring the course and
then programming the distances and angles. By using Pro-Bot’s pen
mechanism, students could follow the exact path of their program and
then make adjustments as necessary to hit all of the targets.
Third grade students learn to use Pro-Bot to draw squares and stars, utilizing the robot’s ability to carry and draw with a pen as it moves. This project provides experience with geometric shapes as well as using the Repeat command in robot programs.
Another third grade project challenges students to knock over pegs with Pro-Bot, which requires careful measurement and translating that into a Pro-Bot program. Jubilation results with success but sometimes it requires a little help.
Second grade students teach Pro-Bot to move forward the proper distance to hit a pre-determined bullseye. This teaches them programming concepts while providing experience in measuring distance, adjusting for accuracy, and working together in groups.
Contact Information
| Name | Thomas Donahue |
| Position | Executive Director |
| tom@oldtownacademy.org | |
| Name2 | Jeff Major |
| Position2 | STEM Director |
| Email2 | major@oldtownacademy.org |
| Name3 | Jon Doar |
| Position3 | Parent Volunteer |
| Email3 | ota_stem@thedoars.com |
| School | Old Town Academy |
| Location | San Diego, CA |
| Address | 2120 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA 92110 |
| Website | https://www.oldtownacademy.org/ |
| Tags | Pro-Bot, California, STEM/STEAM |
| Age | Grades 2–5 |