Naga studes explore robotics

By Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.
March 23, 2013

CEBU CITY – The Dr. Caridad C. Labe (CCL) Education CentrEx Robotics Team, which the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) sponsored during the World Robotics Olympiad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, conducted a three-day robotics training to 46 public elementary and high school students from Naga City, Cebu last March 7-9 at the Naga National High School.

The training, a part of the sponsorship agreement between the team and RAFI, aims to introduce robotics as a 21st century approach to learning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) through experiential activities.

“We wanted to promote robotics in as many schools as possible not only for students to have a fun way of applying what they learned in the said subjects, but for them to also develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills,” Rachel Labe, president of CCL Education CentrEx School, said.

The training design is based on the robotics curriculum implemented in the said school, which sees robotics as a motivational tool to excite learners to study science and technology.

The school's Robotics Team placed first and fourth in the 2012 Philippine Robotics Olympiad and represented the Philippines in the World Robotics Olympiad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last November.

For their final output, the participants were made to design their own robots. The robots are equipped with sensors – touch, light, color, sound, and ultrasonic, among others – to respond to their environment.

Using LEGO Mindstorm, the students created a program to make their mechanical design function and respond to outside stimuli. The program was then downloaded to the NXT, a small computer that acts as the brain of the robot.

Dr. Senen Paulin, division superintendent of Department of Education (DepEd)-Naga City, said he was impressed with the students' demonstrations during the training. He disclosed, to the delight of the students and their teacher-coaches, that robotics has been included in the budget for the next school year.

While robotics is a relatively new area in the public school system, the support of various stakeholders in Naga City has played a major role for its integration. Currently, it is the only city in Cebu Province whose public schools are equipped with robotics kits, which cost P70,000 each.

Its local government unit provided the Lego Mindstorm NXT kits for the schools and is currently in talks with DepEd-Naga City for future directions in the area of robotics.

CCL CentrEx provides the training as their way of giving back to the community and in gratitude of the support they received from RAFI and other organizations.

“You have a very supportive leadership from the local government unit and DepEd, who see this as a worthwhile investment, and RAFI, who has supported various initiatives to improve the quality of education. It is now up to the teachers and school heads to grab these opportunities to have access to relevant resources,” Labe said to the trainees and teachers.

RAFI's sponsorship for the CCL Education CentrEx Robotics Team in the World Robotics Olympiad was made possible through the Foundation's Grants, one of the capabilities in RAFI’s comprehensive approach to elevating lives and communities.