Week 8 marked my last week in South Africa and it sure was busy! I had initially planned to use this time solely to train Zhaun, but we still had a lot to prepare for the exhibition. The time would need to be spent working with the students to finish up their projects. Furthermore, we needed to figure out how to handle the three students who had not participated in the extra week of class. On top of that, I had gotten to meet with Mr. Jurgens on the previous Friday and the logistics of the exhibition were starting to come together. These would need to be finalized. All that to say, working with Zhaun would have to be postponed.
The students came in for the robotics class on both Monday and Tuesday. The first item to be completed was the robot dance. Each of the three teams who had come for the extra week were now finishing up their robot's solo dance portion. Once they all finished, we moved on to choreograph and program the end of the dance. It was coming together! The batteries had also been charged and so the robot motors were slightly more powerful. This meant we needed to go through the dance again, re-tuning the motor powers. At the end of class on Tuesday, we had finished the dance and started discussing how the exhibition would go. Each team also recorded themselves to give voices to their robots!
As for the three students, I sat down with them and we discussed how their absence had affected the rest of the class. I decided, however, to give them another chance and lumped them all into Team Yellow. Zhaun would spend all his time working with them, to improve their chances of finishing.
Their task was the same as before - draw a message (which included a smiley face) with a marker. On Monday, they did not accomplish quite enough and I must confess it did not look promising. Come Tuesday, Lance did not come to class, and thus lost the opportunity to participate further. The other two, however, continued working and right at the end of class finished the smiley face portion. It was enough of a drawing for them to be able to perform it. I was so happy to see them focus and complete it! Unfortunately, there was no time left to get them into the dance, but they would still be able to participate in the exhibition. :D
Over those two days, we also got the hall set up and put down all the tape for the field. A white cloth was hung as a screen for the projector and the sound system was set up. We also figured out the seating arrangements and finalized the number of students. We would be able to seat Grades 5 and 6, as well as some guests (local press, parents, Projects Abroad staff). All in all, I think this was around 200 people.
Tuesday night, I finalized the script and created a video to introduce the robotics course, the exhibition, and the students.
We actually planned to add a segment to the end of this, showing the students walking from the lab to the assembly hall. It would end as the students in the video reached the hall's doors, and as the students in real life entered the hall through the same doors. It would have been a cool effect, but with the rush Wednesday morning, we didn't get around to it. :( Maybe they can pull it off in the future...
On Wednesday morning, the students practiced with the script, and I worked to add in the Bluetooth portions to their programs that would allow their robots to speak, and would also coordinate their robot demonstrations. It was quite hectic and we had to delay the show by 30 minutes. However, once 11:30 AM rolled around, we were ready to go. All the robots had been tested and everything was set up.
The video played, and as Zhaun announced each team's robot, it performed its individual task. There were a few glitches along the way, but it worked out for the most part. It was wonderful to see all the students' work coming to fruition as they got to show off their creations to the school and also to their parents. Unfortunately, I only have a few photos at the moment.
Projects Abroad's photographer and videographer were at the exhibition to record the event. They are in the midst of processing it all, and once I receive it, I will be sure to share some of the content online. I think I will save a more detailed description of the exhibition for then.
I will say, however, that at the end of Wednesday I was incredibly tired. Once I got home, I had lunch and fell asleep, waking up only for dinner!
I spent Thursday catching up on some writing and e-mails. Zhaun and I made plans to have a last class with the students on Friday and I was also invited by Ms. Solomon, who teaches music at Hyde Park, to a community band rehearsal. I was excited to go - some of my students were in the band. :D
It is a new project in the area directed by the creator of the Delft Big Band. It sounds really exciting!
Anyway, Friday came around and it was my last day at Hyde Park Primary, my last day in South Africa. At school, I spent most of the day with Zhaun. Throughout the course of the day, he got a crash course in teaching the robotics class. He learned how to set his computer up, how to interface with the NXT 2.0, how all the programs worked, how to modify some of the custom code I had written, etc. It was a hectic day!
During one of the breaks, I stopped by the music room to tell the young musicians a bit about my band experience. I showed them a short video clip and some pictures. I am certainly no expert, but I hope that sharing the lessons I was taught while in band will help them improve their playing. At the end of the class, Ms. Solomon gave me a generous gift bag from the school and told the students, to their surprise, that I was 19. I guess they all thought I was older! :P
Immediately after the break, all the robotics students came to the lab for our last class. Before we forgot, we first went through all the kits, making sure we had all the parts, then organizing them. With that finished, we got down to the real business: enjoying pizza and getting to chat. :D
I said my goodbyes and tried to leave them with some words of encouragment. We took one last photo and they were off. I wonder what great adventures lie ahead in their futures.
Zhaun and I continued working to the end of the school day, and afterwards we said our goodbyes and I headed off. It has truly been a pleasure working with Zhaun, and I confidently leave the robotics course in his hands.
I dropped by the Projects Abroad Office to turn in some paperwork, and returned with one hour to pack everything before we headed off for a nice dinner. Luckily, "packing" meant basically tossing everything from the shelves into the suitcases. :P
We went off and enjoyed a lovely meal. :D
I was picked up from the restaurant, and was soon on my way.
Thus ended my trip to Cape Town, to develop and teach a robotics course.
The students came in for the robotics class on both Monday and Tuesday. The first item to be completed was the robot dance. Each of the three teams who had come for the extra week were now finishing up their robot's solo dance portion. Once they all finished, we moved on to choreograph and program the end of the dance. It was coming together! The batteries had also been charged and so the robot motors were slightly more powerful. This meant we needed to go through the dance again, re-tuning the motor powers. At the end of class on Tuesday, we had finished the dance and started discussing how the exhibition would go. Each team also recorded themselves to give voices to their robots!
As for the three students, I sat down with them and we discussed how their absence had affected the rest of the class. I decided, however, to give them another chance and lumped them all into Team Yellow. Zhaun would spend all his time working with them, to improve their chances of finishing.
Their task was the same as before - draw a message (which included a smiley face) with a marker. On Monday, they did not accomplish quite enough and I must confess it did not look promising. Come Tuesday, Lance did not come to class, and thus lost the opportunity to participate further. The other two, however, continued working and right at the end of class finished the smiley face portion. It was enough of a drawing for them to be able to perform it. I was so happy to see them focus and complete it! Unfortunately, there was no time left to get them into the dance, but they would still be able to participate in the exhibition. :D
Over those two days, we also got the hall set up and put down all the tape for the field. A white cloth was hung as a screen for the projector and the sound system was set up. We also figured out the seating arrangements and finalized the number of students. We would be able to seat Grades 5 and 6, as well as some guests (local press, parents, Projects Abroad staff). All in all, I think this was around 200 people.
Tuesday night, I finalized the script and created a video to introduce the robotics course, the exhibition, and the students.
We actually planned to add a segment to the end of this, showing the students walking from the lab to the assembly hall. It would end as the students in the video reached the hall's doors, and as the students in real life entered the hall through the same doors. It would have been a cool effect, but with the rush Wednesday morning, we didn't get around to it. :( Maybe they can pull it off in the future...
On Wednesday morning, the students practiced with the script, and I worked to add in the Bluetooth portions to their programs that would allow their robots to speak, and would also coordinate their robot demonstrations. It was quite hectic and we had to delay the show by 30 minutes. However, once 11:30 AM rolled around, we were ready to go. All the robots had been tested and everything was set up.
The video played, and as Zhaun announced each team's robot, it performed its individual task. There were a few glitches along the way, but it worked out for the most part. It was wonderful to see all the students' work coming to fruition as they got to show off their creations to the school and also to their parents. Unfortunately, I only have a few photos at the moment.
Projects Abroad's photographer and videographer were at the exhibition to record the event. They are in the midst of processing it all, and once I receive it, I will be sure to share some of the content online. I think I will save a more detailed description of the exhibition for then.
I will say, however, that at the end of Wednesday I was incredibly tired. Once I got home, I had lunch and fell asleep, waking up only for dinner!
I spent Thursday catching up on some writing and e-mails. Zhaun and I made plans to have a last class with the students on Friday and I was also invited by Ms. Solomon, who teaches music at Hyde Park, to a community band rehearsal. I was excited to go - some of my students were in the band. :D
It is a new project in the area directed by the creator of the Delft Big Band. It sounds really exciting!
Anyway, Friday came around and it was my last day at Hyde Park Primary, my last day in South Africa. At school, I spent most of the day with Zhaun. Throughout the course of the day, he got a crash course in teaching the robotics class. He learned how to set his computer up, how to interface with the NXT 2.0, how all the programs worked, how to modify some of the custom code I had written, etc. It was a hectic day!
During one of the breaks, I stopped by the music room to tell the young musicians a bit about my band experience. I showed them a short video clip and some pictures. I am certainly no expert, but I hope that sharing the lessons I was taught while in band will help them improve their playing. At the end of the class, Ms. Solomon gave me a generous gift bag from the school and told the students, to their surprise, that I was 19. I guess they all thought I was older! :P
Immediately after the break, all the robotics students came to the lab for our last class. Before we forgot, we first went through all the kits, making sure we had all the parts, then organizing them. With that finished, we got down to the real business: enjoying pizza and getting to chat. :D
I said my goodbyes and tried to leave them with some words of encouragment. We took one last photo and they were off. I wonder what great adventures lie ahead in their futures.
Zhaun and I continued working to the end of the school day, and afterwards we said our goodbyes and I headed off. It has truly been a pleasure working with Zhaun, and I confidently leave the robotics course in his hands.
I dropped by the Projects Abroad Office to turn in some paperwork, and returned with one hour to pack everything before we headed off for a nice dinner. Luckily, "packing" meant basically tossing everything from the shelves into the suitcases. :P
We went off and enjoyed a lovely meal. :D
I was picked up from the restaurant, and was soon on my way.
Thus ended my trip to Cape Town, to develop and teach a robotics course.
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