Sir James Smith's School

28/10/2015

NAO Robots motivate students

Sir James Smiths School is a small comprehensive school for 11-16 year olds.

The school approached NCI because they needed to facilitate the adoption of computer programming and engage students who wouldn't normally be interested in computing or science.  In addition, the school were keen to develop teaching and learning for students with special educational needs.

The NCI team provided five mini-humanoid robots for use throughout the school.  Software included the ASK NAO package for children with autism and other special educational needs. 

How NCI supported Sir James Smiths' School:

• Demo of the NAO robot functionality and software for education
• Support with grant application to cover costs
• Demo of the software 'Choreographie' - a simple and intuitive interface, easy for staff and pupils to use and learn programming
• Robot quickly engages students of all ages helping to motivate and inspire learning
• Robot delivers lessons in a unique way
• A greater interest in science and computing from minority groups, such as female students, was recorded
• Ongoing support with programming, software updates and curriculum application

Outcome:

The staff and students found programming the NAO robot simple and thus were able to quickly utilise the robots for various activities throughout the school.  NAO became a member of staff, a friend to the students and a facilitator for student teams.

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