Week 3: Class Is Almost In Session

This week was focused on preparing for the next major step of the project: bringing the curriculum into a real classroom environment.

One of the biggest milestones was coordinating the first official class, which will take place next Friday. Planning this session required working out logistics, confirming the schedule, and making sure the materials will be ready for students. This class will serve as the first opportunity to test the curriculum with a real group of learners and see how well the lessons translate from planning to practice.

While preparing for the class, I spent a significant amount of time cleaning up the robot’s code. The original prototype code worked well enough to control the robot, but it was written primarily for testing rather than teaching. Since the goal of this project is to help students understand how robotics systems work, the code needs to be clear, organized, and easy to follow.

I focused on restructuring the program so that each section is easier to read and understand. Functions are now separated into logical sections, variables have clearer names, and comments explain what each part of the code is doing. This makes the program easier for students to explore and modify when they begin learning how to program the robot themselves.

Alongside improving the code, I also began writing the programming portion of the course. This section will introduce students to the fundamentals of robotics programming, including how sensors, motors, and microcontrollers interact. 

Writing this portion of the curriculum required thinking carefully about how to present complex ideas in a way that remains accessible to younger students. I am focusing on breaking down concepts into small steps and connecting each programming idea directly to something students can observe on the robot.

Stay tuned for more updates next week!