MISSION, Texas(ValleyCentral) — A group of young students are using small, programmable robots called “bee bots” — creating more than a buzz but also an opportunity to learn about technology.
“We can include math,” said Pre-K teacher Erica Laredo, of the Mission Consolidated Independent School District. “We can include reading everything. It helps them be like problem-solving. It helps them to prepare to plan ahead. And to think, you know, to think not just how to solve a problem, we’ll have to go beyond.”
Teachers believe all children should be digitally literate.
According to Assistant Principal Alicia Bazan, it’s all about engagement.
“They don’t know that they are learning, which is the best part,” Bazan said. “So you see kids excited about, you know, finding answers and, you know, practicing those coding skills, and you know, technology is used every single day.”
Coding is defined as the method of communicating with a computer. It uses a language that gives a computer instructions in order to perform specific functions. Coding allows us to create things like websites and apps.
“So we are a technology-based campus, so we have to find resources that kinda, we can embed into our curriculum,” Bazan said. “And so this was a great resource that we felt students could use to do math, reading science, in all contexts.”
Learning to code puts children on a career path in cybersecurity, app and video game development, and more.
First-graders Kendrick Rodriguez and Andrea Izaguirre love to press the buttons.
“We give them directions, and we get to push the buttons,” they said.
