Feb 28 2011
Four freshmen from Bowdon High School have developed a tutoring program that extends over a period of 12 weeks for coaching students belonging to the Bowdon Elementary School.
Sam Jenkins and Daniel Cater, two freshmen who are representing Bowdon for state level competitions this year, have volunteered to coach students. Students who have signed up for the after school program, conducted by Sam Jenkins and Daniel Cater, can benefit from additional instruction and one-on-one help in building robots.
These tutoring programs have been run by the students themselves with the help of a small grant and some funds that they mobilized from four local businesses. Three additional Bowdon High students have recently started assisting with the program. A few other freshmen from Bowdon have helped in establishing the program.
Cater and Jenkins managed to purchase Lego Education robotic sets to coach all the 40 children. Students who enrolled for the after school robotic program are taught more about pulleys gears and a simple looping program. A few fifth-grade students have started work on more complex robotic projects, where the robot functions independent of a computer.
The students have built robots using Legos. They are encouraged to use their imagination to create robots with innovative designs at the end of every period. Students develop robots that take the role of a soccer player, a goalie, and two cheering fans. One robot is designed to rotate in circles while the other robot jumps up and down.