Jeff Forbes, Associate Professor of Practice, Computer Science
Project Summary
This project will develop, evaluate, and disseminate materials for a new course to equip Computer Science majors to mentor local middle and high school students with robotics projects. Building on the success of the Duke/DPS Robotics Program, Duke computer science students will learn to:
- design and implement the software and hardware architecture of a robot to perform tasks such as line following, map building, and object recognition
- formulate a lesson plan for an after school robotics enrichment program for middle or high school students
- formulate and support a hypothesis on how access to and proficiency with computing technology affects education
- effectively mentor students from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds.
Funding from the Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) provided materials to build the software and hardware infrastructure for this project, and assisted with Dr. Forbes’ successful application for a North Carolina Space Grant Higher Education Course Development Program. CIT is delighted to assist with this project because it supports Duke University’s Signature “Knowledge in the Service of Society“.
See the RoboCup Jr challenge, with comments by Jeff Forbes and Duke student mentors:
Start Date: February 28, 2010
Funding awarded: $2,400