CARIBOU, Maine — A LEGO robot programmed by an adult education student solved a Rubik’s Cube within minutes during a Sept. 6 RSU 39 meeting in Caribou.
Danny MacDonald, Director of Adult Education and Alternative High School, updated the school board on new developments as the bot solved the cube on its own.
“We’re continuing to expand our lab, and last year we introduced LEGO robotics,” MacDonald said as the robot analyzed and manipulated the cube.
RSU 39 Director of Adult Education Danny MacDonald sits a lego robot next to him and has it solve a rubix cube during a school board meeting. The bot, programmed by an Adult Ed student, solved the rubix cube in a little over five minutes and is an example of teachers using technology to help students learn programming, coding, and prepare them for the future.
(Christopher Bouchard)
The program director explained that the device has built-in sensors for color, light level, angle and motion, which it scans via programmed algorithm to determine the most efficient solution.
“It will solve the cube in anywhere between nine to 22 moves,” MacDonald said.
RSU 39’s Adult Education program is working to share their technology throughout the district, and MacDonald said he recently met with Limestone Community School Principal Sue White about having her seventh- and eighth-grade students learn coding to reinforce current math and science standards.
This year, Caribou Adult Ed is initiating a pilot program in which a parent or guardian and child learn together in a “family literacy experience.”
“We’ll be working with eight middle-school students and a parent or significant adult,” MacDonald said, “and learn coding, animation, video production, drone technology, and comic and game development. It’s limited to eight families, but we’re hoping it’s going to be received well so we can expand.”
After the robot successfully solved the Rubik’s Cube, MacDonald unveiled Sphero, a spherical device that can be programmed and controlled via phone, tablet or laptop.
“You can use Sphero for obstacle courses or program it to meet many standards,” MacDonald said, steering the ball up to where board members sat. “You can do science activities, or use it to write skits and stories and act out the actions of characters.”
MacDonald concluded his presentation by telling the board that both students and adults will need to embrace and understand this technology in order to adapt to technology’s exponential growth and integration with future jobs and careers.
“This is the foundation of the future,” MacDonald said, “and if we don’t introduce kids and adults to this now, we’ll be behind.”
