- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/vex-iq/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:30:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Arkansas students learn robotics skills /news-archive/2017/08/24/robotics-camp/ Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:30:30 +0000 /news/?p=67717 ... Arkansas students learn robotics skills]]> A new summer camp at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock introduced more than 30 Arkansas students to the exciting world of robotics competitions.聽 The camp, held July 31 to Aug. 4, taught students how to build and program robots as well as how to compete in VEX IQ robotics competitions. VEX IQ is a snap-together robotics system designed from the ground up to provide educational opportunities to future engineers of all skill levels. The VEX IQ program, which is for elementary school students, is the predecessor for robotics competitions at the middle school/high school (VEX EDR) and university (VEX U) levels. Sandra Leiterman, math specialist in the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educational Center, led the camp. She is the coach of the only VEX U robotics team in Arkansas as well as the coach of two teams at Mills High School. Leiterman hopes that by introducing students to robotics before junior high school, she will encourage them to pursue STEM-related careers. She also hopes the summer camp will lead to more schools starting robotics teams. 鈥淲e thought it would be a great way to introduce robotics to elementary students who don鈥檛 have robotics teams at their schools, and it promotes an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education,鈥 Leiterman said. 鈥淲e hope these students will go back to their teachers and ask them to start robotics teams in their schools.鈥 Neva Dagtas of Little Rock was excited to attend the camp to learn engineering and robotics skills. 鈥淚 like building robots, and I love the way you can control the robots and make it do things autonomously,鈥 Dagtas said. Dagtas and her team partner, Natalie Tyler, a sixth-grader from Maumelle, said it took a lot of ingenuity and online research to get their robot, which they named Walle Jr., to work. 鈥淲e were missing so many parts,鈥 Tyler said. 鈥淭he chips were different. When we tried to make the controller work, it didn鈥檛.鈥 Their efforts paid off, as Dagtas and Tyler won the camp鈥檚 robotics competition for fifth- and sixth-graders. 鈥淎fter all the struggles you鈥檝e been through, it鈥檚 a really happy moment in your life,鈥 Dagtas said. Clare Quaid, a Mills High School senior who is a member of an all-girls robotics team coached by Leiterman, was one of 10 high school and 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock college students who volunteered to introduce the students to the world of robotics. 鈥淏eing on a robotics team is very empowering,鈥 said Quaid, who added that she is a distant cousin of actor Dennis Quaid. 鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 want to go into a STEM field, but now I see how much girls are needed in STEM fields. Robotics empowered me to make a change.鈥 Participants included:
  • 听听听听听Zamari Ball of North Little Rock, fourth-grader at North Little Rock Catholic
  • 听听听听听Granger Colclasure of Little Rock, third-grader at Episcopal Collegiate
  • 听听听听听Mia Colclasure of Little Rock, fifth-grader at Episcopal Collegiate
  • 听听听听听Leonardo Cruz of Little Rock, fourth-grader at Forest Park Elementary
  • 听听听听听Tristen Cunningham of Little Rock, fifth-grader at Episcopal Collegiate
  • 听听听听听Neva Dagtas of Little Rock, sixth-grader at Huda Academy
  • 听听听听听Kaan Dagtas of Little Rock, fourth-grader at Huda Academy
  • 听听听听听Eric Carmona Garcia of Little Rock, third-grader at Baseline Academy
  • 听听听听听Tyler Goodman of Jacksonville, sixth-grader at Bayou Meto Elementary
  • 听听听听听Naia Green of Little Rock, fifth-grader at Christ Lutheran School
  • 听听听听听DeAndre James of Little Rock, sixth-grader at Meadowcliff Elementary
  • 听听听听听Amelia Johnson of Bryant, fifth-grader at Springhill Elementary
  • 听听听听听Kenyon Key of North Little Rock, fourth-grader at Abundant Life School
  • 听听听听听Connor Lloyd of Little Rock, sixth-grader at Lisa Academy
  • 听听听听听Christian Mack of Lake Hamilton, fifth-grader at Lake Hamilton Elementary
  • 听听听听听Fernanda Martinez of North Little Rock, fifth-grader at Lisa Academy North
  • 听听听听听Vania Martinez of North Little Rock, third-grader at Lisa Academy North
  • 听听听听听Chloe Mitchell of North Little Rock, third-grader at Arkansas School for the Blind
  • 听听听听听Mason Mitchell of North Little Rock, sixth-grader at Lakewood Elementary
  • 听听听听听Alex Moore of Mabelvale, fifth-grader at Davis Elementary
  • 听听听听听Rafeal Morgan of Little Rock, fourth-grader at Forest Heights STEM Academy
  • 听听听听听Nam Nguyen of Little Rock, fourth-grader at Forest Park Elementary
  • 听听听听听Roger Quad of Bigelow, sixth-grader at Anne Watson
  • 听听听听听Ryker Quaid of Bigelow, fourth-grader at Anne Watson
  • 听听听听听Nikhil Shanmugam of Little Rock, third-grader at Williams Magnet
  • 听听听听听Dishant Sharma of Little Rock, sixth-grader at Baker Elementary
  • 听听听听听Shriish Sathish of Little Rock, third-grader at Chenal Elementary
  • 听听听听听Davontae Taylor of Lake Hamilton, fourth-grader at Lake Hamilton Elementary
  • 听听听听听Natalie Tyler of Maumelle, sixth-grader at Pine Forest Elementary
  • 听听听听听Matthew Wiebelhaus-Brahm of Benton, fourth-grader at Springhill Elementary
  • 听听听听听Samuel Wiebelhaus-Brahm of Benton, third-grader at Springhill
  • 听听听听听Bradyn Wilkerson of Bigelow, East End Elementary
  • 聽 聽 聽Sheriff Wolfe of Little Rock, third-grader at Pulaski Heights Elementary
In the upper right photo,聽Neva Dagtas (middle) of Little Rock celebrates as her robot, “Walle Jr.,” wins the robotics camp competition for fifth and sixth graders. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Communications.]]> 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host robotics camp for elementary students, teachers /news-archive/2017/05/23/ua-little-rock-robotics-camp/ Tue, 23 May 2017 13:10:52 +0000 /news/?p=67231 ... 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to host robotics camp for elementary students, teachers]]> Sandra Leiterman, math specialist in the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educational Center, will lead a VEX IQ Robotics summer camp for students entering third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. The camp will be held from 8 a.m. to noon July 31 to Aug. 4 in the Engineering Technology and Science (ETAS) building on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock campus. The cost is $125. A limited number of scholarships are available for students with a financial need. Students will learn hardware design, programming, teamwork, problem solving, and leadership skills. 鈥淲e thought it would be a great way to introduce robotics to elementary students who don鈥檛 have robotics teams at their schools, and it promotes an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education,鈥 Leiterman said. 鈥淲e hope these students will go back to their teachers and ask them to start robotics teams in their schools.鈥 In addition to students eager to learn about robotics, educators may attend the summer camp for free to learn how they can create a robotics team at their own schools. 鈥淥ne of the biggest hang ups of teachers starting robotics programs is that they think they are in over their head or under qualified,鈥 Leiterman said. 鈥淭his camp can show teachers how easy it is. There are also grants available. I can show teachers how to get a grant, so they can basically come and see how to get a robotics team started for very little cost.鈥 VEX IQ is a snap-together robotics system designed from the ground up to provide educational opportunities to future engineers of all skill levels. The VEX IQ program, which is for elementary school students, is the predecessor for robotics competitions at the middle school/high school (VEX EDR) and university (VEX U) levels. Leiterman is the coach of the only VEX U robotics team in Arkansas. While most robotics teams are staffed by engineering students, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 squad, dubbed 鈥Just a Prototype,鈥 聽is made up of future math and science teachers who will one day start school robotics teams. She also coaches two robotics teams at Mills High. One of the teams is an all-girls team, the Uncut Diamonds, which has made four national championship appearances. Members of all three of Leiterman鈥檚 robotics teams will work at the camp. The funds raised will be used to purchase parts to build robots and to attend competitions. Applications can be found online at. For more information, contact Leiterman at saleiterman@ualr.edu or 920.227.8576. In the upper right photo, the Just a Prototype robotics team members include: Back row (L-R) Jamie Burrows, Rachel Smith, Shala Nail, and Donetha Groover. Front row (L-R) David Shurley, FLN the robot, and Faculty Advisor Sandra Leiterman.]]>