The multiplier event of Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships project “How to Raise an Inventor. Technology and Engineering Learning Materials for Schools”, coordinated by the School of Robotics, took place in Vilnius on November 23-24, 2018.
The event was organized during the exhibition “School” at the Litexpo Exhibition Center in order to disseminate information about the project to as many teachers and pupils as possible. This decision proved to be successful: during the two days of the exhibition, children and representatives of schools from all over Lithuania visited the stand of the School of Robotics.
The booth focused on presenting the Erasmus + project’s intelligent product. In our dealings with school leaders and teachers, we have once again been convinced that the need for teaching materials to complete the content of lessons and after-school activities is very high. Many schools already have modern learning equipment, such as micro:bit computers, 3D printers, and robotics kits. However, there are no free and freely available teaching materials in Lithuanian, so teachers have to become self-aware of the equipment, search the Internet for information in English, create their own assignments, sometimes lacking in time and knowledge and the equipment continues to stand unused.
Interest in the project’s teaching materials suggests that the training tool will be useful both for beginner teachers and for those who are already proficient but want to offer their students new exciting topics and assignments.
Children of all ages also took an active interest in the Robotics School booth, observed the 3D printer in action and tested the breaking machine. Children and parents were introduced to learning robotics in their city or school.
The project partners – KTU Engineering Lyceum – presented their own module on solving technological problems and adapting them to business needs. The module is of interest to teachers who wish to combine the teaching of several STEM subjects in the educational process.
The second day of the exhibition hosted an open event for exhibitors entitled “Solidworks Designing for 3D Printers and Demolition” where Robotics School presented all 4 modules created during the project, provided free access to training materials, and shared experience in 3D modeling and printing.
Andrius Jarmolajevas, a representative of Solidworks Support and Training Center in Lithuania, presented the great news to Lithuanian schools – 3,500 free 3D licenses for Solidworks to be distributed to teachers and students in the near future.
Vilma Bačkiūtė, Head of the Pedagogical Department of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, welcomed the initiative of the private business contributing to the technological development in Lithuanian schools.
During the event, about 70 teachers and several hundred children and parents learned about the opportunity to teach and learn with the tools developed by the School of Robotics and their partners.
The project will continue until 2019. November 1.
Project grant agreement no. 2017-1-LT01-KA201-035284.
Below are some fotos from the event.
