An Róbó Seó: the first ever Lego robotics workshop in the Irish Language takes place at DCU

Robots designed and built by 320 primary school students were launched today at An Róbó Seó (The Robot Show) in Dublin City University.

Students and teachers from six Gaelscoileanna spent the last nine months preparing projects for the event which demonstrates how astronauts can tackle various problems on the moon, such as how to find water, store food and create energy using robotic computational materials. The event was funded through the Schools Digital Excellence Fund.

It is the largest FIRST LEGO League Jr. event to be held throughout Ireland and the UK as well as the largest STEM-based event to take place in Ireland primarily through Gaeilge.

The Schools Digital Excellence Fund has provided funding to Gaelscoil Eiscir Riada, Gaelscoil Naomh Pádraig, Gaelscoil na Camóige, Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich, Scoil Uí Dhálaigh and Scoil Uí Riada to form a cluster group for a 3 year project supported by DCU’s Institute of Education, the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and industry partner, LearnIt.

The children and teachers in these Gaelscoileanna use a range of LEGO Education robotic materials, to develop computational thinking and 21st Century problem-solving skills in an inquiry-based interdisciplinary learning environment, as Gaeilge.

Through engagement with cyclical, scaffolded learning activities children in the cluster schools are engaged in computational thinking skills in a collaborative, constructionist learning environment. The inquiry-based nature of this project fosters a natural curiosity among the children and encourages them to solve problems and find solutions independently.

Dr Anne Looney, Executive Dean of the Institute of Education said:

“DCU Institute of Education is delighted to host this event and to be associated with the FIRST LEGO Leagues Junior. Working with our unique Lego Education Innovation Studio gives our student teachers a chance to work on practical robotic challenges, and to develop skills they can take with them into their future classrooms and a problem-solving mindset that can inspire the next generation of STEM learners.”

Professor Deirdre Butler, DCU LEGO Education Innovation Studio said:

“The opportunity to be centrally involved in this initiative contributes to our goal of creating an interactive learning hub that will help DCU student teachers and all Irish schools develop innovative and creative approaches to designing learning environments which ignite a passion for learning STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) concepts and skills from early childhood education right through to third level. By adopting Lego’s playful learning tools, with a ‘Hands-on Minds-on’ mindset, in a supportive learning environment, all students can develop key competencies such as creative thinking, problem-solving, team-working and communication.”

Frank Ó Tormaigh, Cluster Lead, added:

“This project has really demonstrated to the participating teachers how valuable and rewarding it is to use LEGO Education WeDo 2.0 in their teaching. The thematic approach is so versatile and flexible enabling development across a range of curriculum areas. The feedback from children and teachers has been wonderful and we are very excited about year 2 of the project already.”

Ross Maguire, Managing Director of Learn it said:

“The FIRST LEGO League Junior is so much more than a robotics initiative. It is a platform for students to discover the world of STEM and to collaborate on real-world problems. These young people are taking the first steps to become tomorrow’s innovators, creators and problem solvers.”