Students create robot to help them with chores
Seafood may come to mind when you discuss lobster. However, The Lobster is a robot made by a group of pupils at Kilembwa Secondary School in Mwala Sub-County in Machakos County that they use to pick up trash around the school grounds.
In order to identify leaves and other litter in the school compound, the students programmed a robot using color sensors. Additionally, they gave it an arm that can gather litter and place it in a compartment on its back. After the cart fills up, they programmed the arm to move in a specific direction to dump the litter.
They were able to accomplish all of this because of coding classes that started two weeks ago following Kenya Connect and Future Investments Initiatives Institute’s donation of laptops to their school. The organization installed a computer lab and donated a robotic kit to each of the three secondary schools it financed.
Coding or computer programming is the composition of sequences of instructions that a computer can follow to perform tasks that involve designing and implementing algorithms, and step-by-step specifications of procedures, by writing code in one or more programming languages.
“I was motivated by the fact that students in many day schools are mandated to collect litter in the morning before classes begin,” says Maxwell Karanja, the student who has been leading a team of ten students in his class to code The Lobster. “This robot can help us pick litter and take it to the compost pit while we study because we take too much time doing this while we should be studying.”
Though it’s still a work in progress, Karanja, also referred as by his teammates as “Captain,” adds that it requires passion and effort, and they are practicing to compete in the International Olympics for Robotics and the Science Fair. Since coding is the way of the future, he also exhorts other pupils who have access to computers to develop an interest in it.
Michael Muthama, their teacher, thinks that this will be a turning point for the school’s overall performance. “It is not easy for students from remote schools to learn complex topics like coding, but we are glad that we received this kind donation to our school because we are sure our students will leave here with the necessary computer literacy skills,” Muthama says. The computer project at Kyamatula Secondary School has students just as thrilled, and they have begun developing a robot car that can stop on its own when it detects things on the road.
“We are making small steps in this, and it is such a privilege to be studying using computers because we feel just like students in big town schools that have plenty of resources,” says Mwendwa Mutisya, a Form 3 student.
He says they have been using computers for studying almost all subjects and that their performance has improved because they can search for definitions of terms and build their vocabulary but most importantly, they have been using them for relaxation after long hours in class.
Patience Vaati, a Form 2 student in the same school, acknowledges how computers have helped them sharpen their technology skills and made a difference in their village.
Their computer teacher, James Ng’ang’a, who has been assisting students with understanding robotics and coding, says, “Computers are not simply machines, but a gateway to innovation, problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration.”
Kyamatula Secondary School Principal Charity Githaiga implores more partners to include more schools in the computer project for the good of the community at large.
“The computers donated to the school have made a big difference in the school. Many secondary schools in Kenya are financially challenged, so if more donors come in and help, it will push Kenyan students in the right direction,” she says.
Learning by doing is encouraged in the modern CBC education system, and coding clubs have been included into the elementary schools that surround these high institutions.
According to Patrick Munguti, Director of Education and Technology at Kenya Connect, other local schools will eventually join in and start teaching robots and coding.
“It would be better if we had more schools on this project,” he says. “With the help of Future Investment Initiatives Institute, we intend to work with more schools, including primary schools. Currently, we have only managed to install computer labs and donate computers in three schools. We have also donated robotic kits and trained teachers.”
According to Munguti, schools in rural areas are less fortunate than those in urban areas, where students have easier access to technology like computers. For this reason, Kenya Connect has been attempting to remove obstacles to help these schools catch up to those in urban areas. They gave one robotic kit per school together with 30 laptops to Kilembwa Secondary, 15 to Mbaikini Girls, and 20 to Kyamatula Secondary.
