Third-graders Miguel Estrata and Angel Duran Saucedo fussed over a laptop at Lacoochee Elementary.
"This button and then it will go," Estrata said.
- Students learn computer programming
- Finch robot's moves controlled by sounds, lights
- Summer program is partnership between school, libary
The Finch robot came to life. It zipped around in a circle and the nose flashed different colors.
These two friends and other third-graders at Lacoochee Elementary School in east Pasco County spent a few weeks this summer learning how to write basic computer code to control the Finch robot.
Angelo Liranzo, the branch manager at Hugh Embry Library in Dade City, taught the elementary school students the computer language.
"They move color blocks into place that control the robot's movements and control the sounds, the light functions," he said.
The summer program is a partnership between Lacoochee Elementary and Pasco County Public Libraries. The east Pasco school has struggled with its grade. It was rated an "F" two years ago and a "D" this past year. Programs like this one help inspire students at the low-income school.
"Any form of partnerships can help the schools," said Wanda DeLaRosa, Volunteer Coordinator at Lacoochee Elementary School. "We need people from the community that have resources, whether it's intangible or tangible services to help the school."
Not only did these children learn computer sciences, but they learned about teamwork, brushed up on their reading, and took pride in what they could do.
Estrata especially liked it. He asked his mother to take him to the Hugh Embry Library so he could continue to learn more about computer science.
"It was really fun whenever I programmed it," he said. "I'm thinking to go into computer programming now."
The Finch robots are available at the Hugh Embry Library in Dade City for the public. There are various robotic resources at libraries across Pasco County -- click here to learn more.