Students from the New York State School for the Deaf in Rome are collaborating with students at the Oneida Library to practice their skills in American Sign Language and robotics/coding! The school-public library partnership is being supported through the Madison-Oneida BOCES School Library System’s Summer Reading Mini-Grant program.
Each Monday, librarians Ellen Dupree (NYSSD) and Megan Gillander (OPL) set up a Zoom call so their students can practice basic ASL. Then, students work on a coding challenge at their own sites using Finch Robots on loan for the summer to NYSSD through BirdBrain Technologies!
“I loved the idea of connecting ASL and coding, because it is all about communication,” Gillander said. “Both ASL and coding are ways to communicate, one with people and one with robots. I think it is so important for young people to see connections.”
This post was originally shared in a Facebook post from Madison-Oneida BOCES on Facebook, and shared with permission. Read the post in its original format here.
The Finch Robot loan program loans out the Finch Robot 2.0 to districts, schools, libraries, and other organizations across the United States. This free program is our effort to reach students who may not otherwise get the chance to program a robot during their normal school day. We’re passionate about inspiring deep and joyful hands-on learning for all students, and we are proud to support all educators in working toward that goal. In the last 8 years we have reached over 205,000 students with our free robot loans! Applications are currently being evaluated for fall and winter 2022. Mark your calendars – applications for spring and summer 2023 open in December 2022! If you have questions about the Finch Robot loan program, check out the Frequently Asked Questions about the program here.