Burk Students Master Coding with Sphero RVR Robots

At Burk Elementary, student achievement is often celebrated through the PAWS tickets, a positive behavior incentive that students can trade for unique learning experiences. Recently, a group of students used their tickets to participate in a specialized robotics session led by a Technology Integration Educator (TIE), Alexis Mason. This opportunity turned the classroom into a hands-on laboratory where students used their Chromebooks to master Sphero RVR rovers. The lesson began with the basics of hardware connectivity and manual navigation, giving students immediate control over the speed and direction of their machines.

Once the students mastered the manual controls, the instruction shifted toward autonomous programming using block-based coding. This required the students to write precise programs that directed the rovers to move on their own, challenging them to think through the logic of every turn and stop. The classroom quickly transformed into a student-led testing site as they used books to build ramps and programmed the rovers to navigate around furniture and desk legs. By creating their own obstacles and testing their code in real-time, the students practiced the kind of persistence and spatial awareness needed for modern problem-solving.

While the lesson focused on technical proficiency, Alexis Mason noted that the most significant success was how engaged the students were. The robotics lesson kept the students focused and driven for the entire period. By mastering the Sphero RVRs, Burk Bobcats are proving that hands-on technology is a powerful vehicle for both academic and personal growth.

To learn more about academics at Burk Elementary, visit Burk.GilbertSchools.net/Academics or schedule a tour!