A few months ago Enrique Dans He talked about Thinkbit in his blog and explained that it was an NGO created by a team of young people who used educational tools open hardware how Arduino to improve the future perspectives of young adolescents through learning disciplines such as robotics, the electronics and the programming. For now, its objective is adolescents from peripheral areas of Madrid and those who motivate them in learning without having to do structured classes, promoting doing it yourself and encouraging them to collaborate. To learn more about the project we have interviewed Andrés Quezada Reed, from Thinkbit, which will explain many details of the project, the current situation, the tools, the methodology and the future ahead.
How is the state of the art of robotics in Spain and how is it compared to other countries
There are leading companies such as GMV, with a lot of technical capacity, contracts with organizations such as ESA or NASA. However, for now the industry is mainly supported by state or community R&D aid. I think it is something that is happening worldwide, it is a world still to be discovered and even the development costs are high to obtain commercial products. Recall the case of Boston Dynamics, surely the most spectacular company, which however has not got any sales to date.
What do you do in Thinkbit and who are you addressing?
We want to encourage children to take interest in STEM disciplines (STEM is an acronym in English for science, technology, engineering and mathematics: science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and for this we seek to lose the fear of technology, to understand what is inside the devices and how they can be part creative and not only user. For this, nothing better than using platforms such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi.
We also have a social dimension because we focus on low-income groups. We want them to have the same opportunities and can get out of the "cycle of poverty" through the only thing that can break it definitively, themselves with their knowledge. This requires greater access to "disruptive" educational offerings.
What are the professional skills that will be demanded in the future and how robotics can help to achieve them
The ability to handle information, that is, data. Once the Internet has shown us that for (almost) everything there is a YouTube tutorial, we think that, at least in advanced societies, professional segmentation will disappear, mainly in the engineering field, to give way to ability to find network resources. With robotics and / or programming, for example, it is preferable for children to learn to search StackOverflow to have a pass in a hypothetical subject of "Programming I" in 2nd of ESO.
The future will demand people with the capacity to handle information and data
Do we have to let children learn programming and robotics in schools?
Yes, but not with the current methods and based on a teacher teaching with 40 children sitting bored taking notes.
What successful experiences exist in Spain about training in programming and robotics
There is an association that we like very much, We program, are dedicated to, non-profit, bring programming to children. They do it with a purpose, in this case to program an app or a videogame, which is tremendously important. The child needs to know why he is learning things.
What is the recommended age for children to approach robotics
Beginning at 6 years.
Children can approach robotics from 6 years old
What qualities does it give children to practice robotics
They are required to reason that they had never had to do before. In addition, it covers several "tool" areas such as electricity, electronics and programming that are being learned empirically.
How can robot programming compete with children's attention and total devotion to game consoles?
You must not compete, everything has its role. In the case of game consoles, they develop skills such as reflexes. Now, there should be no abuse because it is an interaction with technology purely at the user level, there is no creative process in the child. But nevertheless, robotics allows to create and see a concrete and real result of the actions. It is difficult to explain to the child this, the tactic we think is most effective is that they see their parents doing robotics. The child wants to do what his elders do, if they see us watching television, they will copy our passive attitude.
Among the social initiatives with which chess works is the work with children diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger Syndrome, positioning Spain in a place of reference in the world. Do you want to achieve something similar with programming?
We did not know this initiative, but it is commendable, an example to follow and a challenge to consider.
How can we get teachers to become more involved in robotics teaching and how do they have to do it?
The teacher must also lose the fear of the unknown, and should not pretend to know everything. You must accept your role as information nodeIt should be good to guide the child where to look for that code that does such a thing, that library for such a sensor, that conditional structure, etc. He must look for that moment in which the child knows more than he does, and not be ashamed, on the contrary, show the child the power of his ability to absorb knowledge.
The teacher must function as an information node that guides the student
What packaged solutions do you have in Thinkbit and how can they be achieved?
We have designed a arduino kit We think that it contains what can quickly attract the attention of the child. On our website, around that kit we have done some practices that everyone can consult that cover the contents of the kit and arouse the child's curiosity to explore other projects.
We are currently working with neighborhood associations, NGOs Y foundations to get that kit to interested children, in those neighborhoods with high social conflict that form our area of action.
What do the sponsors contribute to the project?
Since Telefónica Foundation They were the first to believe in us. They have a project to support young social entrepreneurship, Thinkbig, which supported our idea and provided the funds to buy the material. We are eternally grateful to them, because in addition other companies of the Telephone Group have contributed us well with donations of material (case of Telefónica I + D with twenty computers and more equipment) or advice / consultancy for the development of our activity, as is the case of the Telefónica Corporate Center through our mentor Jose Luis López Villén.
Additionally we have obtained strategic support, that of RS Components, the largest electronics distributor in the world. In addition, they are official distributors of Arduino and Raspberry Pi, then their support at the material level is invaluable.
And here the interview with Andrew from Thinkbit. We thank you for all the explanations you have offered us about this very ambitious project and in which children are the main protagonists. The challenge of being able to apply the training in STEM I hope it is one of the global objectives for education in Spain and of course I think that Thinkbit It is an initiative that shows that other types of training are possible to motivate children and prepare them for the future. We thank Andrés for the generosity in the responses in the interview and we wish him and his collaborators many successes with the initiative Thinkbit.
