Nam Dinh Surpassing many well-funded teams, teachers and students of Nam Tien Primary School won the primary school robot competition at the National STEM Festival.
Starting after the referee's signal, the KCbot robot (a version of an educational robot specially designed for STEM education) of Nam Tien Primary School, Nam Tien Commune, Nam Truc District, began to find its way in the maze, adjusting the distance to make turns. The robot's task was to explore the maze to plant the flag at the finish line. But when it turned left, the robot wobbled and crashed into the wall.
"I was very nervous because I was afraid of losing," said Doan Manh Hung, class 4C.
Hung was one of three members of the Nam Tien Primary School team that participated in the robotics finals of the National STEM Festival organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology on October 8 in Hanoi. Hung and his classmate Vu Minh Quan were responsible for programming. Another team member, Vu Thanh Tung, was assigned to observe the robot so that any problems could be reported promptly.
In the programming part, all three will compete, but in the robot control part, only two members will participate.
"I held my breath following every movement of the robot and was shocked when there was an accident," said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thoa, an IT teacher and group leader.
Nam Tien Primary School team in the robotics final round at the 2023 National STEM Festival on October 8. Video: Provided by the school
Nam Tien Primary School was one of 12 teams selected to compete in the National STEM Festival. The teams were divided into three groups to select the three best teams to compete in the finals. Nam Tien had the lowest score in the top 3 due to winning two matches, drawing and losing the rest in the morning rounds.
"The two opponents came from a bilingual school and a STEM academy with strong investment and coaching staff. I thought it was good that our team had reached the finals," Ms. Thoa recalled.
While charging the robot for the afternoon competition, Ms. Thoa discovered that the device's eyes were misaligned, causing incorrect navigation, leading to the loss in the morning match. Thanks to timely adjustments, Nam Tien School's robot came back to win the two decisive matches, helping the team win the championship of a national tournament for the first time.
"The teacher and students hugged each other and shouted with joy," Ms. Thoa recalled, saying that the victory was meaningful, recognizing the efforts of the teacher and students to overcome difficulties. The prize the team received was 4 million VND in cash, a certificate of merit and a championship cup.
According to Ms. Thoa, the biggest difficulty the team encountered was the competition field. Without a practice field, Ms. Thoa and her students practiced on a tiled floor and set up partitions as obstacles. The teacher and students went to Hanoi the day before the competition and borrowed another team's field. But the competition field was different from the practice field at home.
"Why does the robot walk like it's drunk?", Ms. Thoa repeated her student's question. She said that at home, the robot walks on a flat ground, but here it encounters obstacles that change friction, change the corner and rotation angle. If the speed is fast and the force is strong enough, the robot will overcome the obstacle, otherwise it will stop. The rotation angle is similar, increase the speed and time to increase the robot's strength.
"It must be explained like this so that students can easily visualize and know how to change the robot's movements," she said.
Students and teachers of Nam Tien School celebrate their victory in the robotics final round on October 8 in Hanoi. Photo: Provided by the school
Commenting on the three team members, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, homeroom teacher of class 4C, said that they are intelligent, have good imagination and know how to handle situations. Tung is the most experienced as he has been studying this subject since grade 2 and won first prize for Kodu programming.
"Her family discovered her passion early on, and then she was selected by the teachers to join the team to practice," Ms. Xuan shared.
Tung said he was very excited to hear her teach about programming and robots. Without a robot to practice with at home, he explored and learned on the computer. Although it was his first time participating in a big competition in Hanoi, Tung was not nervous and was confident with the knowledge he had learned.
For Hung, programming languages are difficult because they have to be done on a computer, and making the robot turn left, right and balance is not simple but very interesting.
"At home, I learn by myself, and when I come to class, the teachers practice with me," Hung said.
After the competition, Tung and Hung were both proud to have won the cup. Both said they would continue to pursue their interests and set goals for the next competitions.
Nam Tien Primary School won first prize in the robotics competition at the National STEM Festival. Photo: Provided by the school
According to teachers, the biggest benefit of learning programming and robotics is that it helps students develop their thinking and teamwork spirit. However, rural schools do not have the funds to invest in robots. Parents are mainly farmers, do not know much about STEM or have the conditions to invest in their children's education.
"We are lucky to have Principal Le Thi Hanh to inspire and facilitate all aspects. Thanks to her, the STEM and robotics movement has spread throughout the school," Ms. Xuan shared.
Returning to Nam Tien Primary School in 2017, Ms. Hanh started a robotics club based on her experience at her old school, with the desire to create a playground for students. She also taught herself the Scratch programming language (drag and drop) to understand how to program and how robots work, then sent teachers to training courses. To have practical equipment, from the beginning of the year, the school made plans for professional groups, reviewed what needed to be purchased, then balanced and saved.
"Every year, we buy a little bit like laser cutters, 3D printers, robots... For urban schools, this budget may not be much, but for us it is a big deal," said Ms. Hanh, adding that last year she bought two more VEX go robots to teach a new programming language. Currently, the school's STEM lab has a dozen KCbot robots and one VEX IQ robot.
Without much money to invest, teachers and students at Nam Tien School have to "necessity is the mother of invention". For example, during the learning process, the robot collided a lot and broke down, so the students in grades 3 and 4 knew how to "make" devices for the robot or suggested installing sensors on the side so that it could see and not collide.
Since 2018, Nam Tien School has participated in local robotics competitions and won first prize. In 2021, the school won second prize in the national robotics competition. The school also regularly organizes STEM festivals to share experiences with other schools.
Mr. Do Hoang Son, a member of the Vietnam STEM Alliance, assessed that Nam Tien School has the most outstanding learning spirit and STEM movement in primary schools nationwide.
"The school is always invited by the STEM Alliance to attend national and international events or to introduce itself to foreign experts from Singapore, Australia, and the US," said Mr. Son.
Dawn
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