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			CAITE E-Newsletter Archive

CAITE Highlight

Artbotics Across Massachusetts

Faculty from CAITE partner campuses will gather in June at UMass Lowell to learn how art and robotics can be combined to interest underrepresented students in computer science and IT. Lowell faculty Holly Yanco and Fred Martin, and Diana Coluntino, youth arts program coordinator of the Revolving Museum, will lead a workshop to disseminate their successful Lowell-based project across Massachusetts.

"Artbotics" started as a collaboration of UMass Lowell with the Revolving Museum and Lowell High School that used project-based learning to engage students in computing. University students of all majors were recruited into an elective course, "Artbotics," which combines basic principles of art and computer science, using low-cost robotics technology for embedded control (the Super Cricket). The undergraduates created interactive projects for public exhibition and also worked side-by-side with and mentored high school students in workshops at the Revolving Museum. The university and high school projects were mounted in a public exhibit at the museum, open to students, family members, and the public--thus exposing the public to computing projects.

The CAITE-sponsored workshop will train CAITE campus faculty to launch some or all of the Artbotics model on their own campuses. Holyoke Community College will be the first site, working with a robotics class scheduled for fall 2009.

CAITE campuses will be given priority for registration for the June 2009 workshop, as space is limited. For more information see the Artbotics home page or contact Artbotics project director, Phyllis Procter, (978) 934-3625.