Fostering Creativity

How Robotics and Programming Help Creativity

by: Victoria Quintanilla

A lot of the time, when parents think about developing creativity for their child they first think of the liberal arts. As a teacher at Rex Programming, I know that there is creativity intertwined in STEM as well. In my Junior FLL class, a program that is focused on real world problems, my students have come up with several creative ideas on how to solve issues in waste management. Through these ideas, they express their creativity and work with the other students to create tangible robots and scenarios. Sometimes, the youngest minds think outside of the box and with the Lego WeDo sets they are able to explore in a very fun way. In the Jr FLL class, my favourite parts of the learning process is watching the students create builds and telling their own story.

Programming is a language. Just as storytellers use their language to create literature, so do the students when they program. In MIT App Inventor, students use code blocks to build applications they can download to their phones. The students produce apps and customize them- from the smallest details of layout and colours, to creating multi-screen programs. The possibilities, and their creativity, are endless- robotics and programming classes are a great way to foster the drive.

This year, three Rex Programming classes are participating in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) program. The FIRST LEGO League is an international competition organized by FIRST for elementary and middle school students, aimed at promoting excitement about STEM through real world application. This year's topic was titled "Trash Trek - Waste Wise." The goal is for the students to understand the ecological burden of waste and acknowledge solutions already in place, and then come up with an innovative solution.

The FLL program consists of three parts- The Core Values, Robot Games, and Problem Solving Research. So far, our teams have set their roles and followed through with the Core Values- working together as a team and helping each other. The programmers and builders are testing their robots in the Robot Game arena.

The next step for our teams was to reach out to the community to research the "real life" trash problem. For maximum points, the teams must demonstrate completion of all three (3) steps of the FLL Project which are: research and identify a problem, develop an innovative solution to that problem, and share with others. This project is what Trash Trek FLL is all about.

Rex Programming was able to schedule a very good opportunity to gather some research information directly from Quest Resource Management Group, as well as Earth911.com.

The Quest company outsources trash from large and small businesses, as well as reviews the trash output of many companies and recommends ways to reuse and recycle. Quest is a full service environmental consulting and management group supporting the efforts of Fortune® 500 companies seeking to maximize profits and mitigate risks and minimize their ecological footprints.

While there at Quest, our students made note of several interesting ways to reuse items. 

(Quest Visit- Repurposed Tires)

(Jr FLL "Repurposed Tires")

 

(Robotics "Build a working Vehicle")

Internet Safety

Internet Safety

By: Pranavi Jonnalagadda

Remember those days when all you had to worry about as a parent was making sure your kids got home safe and sound. Nowadays, even at home, the dangers don’t go away. In fact, one of the top challenges that parents have to deal with today is guarding their children against the dangerous influences of technology.

If you believe everything you hear about kids online, you might think pedophiles and cyberbullies are around every cyber-corner. Yes, there is bad stuff out there. But the truth is, there's a lot of good, and some experts are arguing against a "techno-panic mindset" that worries parents unnecessarily. The bottom line is that we can't keep our kids safe if we don't know the facts.

According to stopbullying.gov: Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.

Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.

Cell phones and computers themselves are not to blame for cyberbullying. Social media sites can be used for positive activities, like connecting kids with friends and family, helping students with school, and for entertainment. But these tools can also be used to hurt other people. Whether done in person or through technology, the effects of bullying are similar.

Children use a variety of online services, and each of these services can have different safety concerns. However, there are some basic tips which you can employ no matter how your children use the Internet.  

• Keep the computer in a high-traffic area of your home.
• Establish limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long.
• Remember that Internet technology can be mobile, so make sure to monitor cell phones, gaming devices, and laptops.
• Surf the Internet with your children and let them show you what they like to do online.
• Know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for social networking, instant messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams.
• Continually dialogue with your children about online safety.

Educators and Programmers

Why We Employee Educators and Programmers

By: Caitlin Webb

Our team is made up of both educators and programmers. We realized early on that there is a wonderful result brought on by the combination of IT Professionals and Educators. While educators have been trained on the communication needed to bring students to understand hard concepts, programmers have lived and breathed in the professional world that we are pushing our students towards.

Even beyond the classroom, in every step we take, we require the cooperation of all sides of our employees. With diversity and experience, we allow for an outside perspective to be brought up in every area of our business. One of the areas that sees one of the largest benefits is our curriculum. All of our curriculum is designed using the gradual release of responsibility model to help students understand, work together, and independently become learners. This model brought by our educators is filled with professional terms, experience, projects, and goals by our programmers.

Outside of our curriculum, we still see the benefits of this partnership. In every meeting or event planned, we have activities and ideas brought on by both sides. This variation in ideas and activities helps engage the students’ diverse interests. We know that our students have different interest, come from different backgrounds, and enjoy different things. By mixing and diversifying our events, parties, and games, we know we will entertain and engage more of students in and outside of the classroom.

Finally, this mix of employees helps us relate to our students and parents more. While having both experienced educators and programmers, we can answer parent questions about both education and programming. Our partnership allows for all bases to be covered, and it leaves our parents comfortable and eager to bring their students to class. This wonderful partnership is what makes Rex succeed as a business.

Why I love to Teach at Rex!

The Reason I Love Teaching at Rex

By: Caitlin Webb

One thing you will find as you get to know Rex more, there isn’t a lack of enthusiasm and passion in any area of our business. Whether we are planning our next party, lesson, or goal, we are constantly excited for the next day at Rex Programming.

The passion that we have for teaching truly comes from the positive experiences and relationships we build with our students. In every class I have taught at Rex, I have gotten to see bright minds create and explore games, animations, and programs. The pride and joy brought on by the success of a student made project is worth every hour we spend outside the classroom preparing, planning, and prepping for our next class.

My favorite part of each week is the time I get to spend at the front of a class teaching it. Even with the experience of teaching in front of a public school classroom, it isn’t the same as working at Rex. These students and parents are just as passionate about learning programming as we are in teaching it. Even students who once didn’t show interest in programming come out of our classes more interested and knowledgeable in technology.

The Story behind Rex Programming

The story behind Rex Programming

An Interview with the Owner, Sandhya Padala, of Rex Programming

Summary of business:

Rex Programming began with the simple idea that kids of all ages should be exposed to the wonders of computational thinking and engineering. After recently moving to Dallas from Milwaukee, my son came to me one day and requested that I enroll him in a computer programming course. I looked high and low for a way for a suitable learning environment for him. When I couldn’t find one, I immediately saw the need for an educational institution like Rex in the Dallas area. In the day and age that we live in, computers are all around - no matter what our profession might be or where we live. Knowing your way around a computer is as essential to our younger generations as reading and writing has been for as long as I can remember. For this purpose, we hope to get children interested in innovative courses that teach them how to create their own animations and games, make websites and even build robots. All in all, Rex strives to foster an enthusiasm for computational thinking and engineering.

What does your business offer that is unique compared to similar businesses?

The courses at Rex Programming are structured so that any child can start learning, regardless of any prior experience with the material. We have created a curriculum of classes that the students can take consecutively, in order to become proficient in each skill set. Moreover, our classes are laid out in a close student to teacher ratio (usually 7:1), which ensures that each individual student gets direct attention from the instructors, along with creating a close knit team environment among the peers. When it comes to our robotics classes, our children also have a choice to enroll in team-oriented competition classes, where they will be a part of the First Lego League (FLL) regional competitions. Rex is committed towards providing personal attention to each of our students and to bring them to their fullest potential.

What is the most important part of your job on a daily basis?

As the founder of the company, I take pride in being the driving force behind our day-to-day projects. I am entrusted with guiding our team, hiring and training the right employees. Along with that, I am constantly thinking up ways to market and promote Rex Programming.

What are your keys to success?

Trusting my journey, a commitment towards providing quality and valuable service

What surprises you most about your job?

There has been much research done to show that computational thinking and logical reasoning (i.e. computer programming and robotics) is a very critical skill set for the current and future generations of children - regardless of what career path their passions lead them towards. Despite that, I continue to be surprised that many parents are still not onboard teaching STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). However, the students that we have enrolled pick up on new topics at a tremendous pace. I hope that, by watching the progress and enthusiasm of their children, the parents will slowly but surely understand how vital such knowledge is.

Tell us something most people don’t know about your company.

I often get asked the story behind the name, Rex Programming. A quick search on Google will tell you that there is a programming language called Rexx. However, the reason I choose Rex is because the name means “king”, and we want each of our kids to feel like royalty every day!