STEM skills should be a staple in every school – they are the vital skills of tomorrow. Some schools are already doing their best individually to prepare their pupils for the future.

The Hügellandschule in Vasoldberg, Austria, is known for its modern approach to education and openness to innovative technology in the classroom. They have been using several edtech solutions to teach programming, robotics and computation skills, including Robo Wunderkind. 

“Today’s world is driven by digitalization and informatization, and it’s already a part of our children’s lives. IT offers them the chance to learn by doing. When learning with a robot, children have to explain concepts and commands to this robot, not to another human. The robot thus becomes the pupil, while the children become teachers,” explains Sabine Streit, the school’s elementary years’ IT teacher, who teaches children aged 8-12. 

She praises Robo Wunderkind as an enrichment to the whole class – students and teachers alike – and a rare tool that offers the option to code sound and visual signals, as well as motor commands simultaneously through a plethora of various commands. The versatility makes Robo Wunderkind easy to implement in everyday teaching, regardless of the age or individuality of students. Streit teaches elementary school pupils.  

“I used to teach programming to pupils starting with third grade. But I realized that with Robo Wunderkind, I could teach even younger kids. It’s easy to build and take apart, and every age group loves the fact that you can connect Robo with LEGO™ blocks through the adapters. Even the apps, Robo Code and Robo Live, with their symbols and color-codes, are very easy for children to understand and allow them to create their first programs fast, which only motivates them to continue.”

So, how does one get started with Robo Wunderkind? “Once you open the box, you learn by doing, it’s very intuitive. The curriculum is easily comprehensible. My pupils understood the concept of Robo Wunderkind easily and swiftly, and were particularly excited to see Robo move around! I would definitely recommend it.” 

Indeed, Robo Wunderkind prides itself on being ready-to-use straight out of the box without much required intervention or help from teachers or parents. Since our apps also require no previous language abilities, they are perfect for young kids who have not yet learned how to read, as well as for those who might have reading difficulties. 

The Robo Wunderkind curriculum, developed by teachers for teachers, currently offers more than 70 hours of lessons. From core lessons, road safety rules to summer camp workshops – any school can find use in our teaching materials. Furthermore, Robo Wunderkind can be used for more than just teaching STEM-related disciplines. 

With the rise of the interdisciplinary approach to education, we are seeing a growing trend of implementing STEM tools in other classes – such as languages or arts, and many more. Robo Wunderkind, for example, recently released its first Art and Math lessons. The Art lessons explore all various disciplines of creativity, ranging from visual art, music, to drama and design. Our Math lessons are constructed in a way that aims to help children understand abstract principles behind math through a playful way that engages their senses and deconstructs complicated principles into smaller, easily digestible bits. 

Sabine Streit has tried several STEM solutions in her classroom, and compared them with Robo Wunderkind. “Robo offers a lot of complexity. There are so many different commands that you can choose from in the program-pool, especially when compared to other tools. Those are often too simple. This variety allows the teacher to individually construct their lessons, regardless of the age of their pupils.” 

We’re very happy to see schools take the initiative and engage their students in the ABC’s of programming and robotics. Robo Wunderkind is leading the way, together with forward-thinkers like the Hügellandschule. 

We’re excited to see such good results and passion for edtech in the classroom!