Innovation centre
Interview with Amy Box, Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist at ACS Cobham
What do you love the most about working within the Innovation Centre?
I really love that everyday is different and that students and teachers at ACS Cobham have the most amazing and innovative ideas! I love to be able to help everyone make their weird and wonderful inventions and creations come to life. I also really love students’ reactions when they see their designs come to life on the laser cutter, 3D printers and sublimation machines. But mostly - I love that my job is lots of playing and experimenting!
What projects do you work on with the students?
We work on all kinds of projects with students of all ages in the Innovation Centre. Some recent highlights have included; Lego Robots with the First Lego League Team (we entered the regional competition), board games with 7th Grade, keychains with our partnerships primary schools, mug printing with Refugee Action Club, miniature light-up signs with Lower School, wooden nature trail signs with Middle School nature (SEEDERS) club, a beautiful carved sign for Romeo and Juliet’s wedding (8th Grade), water rocket launchers with 6th Grade, Sphero mission to Mars coding with 5th Grade, and a fully operational Raspberry Pi (a cool mini-computer) weather station for a High School CREST (Science Award) project.
How do you feel the students react to the different projects that they have been part of?
Students love to work in here. It’s amazing to see the huge smiles and air punches when a final product comes together or the code for a Lego robot finally works. However - it’s important to point out that there is lots of frustration and failure along the way (which we encourage!) - innovation is all about perseverance, resilience and adapting plans when things don’t go the way you expected. That’s why success is so sweet when it comes!
What type of skills do our students learn working within the innovation centre?
There are lots of digital and practical skills that students learn; these include coding, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM), electronics, engineering and so on. More importantly (I think!) they learn all about teamwork, perseverance, how to fail (successfully!), resilience and problem solving.
What particular equipment do we have in this area and what projects use this equipment?
We have some amazing equipment including;
Two laser cutters that cut and engrave a wide range of materials. Project examples would be key chains, jewellery, signs, boxes and cases, marble runs, puzzles, medals, clocks.
First Lego League competition game table and Lego Spike Prime kits. We build and code Lego robots that navigate a course on the table. We took our students to a ‘First Lego League’ competition to compete (Robot Wars style!)
Four 3D printers. These are used all day every day! Projects range from 3D printed self portraits done by Early Childhood students to scientifically configured aerofoils for High School Physics projects. An ever-popular 3D print is personalised keychains!
CNC carver. This machine takes a digital image and carves its likeness into wood. Students have used this to make personalised room signs and cases or boxes for electronics projects.
Sublimation printer, mug press and heat press. This is a fantastic bit of kit that allows you to transfer digital designs onto mugs and fabric. The sublimation machines have been used for lots of lovely projects including team T-shirts for the lower school Christmas fair, Mothers’ Day mugs and much much more!
Vacuum former. This is a brand new machine that moulds sheet plastic to 3D forms. We plan to use it very soon for Art and STEM - Halloween masks anyone!?
Vinyl Cutter. Students make custom designed decals to decorate their projects (and just to stick on things to make them look cool!)
Micro:Bits and Makey Makeys. These are cool little programmable boards with LEDs and sensors. Students have made operation games, interactive posters and virtual pets to name but a few!
Do extra curricular activities take place within this area and if so what do the students do?
Yes! Extra-curricular is our speciality! We run a Digital Design Club in which students work with Ms. Stuttard to design using Augmented Reality and showcase their ideas at the BETT EdTech Conference in London. There is a Code Club where students learn Scratch, Python, html and css. I also run the First Lego League, in which students programme Lego robots, with the finale being a regional competition. There is ‘maker club’, where students use the tools and equipment to work on craft and design projects (currently, we are building miniature ferris wheels). Finally, there is a STEM club for High School, who work on a very wide range of cool projects with Dr. Hammer (including an awesome electric raceable go-kart).
How do you feel this space prepares students for the future?
We don’t know what lives and careers will look like in ten years time, let alone twenty or thirty! However, I am confident that the skills that students gain here will be invaluable whatever they do - this is especially true with regards to problem solving, team work, collaboration, resilience, creativity and innovation. These are the valuable and transferable skills that will set our students up for successful futures, whatever they decide to do and whoever they decide to become.
How do you feel this space inspires our students?
This space inspires you as soon as you walk in and see all the cool ‘toys’ there are to play with! We have deliberately worked on creating a welcoming space with ‘low floors’ and ‘high ceilings’ (not literally). Our low floor is the ability to ‘have a go’ at the simplest of projects - a play-doh model, or a simple bit of coding in Scratch for example, our high ceiling is that we have the facilities to enable university and professional level projects - and our students are challenged and encouraged to make use of these. I am constantly surprised and delighted by the ideas and creations that our fantastic students produce.
What are you looking forward to working on with the students next year?
Next year we are hoping to go from strength to strength with our Lego Robotics club and can’t wait for the 2025 competition! I am also really looking forward to teaching the ‘Digital Foundations’ class in High School - it looks like we have lots of students signed up and I have lots of exciting projects planned for them… watch this space!
