By Allan Jamail
Saturday, April 23, 2022 at the GPISD North Shore High School six school districts and a charter school sent their elementary and middle school students to compete in the 2021-2022 All-Earth EcoBot Challenge to, “Reduce Reuse Recycle Rethink.”
School districts from Aldine, Alief, Cleveland, Galena Park, Houston, Humble and charter schools of Academy of Accelerated Learning and Beatrice Mays Institute sent students. There were fifty separate student classes from the districts participating competing against each other in different fields of competition.
This year’s competition board has been designed around ‘The Kingdom of Ecobot’ to answer those questions and learn more about the green and alternative technologies that exist today.
The Kingdom of Ecobot Highlights
EcoBot Architect – This year’s EcoBot Challenge, you are challenged to build a mini-house made of recycled material. Students were challenged to be an EcoBot Architect.
EcoBot Ew! – Rubbish to Runway – In the EcoBot Kingdom, students had to reuse and re-purpose trash, food and food containers in a very creative and cool science.
The challenge was to complete the chain for the Ecobot Kingdom; participants were challenged to create a Fashionista from recyclable material. Their robots had to be programmed by the students to complete specific tasks. And their robot had 2.5 minutes to accomplish as many tasks as possible.
Joe Paneitz, known as Robo Joe was the event’s main coordinator, he’s a 16 year teacher veteran and Founder, owner, and CEO of Aha Education, LLC and founder of Iconic Drone Education. Joe’s currently a drone and robotics teacher in Humble ISD, and recently named 2020 Region IV Texas Teacher of the Year in addition to Humble ISD Secondary and Senior Teacher of the Year in 2020.
Mr. Paneitz has been the Curriculum and programming developer for Ecobot for over a decade. Around 2016, was the Channelview ISD Teacher of the Year. He’s been the inventor of the Ecobot curriculum every year for over a decade. Initially, 15 years ago, he used robotics as a way to teach complex STEM to special needs kids. When he took those special needs kids to a robotics competition they scored top ten of over 100 kids, He knew there was a huge opportunity here for all kids. That’s the Aha moment that formed his roll with Ecobot and created his company, Aha Education, LLC. The Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) and Case 4 Kids contracts his company to be the curriculum and program director for Ecobot since 2010. During the pandemic, the very skills he teaches in Ecobot was the skills used to make sure Ecobot weathered the pandemic storm and came out even stronger on the other side. He took Ecobot virtual and discovered having created one of the most successful virtual STEM education programs in the state
Paneitz said, “I look deep into the future as I can to try and determine what skills kids will need to be successful rather than a more traditional or reactive approach. I am, by no means, a typical teacher. I’m a very progressive teacher which lines up nicely with the students I serve as we are seeing so much change in education and changes in what industries are hungry for. My instruction methods are very different. My classroom looks very different as well as my outcomes. I’m in for the outcome not the income. Students using my high school FAA commercial drone program known as Iconic Drone Education curriculum are already making more per hour than I am. I believe that youth today can and are driving what future industries look like. Students, while still in K-12 today can invent their own future or rolls in society rather than applying for an existing job idea. That is what I see driving innovative ideas that solve big problems for all of us.”
Jacqueline Moreno, is Director for Elementary Math and Science at Galena Park ISD assisted in the Ecobot Challenge Day. She involved in the schools Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, including Computer Science (STEM) / Robotics programs. Moreno grew up in Cloverleaf and graduated from North Shore Senior High, a product of Galena Park ISD.
Ms. Moreno said, “I have a true passion to bring experiences new opportunities and exposure to the outside world to our students. Our elementary students need this opportunity with stem and robotics gets hooked into the world of science and engineering. They will have jobs in the future we can’t even imagine. Our science standards at the state level are changing to include science and engineering practices, this collaboration with CASE for Kids and ECOBOT is giving us a jumpstart in the right direction.”
Moreno stated due to social distance, throughout the pandemic, it was difficult to ensure student progress not just to the academic side of being in school but to be also more important piece of being part of the community of school. The social emotional learning part of being included, belonging, and being a contributing member to something bigger than themselves was a hard reach.
Students being a part of the ECOBOT challenge are able to be creative, develop critical thinking skills, collaborate with one another and communicate about their thinking and their ideas to complete a mission. These soft skills are so important to develop at an early age. Kids need to know that it’s okay to fail as long as they try again. Coding with the robots teaches them the skill of perseverance. If the coding program doesn’t work the first time, you try and try again and that’s where the learning takes place, it’s in the struggle. It’s an honor to host the ECOBOT challenge this year because our kids deserve it, Moreno said.
The ECOBOT Challenge results were, Elementary Schools, #1. Cimmaron “Masters Team”, #2. Beatrice Mayes Institute “Mr. Bricky Steam Team”, #3. Sam Houston “Mexican B.M.O. Team”, #4 Beatrice Mayes Institute “Team Blackout” & #5. Cimarron “Analyzers”. Middle Schools, #1. Change Happens “CHYE”, #2. STEM Urban Perspective “STEM UP Team”, #3. Beatrice Mayes Institute “Rumplestiltskin Team”, #4 Academy of Accelerated Learning “Nebula Team” & #5 Cleveland “CMS Pink Parrots”. The Best House Challenge, #1. High School Ahead, #2. MacArthur Mac Bots & #3. Academy of Accelerated Learning “Super Nova”. Also assisting in the Ecobot Day was Dr. Lisa Caruthers, Director for Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment (CASE) for Kids.