Getting started
Most school robotics starts the same way: one keen teacher, a box of borrowed kit and a group of students who want to make something move. The notes in this section are for that stage. They cover picking a first kit that suits your Year levels, setting up a club that survives past the first term, and simple projects you can run at home.
Digital Technologies sits within the Technology learning area of the New Zealand Curriculum. Robots are not required by the curriculum, but they are one of the most direct ways to give computational thinking a physical result a student can see and test.
- Decide who it is for. A Year 4 class and a Year 10 club need different kits and different amounts of reading.
- Borrow before you buy. Ask neighbouring schools or your local library network what they already have.
- Plan one term, not one year. Ten weeks with a small finish line beats a grand plan that stalls in week four.
Notes in this section
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N-01
Choosing a first classroom robot kit
Micro:bit buggies, LEGO Education sets or Arduino boards? What matters at each Year level, and how to choose without wasting the budget.
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N-02
Starting a school robotics club
Team sizes, roles, a ten-week term plan, and the unglamorous parts that keep a club running: storage, batteries and handover.
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N-07
Robotics project ideas for home
Low-cost builds for the kitchen table, from a self-driving toy car to helper robots and nature-inspired designs.