Robotics Classroom Program Promotes Venezuelan Children’s Technological Talent

Caracas, 2 January 2014 (VTV) – Thanks to the Creative Classrooms Program called I Like Robotics, that the Venezuelan government is promoting, children between the ages of eight and twelve years are involved in the technological advances of the country, with the building of robots.

Pedro Munoz, a teacher with the program, said that the robots are programmed through software that has been installed on the children’s Canaima computers. The laptops are also provided to primary school children free of charge by the government.

“We install the program on the Canaimas, and the children are told how it’s done, and then they themselves are the ones who program the device so that it works with the robot,” he explained.

He mentioned that the motherboard of the robot is brought from overseas and constructed in Venezuela by the school children, “which without a doubt represents a significant development”.

He stressed that the ability of the children to put together such technological equipment supports the development of the country.

“Thanks to the revolution we can now see children of 10 and 11 years of age who are programming a robot, so imagine what they could be doing once they are in university,” Munoz said.

Fernando Garcia, president of the Creative Classroom project Í Like Robotics, said that his team is carrying out the necessary work to take the project to all of Venezuela’s classrooms.

“This year we are planning to take it to more states. In December we held meetings in Valencia and we explained the project, and also in Monagas state, and soon we will expand to the rest of the central region [of Venezuela],” he said.

The program will help Venezuela to “keep growing technologically” he concluded.

Translation by Tamara Pearson for Venezuelanalysis.com