Robotics - ACAMIS

ACAMIS ROBOTICS

After more than a year of conversations, in January 2018, ACAMIS took initial steps to create new ACAMIS Academic and Cultural Enrichment (ACE) activities in Robotics in addition to Math and Chess competitions. Tapping into the considerable expertise of two ACAMIS members, Barbara Boyer and Tim Boyer from Shanghai American School Pudong Campus, significant progress was made and in May 2018 the Robotics Committee (ARC) was formed to make all arrangements as soon as possible for the immediate launching of ACAMIS Robotics.

ACAMIS Robotics Committee (ARC) was created in 2018 to at the request of several ACAMIS member schools in the hope of adding robotics as an activity where it did not previously exist. Already present among a core group of member schools in Shanghai and two other cities, it became evident that an overview organization like ACAMIS would have the best chance for it to take on new life, expand with our organization, provide activities among similar schools, and be sustainable over time. To accomplish this, a team of robotics experts was needed to form the first planning committee. For classification purposes, as an ACAMIS Activity, robotics will be listing under Academic and Cultural Enrichment (ACE). To provide annual training and information, the Robotics Planning Committee will work closely with the Technology Planning Committee to create a Strand for robotics at the annual Technology Conference.

For more information about ACAMIS Robotic Activities, please contact the following key person below:

Northern Region: Danny Yu - dyu@ibwya.net
Eastern Region: Lisa Hawkins - lisa.hawkins@concordiashanghai.org
Southern Region: Todd Voykin - todd.voykin@tis.edu.mo

For any inquiries - please email Elizabeth Cooper at ecooper@ncpachina.org

Elizabeth Cooper - Nansha College Preparatory Academy

Elizabeth Cooper

Nansha College Preparatory Academy

Elizabeth Cooper is a Middle School STEM Teacher at NCPA in Nansha (part of Guangzhou, China). She has been teaching there for three years, and in that time has always been searching for new ways to use technology to enhance the learning experience for students in an authentic way. FIRST Lego League Robots has been a huge part of that. After participating as a child herself, it was a dream to become a coach in the United States and now in China. She is very excited to be a part of the Robotics Committee to help share this program with others in China.

Danny Yu - Beijing World Youth Academy

Danny Yu

Beijing World Youth Academy

Danny teaches mathematics and robotics at Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA). Danny’s background is in electrical engineering, major in communication. As a senior engineer, Danny has worked in the high-tech industry in Canada for over ten years, specializing in cellular telecommunication and was instrumental in designing Bell Mobility’s cellular network across Canada. Owing to his engineering background, Danny has taught many high school subjects including computer engineering, statistics, Physics, general science, technology, ITGS and mathematics. Currently, Danny is working on integrating robotics into the school’s curriculum via STEAM. Also, Danny is a member of the ACAMIS Robotics Planning Committee.

Lisa Hawkins - Concordia International School Shanghai

Lisa Hawkins

Concordia International School Shanghai

Lisa is the Middle School STEM Instructional Coach at Concordia International School Shanghai. Lisa’s background is in biological sciences and she has taught science at the high school and middle school level for many years. In addition to instructional coaching, Lisa currently teaches Maker Design, an elective course for middle school students and supports Concordia’s MakerSpaces. For the last three years Lisa has worked to support the FIRST Lego League at Concordia by coaching and leading teams, hosting tournaments and workshops and serving as a tournament judge. Lisa is a member of the ACAMIS Robotics Planning Committee.

Amy Hossack - Shanghai American School - Pudong Campus

Amy Hossack

Shanghai American School - Pudong Campus

Amy is an Instructional Technology Coach at Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus, and spends her days working with students and teachers from Pre K through grade 5. She is also the Robotics Co-ordinator at SAS Pudong and in this role, works to integrate robotics into the curriculum from the youngest learner right up through high school.

Amy is passionate about providing access for all to robotics and keeping girls in STEM so in the last three years she has introduced and built up the FIRST LEGO League Jr program at her school; coaching teams and hosting Expos for many International Schools in Shanghai. She is also active with FLL judging and has worked as a mentor for FRC.

Amy is also the proud mom of an FLLjr graduate and current FLL kid.

Phil Whitaker - Dulwich College Shanghai

Phil Whitaker

Dulwich College Shanghai

Phil is the Director of Educational Technology and Innovation at Dulwich College Shanghai Pudong. His teaching career began in the primary school classroom, before moving onto an ICT/Computer Science specialisation. During his time teaching senior school Computer Science at Dulwich, Phil developed the FTC robotics programme over a 4-year period. During this period strong links were forged with more experienced FTC coaches and he has first-hand experience in realising the importance of a well-established, supportive robotics community.

Todd Voykin - The International School of Macao

Todd Vokyin is from Kelowna, Canada and has been teaching Robotics and Electronics since 2005. He is a High School Robotics and Design teacher at The International School of Macao. Since 2011 he has enjoyed teaching and engaging with students inside the classroom and coaching students in after school Robotics clubs. It's amazing to watch the students passion and excitement for Robotics grow as their knowledge and understanding of the subject expands. He is very excited to be a member of the ACAMIS Robotics Committee and look forward to working with new coaches and interested students to give them the best possible experience with Robotics.

The ACAMIS Robotics Committee helps organize the following events for ACAMIS Member Schools:

Robotics Strand of ACAMIS Technology Conference
ACAMIS Robotics Expo Day in each region (Ages 6-10)
ACAMIS Robotics Workshops in each region (Ages 9-14)
ACAMIS Robotics Competition in each region (Ages 9-14)
ACAMIS Robotics Championship Competition (Ages 9-14)
ACAMIS Robotics Friendly Scrimmages (Ages 12-18)
ACAMIS Robotics Final Competition (Ages 12-18)

For specific dates of events in the 2019-20 season, click here.

The ACAMIS Robotics Committee helps connect schools with resources on joining the following events:

VEX IQ Competitions
VEX EDR Competitions
WRO Competitions
FLL Competitions for non-ACAMIS Schools

Upcoming Robotics Events

17 Apr 2020

Robotics Championship

all day

Shanghai Community International School - Pudong Campus

18 Apr 2020

Robotics Championship

all day

Shanghai Community International School - Pudong Campus

Robotics Workshop/Competition Highlights

If your school is not yet involved and you would like to know more information about how to get involved in ACAMIS Robotics, please contact Committee Chair, Elizabeth Cooper at ecooper@ncpachina.org for further information.

Robotics Workshops at ACAMIS Technology Conference

2019 at Concordia
2018 at WAB

2019 at Concordia

ACAMIS Robotics Workshops and Tournaments

2019-20
2018-19

2019-20

VEX IQ Challenge - ISD

VEX IQ Challenge

Hosted by the International School of Dongguan

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3N6MqHS_8CkD1CDZ6Kb65g

On November 30th, ISD held a competition for 14 different teams throughout China. Schools from Dongguan, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Wuhan participated in this challenge! Teams had to both compete in collaborative and independent skills challenges with their robot, as well as have their Engineering Notebooks evaluated and be interviewed by a panel of judges. Congratulations to all teams that participated!

Robotics Workshop - Eastern

Robotics Workshop - Southern

ACAMIS Robotics Workshop - Southern Region

Hosted by Shen Wai International School in Shenzhen

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ghkCGFOlNmKIqplJsqfxdaA

On November 2nd, SWIS hosted a workshop to provided information about preparing for multiple components of competition as well as how to get started building and programming a robot to 7 different schools throughout the Southern region in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Huge thanks to Joanne Anderson and her wonderful team at SWIS in Shenzhen for organizing a wonderful workshop to kick off the 2019-20 Robotics season.

They captured the resources from the day on this Robotics Workshop Padlet. Feel free to view and use for your own school!

Robotics Workshop - Northern

2018-19

Southern China ACAMIS Robotics Competition - AISG

On December 1st, AISG hosted a wonderful robotics tournament for the Southern Region in Guangzhou. 23 teams participated from 8 different schools. In part as a result of the ACAMIS Technology Conference, many new schools joined us at this competition, while others came to observe in hopes of starting a team next year. Students from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Donguan, and Macau came to celebrate all the hard work they had put in. Most teams experienced some failure as their robot did not do as well as when they had practiced at home, but they persevered and improved their scores throughout the day. From all of the judges at the competition, we were blown away by the innovation of the robots, attitudes of the students, and creativity in their research projects. We look forward to continuing to grow the Southern China region with more schools, including Hong Kong, next year!

Northern Regional Qualifier - BWYA

Championship Robotics Tournament - SCIS

The competition was held on February 22-23 at SCIS Pudong where 16 schools and over 175 students attended and competed over the two days. Special thanks to Barry Johnson, tech coordinator for organizing the event and preparing students for this competition.

For any inquiries - please email Elizabeth Cooper at ecooper@ncpachina.org