SES brings robots to the classroom

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post - March 12, 2025

Fourth and fifth grade students at Stonewall Elementary School are utilizing their campus STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab to program and code for new Marty robots.

According to fifth grade teacher Baylie Chuck, this technology is helping students bridge the gap between learning programming and coding.

“The Marty robots have brought such a sense of fun to the classroom,” Chuck said. “The students have been in true scientific exploration as they learn and then teach their peers each of Marty’s skills.

They have been a great addition to our STEAM lab and science classrooms.”

Stonewall Elementary School students, from left, Clayton Kneese, Madison Smoot and Tess Brundrett, use a tablet computer to program Marty the Robot in the school's STEM lab. — Submitted photo

Currently, there are five robots shared across the fourth and fifth grades, made possible by a grant from the Fredericksburg Independent School District Education Foundation.

Fifth grader Tess Brundrett has greatly enjoyed working with Marty.

“Working with Marty the Robot has taught us about coding with a fun learning tool,” Brundrett said. “It makes learning and working together as a team fun. We can program Marty to accomplish certain tasks and speak in multiple languages.”