A presentation for the FLL World Class project brief, discussing the background and current state of our Project and design for a device to help with the educational challenges faced by LEDCs

1. BEECHEN BOTS 2014
FLL WORLD CLASS RESEARCH PROJECT

2. WHO ARE WE
We are an FLL robotics team from Beechen Cliff
school in Bath. Following our success at the regionals
last year we went on to the nationals and finally the
OEC.

3. OUR QUESTION…
HOW DO WE
EDUCATE CHILDREN
IN LEDCS?

5. IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR EDUCATION…

6. ECONOMICS & NUMERACY
• If we teach people in LEDC’s about making a suitable profit at
market they will be able to get a fair amount for what they are
selling. We can also educate them how to spend money well to
help raise a family
• By teaching children numeracy it will help them in their daily
lives, and in their future careers

7. HEALTH
• Health is very important and people in LEDCs often
get ill as have not been taught about basic hygiene.
However, if people in LEDCs were educated about
health they wouldn’t get ill as much.
• Ebola is a disease that is currently spreading
through Africa. If we teach people basic hygiene to
slow the spread of disease then our solution could
save lives.

8. GENDER EQUALITY
Send a cow taught us that gender inequality is a big issue especially in LEDCs. If our
solution encourages gender equality, everyone will be included in everything no
matter what genders, race, nationality etc.
AGRICULTURE
Agriculture plays a crucial role in an economy. It is the backbone of our economic
system. Agriculture not only provides food and raw material, but also employment
opportunities to a very large proportion of population. It is important that farmers
know how to look after their crops and to know how to take precautions about
droughts and other potential dangers. People need to learn about what food is safe to
use and eat.

9. RESEARCH: CURRENT PROJECTS
“Hundreds of handheld audio computers are to be given to some
of Ghana's poorest communities to help spread potentially life-saving
information. The Talking Books will let families play sound
files as well as make their own recordings, which can be shared
with others or used to give feedback. Organisers plan to use the
kit to teach people about Ebola, how to deal with diseased crops
and the importance of breastfeeding, among other topics. If
successful, the trial should expand. Child-focused charity Unicef
and the British computer chip designer ARM are providing most
of the funds for the $750,000 (£477,850) scheme. It is scheduled
to run for two-and-a-half years with each device's content
updated roughly once every five weeks. The money will cover the
cost of 2,000 devices and the staff to support them, with the goal
that they will be used by about 40,000 people.”
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30127578

10. OUR INITIAL IDEA – HANDHELD DEVICE
Our first idea was to make a handheld
device that each pupil could use. The pupil
would get feedback straight away, which
would speed up learning progress. The
devices can be reused for different classes.
The subjects would be uploaded to the
internet, which the teacher would then
upload onto the devices.
However, we didn’t use this idea because it
was too expensive, quite impractical, and
we were aiming for LEDCs not MEDCs.
The screens would also have been hard to
make because they were circular.

11. THE ROBOT
Our next idea was to make a robot that would
be able to teach more than one person at a
time. This would make it cost effective. The
robot would also have been in the shape of a
Lego figure. It would have been solar
powered, so it wouldn’t have needed an
external power source.
However, we didn’t use it because it was too
complicated and wouldn’t have been worth it
to fix if it broke. We were also trying to widen
our target audience to include older
generations as well.

12. RESEARCH: SEND A COW
• What we learned from our visit to
Send-a-Cow
• Children in LEDC’s really value their
education
• A device for helping in schools can
help educate communities with
improved life skills as well. Reach
people who may not get to a school
(but who still need to learn)
• You need to engage and inspire
people so they accept change and get
excited about it
• Make the solution really simple
• Make it fit in with the local needs,
resources, attitudes
• Many locations are not friendly to
technology. How do you make it easy
to install, use, power, maintain,
update?

13. WIND-UP RADIO
Send-a-cow informed us of the existence of wind up
radios that are already widely used in LEDCs like
the ones that we will be targeting. The slow
integration of technology into less scientifically
developed areas allow them to slowly get used to
using such technologies.

14. OUR FINAL DESIGN – THE EDUBRICK
After our meeting with Send a Cow we decided to make our
design simpler. During the meeting we learnt how if we made it
simpler we would be able to produce and send it for less, and
make it easier to fix.
It will still teach by projecting virtual “lessons” onto a wall and be
controlled by a simple touch screen. The battery and projector
modules will be sent alongside the “control module” and will clip
on. The control module includes the touch screen, solar panel,
wind-up mechanism and adjustable legs for uneven surfaces.
It will probably be powered by a combination of solar power and
a wind-up mechanism as we learned that many
Radios in LEDCs are powered in this way.
We also decided that our device should, when not being used in
schools should be able to teach evening classes on health,
maternity, economics and agriculture to adults after our visit.

16. Screen so teacher can
see what will be projected
on wall or board etc..
USB port so information
can be transferred
The stud will attach onto the hat
The indent will connect it to the
battery pack

17. The area where the solar panel will sit
The Projector
Where the stud inserts

19. OUR CHARITY – BUILDING A BETTER
FUTURE WITH EDUBRICK
• We decided, after going to send a cow, that this would be a costly project so
we tried to come up with ways that we could fund this idea. With all the
attachments and the mobilisation of the idea we would need some sort of
income to get this idea off the ground and continuously fund this project.
• We decided upon a charity to have outside sources that either donate a set
amount or pay a dedicated cost over the course of a month.
• Not only would this sort the money side of things out, it would also include
the local community and educate people about this idea. This would also be
a great way to extend our reaches of the project so it can become even
more.

20. WHAT NEXT?
• In the future we hope to speak to more experts to develop our idea
further with more possible attachments such as a microphone,
speaker or programs to learn other subject not yet taught and create a
prototype. As well as the device itself we want to find a reliable way to
fund it

21. THANK YOU
Thanks to…