Meet Emily Bracco — STEAM Lab teacher at The Christ School and an all-around champion of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. Emily teaches transitional kindergarten through eighth grade STEAM, plus a middle school computer science course. Her students dive into the scientific method, design process, and plenty of hands-on problem-solving — and Cubelets have become a favorite part of the journey.

“I mainly use Cubelets with middle school computer science class, but have used them with grades as low as third,” Emily explains. What she loves most is that “you don’t have to have a screen to use them, you are programming it as you build the bot! This helps to build the bridge between programming and robotics!!” For her students, Cubelets are a fun way to practice problem-solving and debugging, while building robots right in their hands.

One of Emily’s favorite Cubelets lessons is a big hit: building a bot that can navigate a Keva plank maze. “I’ve been doing this lesson for 3 years now and always am discovering new creations from students to complete the challenge!” she shares. And when it comes to favorite builds, Emily says, “My favorite build is the light house! It’s also my favorite way to show off Cubelets when I’m introducing them for the first time!!”

She also loves starting new groups with a robot scavenger hunt. “I love [hearing] student predictions about what the robots do,” Emily says. From day one, she notices how “students are always curious but [are especially] intrigued the first day we are working with Cubelets!” That excitement carries over as they begin inventing their own bots and experimenting with new combinations.

The impact on students has been powerful. “I believe that Cubelets have positively impacted my students by catching their interest in STEAM/robotics,” Emily reflects. “Cubelets have [played] an integral role in helping students develop a love for learning and a love for robotics!” She highlights how Cubelets shine in The Christ School’s specialized program for students with dyslexia:

“These students are so incredibly talented and creative and, more often than not, thrive in my classes. Cubelets have helped them to not only find a love for robotics, but have assisted in building their confidence that they can be successful and do great things!”

Along the way, Cubelets have also surprised Emily. “[It really is] hands-on programming!” she says. “There are features that allow you to connect to a device, but I love that it can be a screen free option!”

For other educators curious about Cubelets, Emily’s advice is simple: “They are easy to use and learn, even if you don’t have experience with robots or programming, the bots and systems are easy to follow, and the resources are great!!”

In the end, Emily sums it up best: “I just really like working with Cubelets!! :)”