O
GOLF
CAR
NEWS
Columbia:
Inspiring The Next
Generation With
STEM Robots
n Friday, February 1,
2019, employees of
Columbia Vehicle Group
in Reedsburg, WI visited Mrs.
Stacy Stecker’s 2nd-grade
classroom at Pineview Ele-
mentary with a very special
delivery! As a result of the
funds raised through their
Community Christmas Raffle
Fundraiser, the employees
of Columbia Vehicle Group
were able to deliver enough
robots so that all Mrs. Steck-
er’s students can now work
with STEM robots in pairs and
simultaneously (something
previously impossible with
just 2 classroom robots!).
Along with the robots, the
employees of Columbia Vehi-
cle Group also provided Mrs.
Stecker’s students with robot
accessories such as xylo-
phones and catapults!
According to Mrs. Stecker,
with the robots and accesso-
ries, her students will learn to
write code and then quickly
see the results of those pro-
grams in the robots’ actions!
Students will then have the
skills to transition into more
challenging aspects of coding,
such as writing programs that
are within specific parameters
in order to solve a problem.
One reason Mrs. Stecker be-
came a teacher was to inspire
students to ”Be Brave and
Try!” Her hope is that not only
will her students benefit from
the robots, but that many
other students at Pineview
Elementary will be able to use
the robots too! She and her
students are excited to “try all
sorts of different things to find out how we
can all become great engineers!”
Mrs. Stecker feels that the benefits of
coding go beyond simply making a robot
react and that working with the robots
will have a lasting impact on students for
many years to come. “Students’ brains, at
this age, are better able to learn new lan-
guages and coding is a language that they
can learn now for future use. The amazing
thing about these robots is that the apps
available make it so easy for students to
learn complex coding languages. I hope
that they will begin to build that coding
language so that they are unafraid to try
careers that may include robotics, engi-
neering, and technology.”
Mrs. Stecker has been using technology,
including iPads and STEM Robots, for 5
years, and feels that using technology in
the classroom is not only rewarding for
her students but also allows students
“to problem solve and be creative while
promoting teamwork and communication.
But most of all, it instills persistence.” Ev-
eryone at Columbia Vehicle Group hopes
that the persistence and creativity stu-
dents learn will help and encourage them
for years to come, and maybe even inspire
some of them to come design and build the
next generation of electric work vehicles
with us here at Columbia!
More About Columbia:
Based in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, Columbia
is a premier electric vehicle manufacturer
whose history dates back to 1946. Colum-
bia has one of the most expansive electric
vehicle product line-ups in the world, pro-
ducing electric vehicles for private use as
well as commercial and industrial applica-
tions that include models that move from
1 to 24 people, carry up to 6,000 pounds
of payload, tow up to 16,000 pounds and
travel up to 25 miles per hour. To learn
more about Columbia, visit http://colum-
biavehicles.com/.
MARCH 2019
29