Hermann Kreimann is helping lead the charge teaching robotics

Education in the modern world is undergoing rapid transformation. The global Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shifts that were already taking place around the world. One of the major changes has been the push towards being more tech-centric.

Gamification is one of the ways through which technology is making learning interesting and more enjoyable. 

While in traditional pedagogy, learners are taught theoretically and expected to apply the knowledge once they are out of the classroom. Gamified or game-based learning, on the other hand allows students to learn new concepts and simultaneously apply their knowledge to the gaming environment.

Gamified learning is purported to bring a host of benefits to the classroom: such as an increase in memory capacity, fostering the development of strategic thinking, and improvements in hand-eye coordination among others.

Enter Hermann Kreimann – ex-US military serviceman, Iraq war veteran, tech enthusiast, entrepreneur and philanthropist as well as former football coach! The list doesn’t end there, Kreimann is the co-founder and commissioner of US Engineering League and a national organizer for the prestigious World Robot Olympiad USA.

Kreimann runs a company in the state of California, providing robotics and computer science training to high school students. The fun doesn’t end there, he’s also cofounded a competition league replete with esports and battle robots.

Even as the quarantine and lockdown measures necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic have spelt the death knell for a plethora of small businesses, people like Kreimann have sought opportunities in the ebbing tide.

Kreimann’s company has already made a comeback with the recent launch of a new brand of robot, the US ELC!

The US ELC robot is a small metal robot, similar to the more popularly used battle-box. Small and compact, these robots can certainly pack a punch!

It gives students the unique opportunity to design their own robots and configure code in an attempt to push their opponent’s robot outside of a sumo ring.

The ESL robot is made out of metal and comes equipped with Arduino; a motherboard brain widely used in a lot of public schools. According to Kreimann, its ease of use and user-friendly design makes it a perfect fit for students to learn from scratch and build on their skills.

A wheeled robot, it is equipped with a basic kit that students can use to design their own shielding mechanism. Students are also able to design a pushing mechanism for the battle.

Kreimann’s goals go beyond the ambit of mere business as he states, “robotics helps a lot of kids and gives them an outlet to represent their schools and to feel a sense of accomplishment.”

He continues, “the combination between the educational and competitive aspect of our approach helps develop innovative kids that are going to make great things in the future.”

It is not just fun and games in the robotics arena.

Kreimann explains, “things can go wrong in the middle of competition and the problems are always evolving. There is always something different for the students to troubleshoot and that keeps them on their toes and forces them to come up with creative solutions.”

It is this holistic development that Kreimann is able to foster in his students that is most satisfying to him.

He adds, “our students are given hands-on opportunities to understand the hardware as well as the software that goes into creating a robot, something that is generally lacking in most classroom environments.”