Robotics classes available to schools across Sask., including Moose Jaw

Students in school divisions across Saskatchewan could be able to take a Robotics and Automation class, announced the Ministry of Education last Thursday. The robotics class has been cleared for implementation after piloting in 18 school divisions last year and will now be offered to school divisions for students in grades 7-12.

Robotics and Automation is part of the roster of Practical and Applied Arts electives. Content from the Robotics curricula can be included in PAA courses for students at the grade 7-9 level, and high school students can take the 10-, 20-, or 30-level Robotics and Automation course to fulfill their PAA elective requirements. Prairie South School Division piloted the course as a part of their Virtual School last year, with a test class of five students, and will be continuing to offer Robotics as an online distance education course this year with a limit of 10 students. By offering the course online, Prairie South finds that even a handful of students interested in a class can have it available to them.

Vanier Collegiate also piloted the course last year, at a grade 10 level, and have expanded this year to offer both a 10- and 20-level physical class with a capacity of 20 students.

The floaters in my eyes are causing me heartburn. Just over a year ago I started getting these very bright flashes in one of my eyes whenever I shifted my eyes in any direction. After about 2 weeks of this I made an appointment with my optometrist, who then made an appointment to see an ophthalmologist. Long story short, I was diagnosed with Posterior Vitreous Detachment (PVD).

While using the word “detachment” and “eye” in the same sentence may be unsettling and, in many cases, emergent, I was assured that this is something that is not usually dangerous, would not cause permanent blindness and was a relatively common occurrence at my age ( I really hate anything that is “normal for my age”). “We’ve had a robotics club that’s been building robots for a while, about four years, and from that, we’ve had the interest [in offering a class],” said Vanier instructor Daniel Atkins.

Vanier has plans to expand the course next year to offer a 30-level curriculum, and Atkins would like to see high school

While the detachment involved my retina to some extent, it was not the retina that was detaching. That of course would be an emergency situation with surgery done lickety-split. This was concerning the vitreous, the gel-like substance that fills the inside of the eye. At the back of the eye, this vitreous attaches to the retina, or at least it is supposed to. Some studies report that PVD can affect nearly one in four persons in their 50’s. Lucky me. For many, these PVD’s occur without any symptoms and for others the symptoms are mild. Flashes and floaters, floaters and flashes.

When my flashes subsided after a few weeks, the floaters showed up. And boy did they ever. Floaters are a common occurrence after a PVD, and for most (85%), the floaters are mild and subside in the first 3 months, or the brain just starts to ignore them. For me however, lucky me, I feel like I am living in a snow globe. What has made things even worse is that my other eye decided to get in on this PVD party as well. Double snow globes. Merry Christmas.

So, what does all this have to do with heartburn?

I began researching (aka as Googling) treatment for PVD. Laser treatment, while exists in a few private robotics grow enough to host a battle-bot tournament to show off the student’s creativity and skill.

“We’re trying to build not just kits, but robots that can hopefully do what we want them to do, if we’ve got it right, so it’s challenging,” said Atkins.

The class includes skills like coding and electrical work and offers students an educational opportunity that is relevant in the current science and technology climate.

The offered curriculum was developed in partnership with a number of experts and organizations in the province, including Saskatchewan Polytechnic — who offers many programs that relate to robotics, including the Electronic Systems Engineering Technology course — and SaskCode. The decision on whether to offer a Robotics and Automation course is determined by the board of education within each school division.

clinics across North America, is not a proven fix for floaters. It may zap the floaters into smaller floaters, but I didn’t want to let someone play an expensive game of Asteroids in my eyes.

The floaters can be sucked out with the entire vitreous, but this comes with an even higher risk that may outweigh the benefit.

So now I am looking at the pineapple for salvation. I came across a study that was published this year in the Journal of American Science that found that subjects who ingested pineapples daily for 3 months reported fewer floaters related to posterior vitreous detachment. It is thought that the enzymes in pineapples (specifically Bromelain) many react positively with the fibrous-structured floaters.

Bromelain is available in capsule form, extracted from pineapples, in most health food stores. While taken daily with meals, this enzyme has led to some moderate burning in my belly, but I am willing to give it a try. And so, my little case study begins.