Page 9 - Lego Mindstorms

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Tonya L. Witherspoon is an Educational Technology Instructor at Wichita State
University (WSU) in Wichita, KS. She teaches clay animation, multimedia produc-
tion, Web design, and several robotics and programming courses using the
LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS, Logo, Handy Crickets, and Roamer robots. She has
co-authored several books on integrating technology into curriculum, speaks at
state and national conferences on the subject, and teaches workshops and in-
services for many schools in Kansas.
Tonya’s interest in robotics peaked during Mindfest, a forum hosted by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in October 1999. She was inspired
when Dr. Seymour Papert spoke about his work with MINDSTORMS and chal-
lenged everyone to encourage learning and find ways to spread knowledge in
new and exciting ways. Since then, Tonya has received two grants that allowed
her to give teachers in Kansas a MINDSTORMS RIS kit upon completion of a
robotics workshop at Wichita State University. To date, she’s given away over 75
RIS kits and helped many teachers find funding for complete classroom sets. She
hosted a robotics summer camp this past summer for over 65 middle-school stu-
dents; the camp also served as a practicum for teachers to learn how to use the
MINDSTORMS RIS in their classrooms. In collaboration with WSU’s College of
Engineering, she has hosted two annual MINDSTORMS Robotics Challenges,
events in which over 200 middle-school students from Kansas have competed in
robotic challenges. The third annual MINDSTORMS Robotics Challenge will be
hosted in March 2003 (http://education.wichita.edu/mindstorms).
Tonya’s family consists of her husband, Steve, who is a teacher, and five
school-age children: Andrew, Alex, Adam, Austin, and Madeline. She resides in
Wichita, but lives in cyberspace.
Tonya Witherspoon, in collaboration with her son, Alex, contributed
Robot 6: The Aerial Tram and Robot 7: The LEGO Safe.

Alex Witherspoon is a middle-school student in Wichita, KS. His brain is hard-
wired for innovation; he has designed numerous creations on notebook paper
since preschool. One of his first creations was a practical Midwestern solution: an
explosive that would counteract and diffuse a tornado. Alex also designed a multi-
level clubhouse, complete with a bed, television, computer, and a McDonalds on
the lower level. He has made that clubhouse a reality in his backyard (minus the
McDonalds). Alex presented his robot “Catapult Mania” at MIT’s Mindfest when he
was nine and broke the code to unlock the LEGO Knight’s chain, which was a
challenge posed to all Mindfest participants. His reward was to take home the
four-foot LEGO Knight. Upon returning from Mindfest, Alex and his mother
started a school-funded robotics club, at the invitation of Alex’s elementary school
principal.

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