Our "Certificates of Achievement" program is especially attuned to home schoolers who wish to undertake a disciplined curriculum for computer and communications technologies, built around the challenges presented by the future of autonomous mobile robots in our offices and homes.

In many ways, your approach to acquiring skills in conjunction with your use of the SR4 Robot is very similar to that taken by Self Learners, except that you may have an added advantage and a potentially more disciplined approach.

Your added advantage, of course, is that your parent(s) or guardian has likely already worked with you to acquire an SR4 Robot and to help you plan the use of the robot in your overall studies. [Of course, Self Learners also often have parents, guardians, teachers, or friends taking an active interest in their activities, as well.]

However, because you are interested in the SR4 Robot as a curriculum enhancer for your home schooling, you do have the advantage of your focus on a specific set of skills you wish to learn and/or enhance, as a result of your SR4 related work.

[Note: We suggest you review the material for Self Learners for a moment before reading further.]

The "Certificate of Achievement" program draws from a project list (or create and register your own projects) that it shares in common with the "Certificate of Completion" program (see Self Learners), but which differs in two important ways:

1. As part of pre-registration, you will designate the skills and skill levels you wish to acquire or enhance as part of your project work.
2. Your application for the Certificate of Achievement will also involve your taking and passing an on-line test for the skill areas you have selected as the focus of your project.

Beginning project list...

When you pre-register the project, we provide you with a skill-guide for the project that enables you to designate the skills you with to target in your work with the project. It is your selection of skills, then, that structures the test you must take and pass at the end of the project, to receive your Certificate of Achievement.

You can take the final certification test as often as you wish, until you pass the exam. If you have difficulties with the test, our recommendation is that you go back and review the study guide carefully to prepare you for re-taking the exam.

The skills that we are currently supporting with Certificates of Achievement are as follows:

• Java
• Linux
• Wireless networking
• Math and robots
• Language and robots
• Safety engineering and robots

An important prerequisite to using the SR4 Robot in educational studies is that students and/or their parents or guardian must have good computer and technical skills to be able to operate and troubleshoot the SR4 Robot. Additionally, the SR4 Robot represents substantial electronic and mechanical capabilities, stands three feet tall (with body and dome) and weighs close to 50 pounds. This is a serious device for serious educational applications. Safety considerations must be strictly adhered to, to protect the people and property in the vicinity of the robot when in operation, as well as to protect the robot itself.

To get started with your work with the SR4 Robot....

1. Order your SR4-P, SR4-Pb or SR4-N Robot today.¹
2. E-mail to us at homeschoolers@smartrobots.com and ask for an application for the Certificate of Achievements program.

¹Note: The Certificate of Achievement program is not supported on the SR4-B robot, which does not feature the built-in on-board computer and wireless networking features provided on the other models of the SR4.

For more general information...