{"id":224,"date":"2026-09-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/?p=224"},"modified":"2026-09-18T12:02:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T16:02:37","slug":"demystifying-stem-coding-sphero-robotics-bates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/demystifying-stem-coding-sphero-robotics-bates\/","title":{"rendered":"How Timothy E. Bates is Redefining STEM Education at UM-Flint CIT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A small, spherical robot sits on the edge of a classroom table,<strong> motionless until a high school student activates it.<\/strong> Armed with a measuring tape, the student measures the table, translates the dimensions into distance and timing commands, and pushes the revised code. The robot has no native awareness of drop-offs; <strong>it relies entirely on the parameters fed into its software. <\/strong>So, the sphere rolls forward, stops short of the corner, turns exactly ninety degrees, and proceeds along the second edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Watching the exercise is Tim Bates,<\/strong> a clinical professor of cybersecurity at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umflint.edu\/cit\/\">University of Michigan-Flint\u2019s College of Innovation &amp; Technology<\/a>, better known in industry circles as the Godfather of Tech. For Bates, that very moment<strong> marks the transition from casual play to applied computer engineering<\/strong> for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;He went around the square table completely. He measured it out, did the numbers, and was able to do it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bates uses the <a href=\"https:\/\/sphero.com\/\">Sphero robotics<\/a> platform not as a toy, but<strong> rather as an instructional approach <\/strong>designed to deconstruct the assumption that programming is an obscure discipline reserved for a specialized few. Instead,<strong> by making learning more fun,<\/strong> it ultimately shows how working with technology is fun, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Career Behind the Classroom Philosophy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-custom-arboretum-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1\">Why Industry Experience Matters at CIT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is a CIT Professor of Practice?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MoZRmEUtblw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bates\u2019 approach to education is informed directly<\/strong> by how technology is put together, deployed, and scaled in the real world. Raised in Detroit, his journey into technology began early,<strong> leading to senior executive, advisory, and technical positions<\/strong> across major global organizations, such as General Motors, Lenovo, and Deloitte.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout his career, <strong>Bates observed a consistent pattern<\/strong>: complex systems are rarely inaccessible because of their underlying logic; more often, it\u2019s because<strong> their entry points are needlessly intimidating.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It becomes even more complicated when faced with the reality that<strong> higher education often struggles with connecting theoretical instruction<\/strong> with the current rapidly changing industries. Bates wants to bridge that gap, and with his appointment at CIT, <strong>he applies his knowledge and experience<\/strong> with systems engineering and enterprise leadership in his teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rethinking How Students Interact with Software<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-custom-arboretum-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2\">Measuring, Calculating, and Pushing Real-Time Code<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"700\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/UofM_Data_Science_Day_Pop_Mod_Photo_05_29_2026-81-1-1-1024x700.jpg\" alt=\"A person is using a laptop while two small robotic devices are placed on a table in the foreground.\" class=\"wp-image-230\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/UofM_Data_Science_Day_Pop_Mod_Photo_05_29_2026-81-1-1-1024x700.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/UofM_Data_Science_Day_Pop_Mod_Photo_05_29_2026-81-1-1-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/UofM_Data_Science_Day_Pop_Mod_Photo_05_29_2026-81-1-1-768x525.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/UofM_Data_Science_Day_Pop_Mod_Photo_05_29_2026-81-1-1-1536x1051.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/UofM_Data_Science_Day_Pop_Mod_Photo_05_29_2026-81-1-1.jpg 1617w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Students from the Genesee Intermediate School District gathered at the University of Michigan Flint campus in Flint, Michigan to take part in Data Science Day photographed by Pop Mod Photo photographer Courtney Simpson. The event included a speech from Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The instructional sequence begins with<strong> making the content more accessible. <\/strong>When middle and high school students first interact with the Sphero units during campus outreach activities, <strong>they are not asked to write syntax or debug code.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, they interact with a graphical smartphone or tablet interface, using a direct drive joystick, or they draw its path on the screen. <strong>Controlling a rolling sphere feels familiar, <\/strong>akin to operating a remote-controlled vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once students feel comfortable dictating the robot\u2019s movement,<strong> Bates gives them a challenge. <\/strong>Manual control is removed, replaced by tasks that cannot be accomplished through simple touch-screen steering, such as navigating a multi-turn course or<strong> keeping a unit on a precise trajectory across variable surfaces.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;That&#8217;s where they jump from the radio control car from drawing to actually writing code, because they saw the reason that the code would give them more capabilities to control the ball better,&#8221; Bates shared.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back on the Annex floor,<strong> the Sphero completes its final turn, <\/strong>rolling parallel to the table&#8217;s fourth edge before coming to a stop at its exact starting position. To get there, it took more than just the joystick. In reality, it followed an array of parameters calculated, written, and <strong>verified by a student.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interactive Robotics as an Entry Point to Low-Code<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-custom-arboretum-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3\">Changing Perceptions of Computer Science<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is Sphero? Learn about this STEM education, computer science, and programmable robot company\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vTqQL4mzMkQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A central goal of Bates&#8217; youth events is <strong>overcoming self-selection out of these kinds of technical fields, <\/strong>specifically STEM pathways. With working through iterative trial, error, measurement, and recalculation, students learn the fundamentals of algorithmic thinking<strong> without the initial intimidation of a blank text editor.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During these sessions, students also receive feedback through this testing and playing with the code and<strong> seeing how the robots respond to them. <\/strong>When a student programs a workaround for a hardware limitation, such as calculating acceleration parameters<strong> to mimic a jump across a gap, <\/strong>they can immediately see if the robot responds correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cInitially, some of the kids in the room would think they\u2019re not smart enough to program, but at the end of the workshop, instead, they walk out knowing how to program.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>With content that is more approachable,<\/strong> the self-imposed belief that the field is out of reach suddenly becomes a myth. By replacing barriers with concrete and physical feedback, the activity demonstrates that<strong> the tools of modern technology are truly not out of reach. <\/strong>They are simply systems waiting to be measured, programmed, and understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Connecting Community Workshops to College Degrees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-custom-arboretum-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4\">Foundations for Robotics, AI, and Cybersecurity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/Bates-Blog-Photo-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Three children are sitting on a floor with colorful neon lines, using laptops in a dimly lit room.\" class=\"wp-image-231\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/Bates-Blog-Photo-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/Bates-Blog-Photo-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/Bates-Blog-Photo-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.umflint.edu\/cit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2026\/09\/Bates-Blog-Photo.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, a workshop does not produce a finished software engineer overnight. For the College of Innovation &amp; Technology, <strong>outreach activities like these increase community access<\/strong> to applied technology education and establish pathways into rigorous degree programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The core concepts taught in <strong>the Sphero workshops provide a starting foundation<\/strong> for multiple high-growth technical fields. Bates successfully achieves his dream of destigmatizing the field, <strong>proving that coding is not a closed domain<\/strong> but rather a system waiting to be understood and programmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A small, spherical robot sits on the edge of a classroom table, motionless until a high school student activates it. Armed with a measuring tape, the student measures the table, translates the dimensions into distance and timing commands, and pushes the revised code. The robot has no native awareness of drop-offs; it relies entirely on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":623,"featured_media":227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,34],"tags":[41,43,39,36],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-professors","tag-applied-computing","tag-k-12-stem-outreach","tag-low-code-programming","tag-sphero-robotics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Tim E. 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