Educational Robotics: Development of computational thinking in collaborative online learning.

In the previous study the work experience on organization of teaching Robotics to secondary school students at school lessons and in study groups was introduced. This study which was conducted within 2019 and 2021 covered the period of distant learning caused by COVID-19 pandemic and even post-pandemic period, when a part of school students continued learning online. The study deals with the problem of developing school students' computational thinking in online learning. We consider computational thinking as a set of cognitive skills of solving educational and cognitive problems. The research questions raised were aimed at solving the problem of the influence of Educational Robotics on developing computational thinking. During the research we have found out that due to the adaptability of robots, Educational Robotics, the development of individual learning programs, and the arrangement of collaborative online learning are instruments and a solution to the problem of developing computational thinking. The main components of computational thinking, which were studied within those 3 years, are the following: algorithmic thinking, ability to program, and efficiency in team work. The influence of the learning strategy we chose enabled us to determine the level of computational thinking and its dependence on learning Robotics. We used statistical criteria in order to summarize the results of our research. The statistics provided suggests progress in the indicator tracked. Based on the experimental data received we approximated reliability (R2) and relevant exponential equation (trend lines). The research we carried out also has led to the general conclusion that Educational Robotics helps to create synergistic learning environment for stimulating students' motivation, collaboration, self-efficacy and creativity.

Computational Thinking and Educational Robotics Integrated into Project-Based Learning.

In the context of the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics disciplines in education, subjects tend to use contextualized activities or projects. Educational robotics and computational thinking both have the potential to become subjects in their own right, though not all educational programs yet offer these. Despite the use of technology and programming platforms being widespread, it is not common practice to integrate computational thinking and educational robotics into the official curriculum in secondary education. That is why this paper continues an initial project of integrating computational thinking and educational robotics into a secondary school in Barcelona, Spain. This study presents a project-based learning approach where the main focus is the development of skills related to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics and the acquisition of computational thinking knowledge in the second year of pupils' studies using a block-based programming environment. The study develops several sessions in the context of project-based learning, with students using the block-programming platform ScratchTM. During these sessions and in small-group workshops, students will expand their knowledge of computational thinking and develop 21st-century skills. We demonstrate the superior improvement of these concepts and skills compared to other educational methodologies.

Co-Learning Computational and Design Thinking Using Educational Robotics: A Case of Primary School Learners in Namibia.

In a two-day educational robotics workshop in a Namibian primary boarding school, learners with no programming skills managed to apply both computational and design thinking skills with the aid of educational robotics. Educational robotics has proved to be an area which enhances learning both computational thinking and design thinking. An educational robotics (ER) workshop focusing on Arduino robotics technologies was conducted with primary school learners at Nakayale Private Academy. Observation methods through watching, listening and video recordings were used to observe and analyze how the learners were interacting throughout the workshop. Based on the results, it was concluded that this approach could be applied in classrooms to enable the primary school learners apply computational and design thinking in preparation of becoming the producers and not only the consumers of the 4IR technologies.

iArm: Design an Educational Robotic Arm Kit for Inspiring Students' Computational Thinking.

Educational robotics is an effective carrier of information technology education, making its way into classrooms. However, the design of the educational robotic arm kit and the study on the effect of robotic arms on students' thinking literacy remain to be completed. In this paper, iArm, a 6-DOF robotic arm consisting of a drive chassis, an arm body, and end tools, is presented. Its auxiliary modules, including the vision module and conveyor belt, and the curriculum targeting students' computational thinking are also developed to refine the current educational robotic arm kit. Furthermore, to explore the effectiveness of the iArm kit, thirteen high school students participated in the semester-long curriculum, completed assigned projects, and filled out the pre-test and post-test scales. By formative and summative evaluation, the result shows that the iArm kit effectively enhanced students' computational thinking.

Characteristics of student engagement in high-school robotics courses.

Student engagement has been described as active involvement in a learning activity that significantly affects learning achievement. This study investigated student engagement in robotics education, considering it as an instant emotional reaction on interaction with the teacher, the peers, and the robotic environment. The objective was to characterize engagement in high school robotics courses through the lenses of preparation for academic and technical careers. Students who participated in this study (N = 41), all of whom were in the eleventh grade, belonged to either School A (n1 = 20) or School B (n2 = 21). School A students studied only one subject at an advanced level-mechatronics, while each student in School B studied engineering systems as well as one of the following three subjects at an advanced level: computer science, a natural science subject, or mathematics. Data were collected via structured classroom observations, interviews, and a questionnaire. From the analysis of the collected data, we identified 23 engagement structures in total, 12 of which were already known in the literature, and 11 of which were novel. The two groups of students shared nine known structures, and no novel structures. Unlike previous studies of engagement structures, this study was based on an entire year of observations. Additionally, it is one of the first studies of high school student engagement in robotics education. Our findings and conclusions contribute to understanding of student engagement in robotic education, allowing robotics teachers to tailor their instruction more effectively.

skillsChain: A Decentralized Application That Uses Educational Robotics and Blockchain to Disrupt the Educational Process.

Our epoch is continuously disrupted by the rapid technological advances in various scientific domains that aim to drive forward the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This disruption resulted in the introduction of fields that present advanced ways to train students as well as ways to secure the exchange of data and guarantee the integrity of those data. In this paper, a decentralized application (dApp), namely skillsChain, is introduced that utilizes Blockchain in educational robotics to securely track the development of students' skills so as to be transferable beyond the confines of the academic world. This work outlines a state-of-the-art architecture in which educational robotics can directly execute transactions on a public ledger when certain requirements are met without the need of educators. In addition, it allows students to safely exchange their skills' records with third parties. The proposed application was designed and deployed on a public distributed ledger and the final results present its efficacy.

The symbiotic relationship between educational robotics and computer science in formal education.

Educational Robotics (ER) has the potential to provide significant benefits to education, provided an increase in outreach by transitioning from the extra-curricular initiatives in which ER has thrived to formal education. As Computer Science (CS) Education is undergoing curricular reforms worldwide, the present study addresses the case of a Digital Education reform that included ER as a means to teach core CS concepts. Approximately 350 teachers from the first four grades of primary school participated in a mandatory two-year continuing professional development (CPD) program. The first year of the program was dedicated to CS and introduced teachers to CS Unplugged (CSU) and Robotics Unplugged (RU) activities. As such, we analyse the interplay between these activities and focus on teachers' voluntary adoption of the proposed content in classrooms. This is complemented by an analysis of their perception and recommendation of ER. The findings highlight three main points. Firstly, ER benefits from the integration in the CS CPD, as this provides the necessary traction to introduce ER into teacher practices (the teachers freely devoted 2275 h to ER activities in their classrooms, over two years). Secondly, the presence of ER activities in the CS-CPD allows a higher proportion of teachers to adopt the CS content, as there are teachers that favour one type of activity over the other. Finally, the globally positive perception of ER registered in this study is relevant for two reasons: teachers were not voluntarily participating in the CPD, and results did not differ between pioneers and novices.

A computer science and robotics integration model for primary school: evaluation of a large-scale in-service K-4 teacher-training program.

Integrating computer science (CS) into school curricula has become a worldwide preoccupation. Therefore, we present a CS and Robotics integration model and its validation through a large-scale pilot study in the administrative region of the Canton Vaud in Switzerland. Approximately 350 primary school teachers followed a mandatory CS continuing professional development program (CPD) of adapted format with a curriculum scaffolded by instruction modality. This included CS Unplugged activities that aim to teach CS concepts without the use of screens, and Robotics Unplugged activities that employed physical robots, without screens, to learn about robotics and CS concepts. Teachers evaluated positively the CPD and their representation of CS improved. Voluntary adoption rates reached 97% during the CPD and 80% the following year. These results combined with the underpinning literature support the generalisability of the model to other contexts.

EUROPA: A Case Study for Teaching Sensors, Data Acquisition and Robotics via a ROS-Based Educational Robot.

Robots have become a popular educational tool in secondary education, introducing scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical concepts to students all around the globe. In this paper EUROPA, an extensible, open software and open hardware robotic platform is presented focusing on teaching physics, sensors, data acquisition and robotics. EUROPA's software infrastructure is based οn Robot Operating System (ROS). It includes easy to use interfaces for robot control and interaction with users and thus can easily be incorporated in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and robotics classes. EUROPA was designed taking into account current trends in educational robotics. An overview of widespread robotic platforms is presented, documenting several critical parameters of interest such as their architecture, sensors, actuators and controllers, their approximate cost, etc. Finally, an introductory STEM curriculum developed for EUROPA and applied in a class of high school students is presented.

Developing an Interactive Environment Through the Teaching of Mathematics with Small Robots.

The article is the product of the study "Development of innovative resources to improve logical-mathematical skills in primary school, through educational robotics", developed during the 2019 school year in three public schools in the province of Chiriquí, Republic of Panama. The teaching-learning process in students is influenced by aspects inside and outside the classroom, since not all schools have the necessary resources to deliver content or teaching material. The general objective of the project is to design, develop and implement educational robotics to improve logical-mathematical skills aimed at preschool and first grade students in public schools, using programmable educational robots. For this, a set of resources and activities were developed to improve the logical-mathematical skills of the initial stages, in public schools, obtaining significant results. Playful activities favor the teaching-learning process. Considering the analysis of the results made on the data obtained through the applied collection instruments, it can be argued that in general terms the values indicate that the students obtained a favorable level of performance in the different challenges proposed. The project has allowed the academic community to have an application of great value that allows teaching about the conservation of natural sites. The project only covers the area of mathematics in preschool and first grade.

Social STEAM Learning at an Early Age with Robotic Platforms: A Case Study in Four Schools in Spain.

Robotics is one of the key learnings in a world where learners will interact with multiple robotic technologies and operating systems throughout their lives. However, school teachers, especially in the elementary and primary education stages, often have difficulties incorporating these tools in the classroom. Four elementary teachers in three schools in Catalonia were trained to introduce robotics in the classroom to seventy-five students. The main actions consisted in classroom accompaniment by a university-trained support teacher, curricular materials' development, and assessment of the students' and teachers' learning. The designed contents and evaluation criteria took into account the potential of educational robotics to improve soft skills and to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) interdisciplinary learning. Teachers perceived the training to be supportive and useful and ended the school year feeling confident with the used robotic platform (KIBO). The assessment of the students' learning showed an average mark of 7.1-7.7 over 10 in the final evaluation criteria. Moreover, students' learning was higher in the classes where the teachers had higher initial interest in the training. We present and analyse the actions carried out, with a critical and constructive look at extending the experience to other educational centers.

Systematic Review on Which Analytics and Learning Methodologies Are Applied in Primary and Secondary Education in the Learning of Robotics Sensors.

Robotics technology has become increasingly common both for businesses and for private citizens. Primary and secondary schools, as a mirror of societal evolution, have increasingly integrated science, technology, engineering and math concepts into their curricula. Our research questions are: "In teaching robotics to primary and secondary school students, which pedagogical-methodological interventions result in better understanding and knowledge in the use of sensors in educational robotics?", and "In teaching robotics to primary and secondary school students, which analytical methods related to Learning Analytics processes are proposed to analyze and reflect on students' behavior in their learning of concepts and skills of sensors in educational robotics?". To answer these questions, we have carried out a systematic review of the literature in the Web of Science and Scopus databases regarding robotics sensors in primary and secondary education, and Learning Analytics processes. We applied PRISMA methodology and reviewed a total of 24 articles. The results show a consensus about the use of the Learning by Doing and Project-Based Learning methodologies, including their different variations, as the most common methodology for achieving optimal engagement, motivation and performance in students' learning. Finally, future lines of research are identified from this study.

School-age children are more skeptical of inaccurate robots than adults.

We expect children to learn new words, skills, and ideas from various technologies. When learning from humans, children prefer people who are reliable and trustworthy, yet children also forgive people's occasional mistakes. Are the dynamics of children learning from technologies, which can also be unreliable, similar to learning from humans? We tackle this question by focusing on early childhood, an age at which children are expected to master foundational academic skills. In this project, 168 4-7-year-old children (Study 1) and 168 adults (Study 2) played a word-guessing game with either a human or robot. The partner first gave a sequence of correct answers, but then followed this with a sequence of wrong answers, with a reaction following each one. Reactions varied by condition, either expressing an accident, an accident marked with an apology, or an unhelpful intention. We found that older children were less trusting than both younger children and adults and were even more skeptical after errors. Trust decreased most rapidly when errors were intentional, but only children (and especially older children) outright rejected help from intentionally unhelpful partners. As an exception to this general trend, older children maintained their trust for longer when a robot (but not a human) apologized for its mistake. Our work suggests that educational technology design cannot be one size fits all but rather must account for developmental changes in children's learning goals.

Eye-tracker and fNIRS: Using neuroscientific tools to assess the learning experience during children's educational robotics activities.

In technology education, there has been a paradigmatic shift towards student-centered approaches such as learning by doing, constructionism, and experiential learning. Educational robotics allows students to experiment with building and interacting with their creations while also fostering collaborative work. However, understanding the student's response to these approaches is crucial to adapting them during the teaching-learning process. In this sense, neuroscientific tools such as Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Eye-tracker could be useful, allowing the investigation of relevant states experienced by students. Although they have already been used in educational research, their practical relevance in the teaching-learning process has not been extensively investigated. In this perspective article expressing our position, we bring four examples of learning experiences in a robotics class with children, in which we illustrate the usefulness of these tools.

Robotont 3-an accessible 3D-printable ROS-supported open-source mobile robot for education and research.

Educational robots offer a platform for training aspiring engineers and building trust in technology that is envisioned to shape how we work and live. In education, accessibility and modularity are significant in the choice of such a technological platform. In order to foster continuous development of the robots as well as to improve student engagement in the design and fabrication process, safe production methods with low accessibility barriers should be chosen. In this paper, we present Robotont 3, an open-source mobile robot that leverages Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D-printing for manufacturing the chassis and a single dedicated system board that can be ordered from online printed circuit board (PCB) assembly services. To promote accessibility, the project follows open hardware practices, such as design transparency, permissive licensing, accessibility in manufacturing methods, and comprehensive documentation. Semantic Versioning was incorporated to improve maintainability in development. Compared to the earlier versions, Robotont 3 maintains all the technical capabilities, while featuring an improved hardware setup to enhance the ease of fabrication and assembly, and modularity. The improvements increase the accessibility, scalability and flexibility of the platform in an educational setting.

Have You Ever Seen a Robot? An Analysis of Children's Drawings Between Technology and Science Fiction.

Technologies have become an essential part of the daily life of our children. Consequently, artifacts that imply the early adoption of abstract thinking affect the imagination of children and young people in relation to the world of technology, now much more than they did in the past. With the emerging importance of robots in many aspects of our everyday lives, the goal of this study is to investigate which mental representations children have about robots. To this end, drawings from 104 children aged between 7 and 12 years old were used as a map of representations, considering the drawings as a proxy capable of evoking learned or emerging mental frameworks. The drawings were analyzed in several steps: they were first labeled using binary descriptors and then classified using clustering methods based on Hamming distances between drawings. Finally, questionnaire items covering children's perceptions about robots were analyzed for each of the resulting cluster separately to identify differences between them. The results show that there are relationships between the way children draw robots and their perception about robots' capabilities as well as their aspirations to pursue a career in science. These findings can provide meaningful insights into how to design educational robots and learning activities for children to learn with and about robots.

Educational Robotics for Developing Computational Thinking in Young Learners: A Systematic Review.

Educational robotics has been adopted to create interactive and engaging learning environments to develop computational thinking (CT) in K-12 learners. This study systematically examined 22 peer-reviewed empirical research articles on the use of educational robotics to develop CT in young learners (pre-kindergarten to 6th grade) published between 2012 and 2021. The findings revealed that using robotics activities to develop CT has mostly been studied in the formal education settings with the duration of robotics curricular activities ranging from 80 minutes to 24 hours. The five CT skills studied most often include Sequencing, Conditionals, Loops, Debugging, and Algorithmic Thinking. The different versions of LEGO Mindstorms are the most frequently adopted robotic kits in the examined studies. The most frequently adopted learning and instructional strategies in the robotics activities include collaborative learning, project-based learning, and embodied learning. This paper identified and discussed developmentally appropriated CT skills, robotics kits, and pedagogical approaches suitable for supporting CT development in young learners. The findings can guide educators and instructional designers for future robotics activity design and development endeavors. This paper also identified gaps in the current research and recommended directions for advancing research in adopting robotics to develop CT in young learners.

Effect of COGNI-MACHINE computational thinking training on executive functions in children aged 9 to 11: Protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial.

We designed a controlled trial protocol that seeks to contribute to cognitive science by studying the effect of thought training on children's executive functions. The study design is a cluster randomized controlled trial, with intra-subject and inter-subject evaluation, with two parallel groups: an experimental group and a TAU control group. With three measures, pre-test, post-test, and follow-up after three months. The participants will be children aged 9 to 11. The allocation will be randomized by groups and not individually. The sample will be a minimum of 44 participants. The primary measures will be neuropsychological tests to assess executive functions. Secondary measures will be a computational thinking test, neuropsychological tests to assess metacognition and attention, and an acceptability scale. The experimental group will participate in the COGNI-MACHINE computational thinking training designed by the first author. The training frequency will be twice a week in 60 min sessions for 12 weeks. The TAU control group will receive computer science classes as usual during the same time as the experimental group. The evaluators taking the measurements will be blinded to the assignment. The investigators in charge of the intervention will be blinded to the results of the evaluations.

Disseminating STEM Subjects and Ocean Literacy through a Bioinspired Toolkit.

Over the last decade, education has been evolving to equip students with the fundamental skills required to cope with the challenges of sustainability and inclusivity, such as quality education, access to clean water, cultural heritage preservation and protection of marine life. Technology supports the learning process by providing useful tools that enrich the learning environment, encourage active participation, improve collaboration and prepare students for their future life. Educational Robotics is one of the most popular innovative methodologies that supports the development of many skills by assembling and programming robots in a meaningful way. In this paper, the authors aim at advancing their previous work in the field of Educational Robotics applied to the marine environment by proposing a novel bioinspired educational toolkit whose design and features support activities concerning sustainability, ocean literacy, as well as STEM subjects in kindergarten through to grade twelve education. Exploiting the established educational theories and methodologies underpinning Educational Robotics, the toolkit allows for marine-themed activities, as well promoting activities concerning STEM subjects. To explain the relevance of the toolkit, the authors present the robot design, the workshops that every teacher or student can explore as an Open Educational Resource (OERs), and the results of a case study. Interestingly, the latter shows that the use of the toolkit seems to have complemented the students' initial keen interest in technology itself, with awareness about urgent issues related to the climate and the environment.

A Sim-to-real Practical Approach to Teach Robotics into K-12: A Case Study of Simulators, Educational and DIY Robotics in Competition-based Learning.

Simulators in robotics are well-known tools for the development of new applications and training and integration of systems for remote operation or supervision. Therefore, robotics is one of the most used practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based educational frameworks, and, with COVID-19, simulators have become increasingly important. This study shows specific benefits achieved for K-12 students in an individualized family service plan/resource teachers for the gifted model based on a review. A simulator is typically adopted for undergraduates students to increase their ability to make technical-based decisions and move smoothly between the real and virtual worlds, with a strong emphasis on the feedback from both. It enables students to develop abilities to build robots without needing commercial kits. In a sim-to-real approach, early simulation allows improved team integration and reduced reliance on skills, equalizing the abilities of students, regardless of their backgrounds. Simultaneously, simulation encourages students to work harder in real implementation by equalizing their class level, resulting in competition-based learning.