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Once Upon a Time there was an Ozobot: Storytelling with Educational Robots
Abstract
This paper shows a way to introduce computational thinking in early childhood teaching based on scientific results within Neurodidactics. This approach offers children to explore and develop their creativity. Aiming to raise the children's interest in STEAM and to prevent prejudices in this field, the educational Robots, Ozobots, can be used in elementary and primary school to tell fairy tales. In order to connect basic computer science concepts by means of Storytelling, a workshop for very young researchers was designed and presented.
... There are instead diverse investigations on the usage of robots as puppets that interact directly with children. In particular, robots like Ozobot, and Bluebot have been used to help young children of different age groups tell stories, and practise coding by instructing robots on how to move [42,43,44] or to enhance their creativity and collaborative storytelling [45]. ...
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.
Zusammenfassung Digitale Medien und der damit verbundene Umgang mit Informations-und Kommunikationstechnologien sind aus dem Alltag der Kinder heutzutage nicht mehr wegzudenken. Gerade in der Primarstufe erschließen sich viele Möglichkeiten des spielerischen Einsatzes digitaler Medien, um den kompetenzorientierten Unterricht zu bereichern. Bisher beschränkten sich Didaktik und Forschung aber vor allem auf die Anwendungskompetenzen und den Umgang mit digitalen Medien. In letzter Zeit wurden sich Experten aber einig, dass man den informatischen Teilbereich nicht vernachlässigen darf und damit schon im Primarstufenbereich beginnen soll, um bereits hier einen Grundstein für die informatische Bildung zu legen und um mit spielerischem Programmieren, z.B. mit Robotern, informatisches Denken und kreatives Problemlösen zu fördern. Dieser Beitrag widmet sich dem Thema der Kreativitätsförderung und der Einführung des informatischen Denkens in der Primarstufe und zeigt, wie die Einführung anhand von Lernprozessen, die durch spielerisches Programmieren von Robotern unterstützt werden, gelingen kann. Abstract Digital media and the associated use of information and communication technologies have become an important part of children's everyday lives. Especially in primary school, many possibilities for the playful use of digital media open up to enrich competence-oriented lessons. Up to now, however, didactics and research have been limited primarily to application skills and the use of digital media. Recently, however, experts have agreed that informatics should not be neglected. Beginning at primary level build the foundations for informatics education and promote Computational Thinking and creative problem-solving skills through playful programming, e.g. with robots. This article focuses on the topic of creativity promotion and the implementation of Computational Thinking in primary education and how the introduction can be successful by learning processes that are supported by playful programming of robots. Schlüsselwörter:
There has been a steady increase in the number of studies investigating educational robotics and its impact on academic and social skills of young learners. Educational robots are used both in and out of school environments to enhance K–12 students’ interest, engagement,and academic achievement in various fields of STEM education. Some prior studies show evidence for the general benefits of educational robotics as being effective in providing impactful learning experiences. However, there appears to be a need to determine the specific benefits which have been achieved through robotics implementation in K–12 formal and informal learning settings. In this study, we present a systematic review of the literature on K–12 educational robotics. Based on our review process with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a repeatable method of systematic review, we found 147 studies published from the years 2000 to 2018. We classified these studies under five themes: (1) general effectiveness of educational robotics; (2) students’ learning and transfer skills; (3)creativity and motivation; (4) diversity and broadening participation; and (5) teachers’ professional development. The study outlines the research questions, presents the synthesis of literature, and discusses findings across themes. It also provides guidelines for educators, practitioners, and researchers in areas of educational robotics and STEM education, and presents dimensions of future research.
The success of new pedagogies depends on teachers’ beliefs about what they entail, and the promises and challenges they hold. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to understand the beliefs of early childhood teachers who attended a professional development conference on STEAM teaching, an emerging approach that combine STEM disciplines and the arts through problem-based learning to engage students and push deep thinking. Data from a post-conference survey (N = 41) and follow-up interviews (N = 4) showed teachers varied in their beliefs about STEAM and the supports they needed to implement it successfully. Implications for teacher education are discussed.
Science and mathematics are becoming computational endeavors. This fact is reflected in the recently released Next Generation Science Standards and the decision to include “computational thinking” as a core scientific practice. With this addition, and the increased presence of computation in mathematics and scientific contexts, a new urgency has come to the challenge of defining computational thinking and providing a theoretical grounding for what form it should take in school science and mathematics classrooms. This paper presents a response to this challenge by proposing a definition of computational thinking for mathematics and science in the form of a taxonomy consisting of four main categories: data practices, modeling and simulation practices, computational problem solving practices, and systems thinking practices. In formulating this taxonomy, we draw on the existing computational thinking literature, interviews with mathematicians and scientists, and exemplary computational thinking instructional materials. This work was undertaken as part of a larger effort to infuse computational thinking into high school science and mathematics curricular materials. In this paper, we argue for the approach of embedding computational thinking in mathematics and science contexts, present the taxonomy, and discuss how we envision the taxonomy being used to bring current educational efforts in line with the increasingly computational nature of modern science and mathematics.
Various aspects of computational thinking, which builds on the power and limits of computing processes, whether they are executed by a human or by a machine, are discussed. Computational methods and models are helping to solve problems, design systems, and understand human behavior, by drawing on concepts fundamental to computer science (CS). Computational thinking (CT) is using abstraction and decomposition when attacking a large complex task or designing a large complex systems. CT is the way of thinking in terms of prevention, protection, and recovery from worst-case scenarios through redundancy, damage containment, and error correction. CT is using heuristic reasoning to discover a solution and using massive amount of data to speed up computation. CT is a futuristic vision to guide computer science educators, researchers, and practitioners to change society's image of the computer science field.
National debate about K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has given rise to questions about appropriate materials for engineering education from prekindergarten through grade 12. Introducing engineering in the early years entails recognition of the need for teachers to understand its content and poses the challenge of preparing teachers to incorporate engineering education into their practice. Teacher preparation has historically included seeking information in books, journals, and magazines, and the professional development offered by universities, school districts, and other educational entities continues to provide the majority of formal options accessed by teachers. However, the advent of the Internet has expanded the ways that teachers undertake professional development and how they prepare to present new content. An online search for open source preschool through grade 12 (P-12) engineering materials revealed a wide variety of Web sites and online documents that included curricula, lesson plans, and descriptions of activities. Narrowing the search to the P-3 level revealed that the pedagogically and content-reliable sources available are limited in number and may be difficult to identify among the plethora of information. This study begins to describe the current landscape of open-access Internet materials in the field of early STEM with emphasis on engineering. The authors offer a guide-in-progress for selecting material for teachers and parents interested in introducing their young children to engineering. The authors also address emerging pedagogical fidelity and engineering content issues.
With the rapid development of information technology and the further expansion of its social influence, robot technology has gradually matured. In this stage, cultivating students' computing thinking has become an important task to promote the development of information technology talents and an essential direction of information technology education. Robotic is an excellent tool for introducing coding and computational thinking into early childhood education. How to cultivate students' computational thinking and how to use a robot to realize the transformation of learning is very important. Based on this, this paper systematically reviews the influence of robot teaching on students' computational thinking in k-12 education and looks forward to the future development direction of research on computational thinking and optimization of robot education.
Nowadays, companies are demanding better‐prepared professionals to succeed in a digital society, and the acquisition of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)‐related competencies is a key issue. One of the main problems in this sense is how to integrate STEAM into the current educational curricula. This is not something related to a subject or educational trend but rather to new methodological approaches that can engage students. In this sense, such active methodologies that apply mechatronics and robotics could be an interesting path to pursue. Given this context, the first necessary task in evaluating the potential of this approach is to understand the landscape of the application of robotics and mechatronics in STEAM Education and how active methodologies are applied in this sense. To carry out this analysis in a systematic and replicable manner, it is necessary to follow a methodology. In this case, the researchers employ a systematic mapping review. This paper presents this process and its main findings. Fifty‐four studies have been selected out of 242 total studies analyzed. From these, beyond obtaining a clear vision of the STEAM landscape regarding project topics, we can also conclude that robotics and physical devices have been applied successfully with collaborative methodologies in STEAM Education. Regarding conclusions, this paper shows that robotics and mechatronics applied with active methodologies is to be a good means to engage students in STEAM disciplines and thus aid the acquisition of what is commonly known as “21st‐century skills.”
A modern learning environment can be developed by using innovative tools and methods. The benefits of robotics in teaching and learning processes have recently been drawing increasing attention of researchers. The article aims are to perform a systematic review of the literature on the application of educational robots in schools, in order to identify the experience in the use of robotics in both formal primary, basic, and secondary schools and informal education, e.g. after school activities, summer camps. 16 relevant articles have been selected from the bibliographic databases as part of the systematic literature review. The analysis covers the following components of the articles: research aim, a curriculum taught by using robots, specific teaching methods, other characteristics (sample size, age limits and/or study cycle), and findings. The systematic literature review has shown that robotics has been paving its way as a teaching aid in a more intensive and flexible manner. The systematized findings of the literature review show the need for a further scientific research in this area in Lithuanian schools and may provide educators, practitioners and researchers, working in this area, with valuable guidelines.
This study reviews recently published scientific literature on the use of robotics in schools, in order to: (a) identify the potential contribution of the incorporation of robotics as educational tool in schools, (b) present a synthesis of the available empirical evidence on the educational effectiveness of robotics as an educational tool in schools, and (c) define future research perspectives concerning educational robotics. After systematically searching online bibliographic databases, ten relevant articles were located and included in the study. For each article, we analyze the purpose of the study, the content to be taught with the aid of robotics, the type of robot used, the research method used, and the sample characteristics (sample size, age range of students and/or level of education) and the results observed. The articles reviewed suggest that educational robotics usually acts as an element that enhances learning, however, this is not always the case, as there are studies that have reported situations in which there was no improvement in learning. The outcomes of the literature review are discussed in terms of their implications for future research, and can provide useful guidance for educators, practitioners and researchers in the area.
A Neurodidactical Approach to Cooperative and Cross-curricular Open Learning : COOL Informatics
- B Sabitzer
- Sabitzer B.
Education on the Dalton plan
- H Parkhurst
- Parkhurst H.
COOL Cooperatives Offenes Lernen
- R Hölbling
- H Wittwer
- G Neuhauser
- Hölbling R.