Towards the alignment of educational robotics learning systems with classroom activities

The technological advances of the past years have impressively demonstrated that the digital age is no longer just a science fiction vision of the future - we are in the midst of it. The digital transformation is affecting many areas of our lives, including the educational system. For instance, recent years have shown an increased adoption of educational robotics activities in classrooms. Although educators and researchers have acknowledged the potential of educational robotics, further efforts are needed to effectively integrate them into formal education. As for any kind of educational tool, one key factor for the successful integration of educational robots in classrooms is the proper alignment of such tools with the classroom activities and vice versa. In practice, however, this may pose challenges. On the one hand, it still appears that only few educators have already developed the required know-how allowing them to leverage educational robotics for classroom activities. On the other hand, the issue of poor alignment may already arise in the design stages of educational robotics tools, due to the limited experience of developers with the pedagogy and learning theories related to such tools. This thesis, therefore, seeks to study how instructional alignment can be attained in the context of educational robotics. To this end, an alignment framework will be devised aimed at supporting developers in the design of educational robotics tools, as well as educators in the design and implementation of classroom activities involving educational robotics. In this context, we will introduce the notion of Educational Robotics Learning Systems (ERLS), a model that conceptualizes alignment for educational robotics activities. In different studies, we will illustrate how the devised alignment framework can be used to guide the development of educational robotics tools and activities. The PaPL and CreroBot projects will consider the alignment issue from the developers' perspective. The former is concerned with the development of a tangible programming interface based on accessible materials such as paper and cardboard. The latter will then expand these ideas to the development of a do-it-yourself educational robot. In two other projects, we will then illustrate how the devised framework can be used to guide the development of educational robotics activities. We will first discuss the Thymio lawnmower mission, an activity devised to foster the development of students' computational thinking competencies. Finally, we will present the Thymio Escape Game, an immersive learning activity that has been inspired by escape room experiences. The findings from these studies are intended to make a contribution to the field of educational robotics, specifically by addressing the global research question of this thesis: How can instructional alignment be attained for educational robotics activities?

Heuristics for the Development and Evaluation of Educational Robotics Systems

Christian Giang, Francesco Mondada, Alberto Piatti

Contribution: While previous research has studied the use of educational robotics in classrooms, there is still a lack of methods to support the development and evaluation of such tools. To this end, this paper presents an evaluation framework and a corresponding set of heuristics, which are specifically adapted to the needs and expectations in formal education settings. Background: The increased usage of educational robots in classrooms, as well as the steadily growing number of alternatives to choose from, raises the question of finding appropriate methods for the development and evaluation of such tools. Yet the current body of literature does not provide comprehensive frameworks that allow to adequately address this question. Intended outcomes: The work aims at providing an evaluation framework, which could support researchers and engineers, as well as educators and decision makers in taking informed decisions about educational robotics systems. Application design: This paper proposes to consider activities involving educational robotics systems as a kind of “educational augmented tabletop game”. Within this framework, a set of fourteen heuristics was devised based on literature about games and learning tools. The validity of the devised heuristics was examined with a heterogenous group of twelve compulsory school teachers, who tested five different educational robotics systems. Findings: The experimental results illustrated high approval for the devised heuristics by the participating teachers. A heuristic evaluation based on the proposed framework appeared to be more appropriate to reflect the teachers’ needs than conventional methods, i.e., the isolated comparison of system characteristics.

2019

Thymio

Fanny Riedo

Technology is now an important part of our lives. We often see robots cited as the future of education, and reports of their imminent entrance in schools. New projects create buzz in the media and online, but when we look at the actual situation, very few robots are currently used in education, and most of the time, the platform used is the Lego Mindstorms. Why so little diversity? What do robot actually bring to the learning experience? How can we design good educational robots? Hopes are that they bring additional motivation to pupils. Since the use of robots is fun, the learning is supposed to become easier. Robot projects and activities are also expected to foster thinking skills, collaboration, and creative spirit. Finally, there is a need to educate people on technology for two reasons. The first is to break the "black box" image they have of technology, and the second is to encourage them into technical careers. Thanks to the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research Robotics (NCCR Robotics), we could develop some innovative concepts in educational robotics, and implement one such pedagogical tool. We designed a small wheeled robot with many sensors, and LEDs making its internal state apparent to the user. A simple, white look makes it a neutral base for creating one’s own application, for all age and gender groups. Different user interfaces allow to make it accessible to everybody: • Pre-programmed behaviours that demonstrate its different possibilities • A Visual Programming Language (VPL), without text and based on event-action pairs • The Aseba script language (text-based), with a comprehensive development environment to accompany and inform the user The resulting platform, Thymio II, is completely open-source and open-hardware. It was mass-produced and commercialised at a low cost. This gave the opportunity to evaluate the public’s response to it. We could assess that the robot design is well received and appreciated by different age and gender groups. It seems particularly popular with girls. We analysed the expectations of the different age categories and proposed activities that fitted their specific needs. We could also validate that users of Thymio II learn notions of programming, understand essential concepts such as what sensors are, what is the relationship between the robot, the computer, and the programming environment. With the VPL, they could quickly grasp the meaning of events and event-action pairs. We realised that in spite of the interest it generated, the robot was not used much at home or in schools. We think that there is a need for more guidance and that parallels should be drawn with e-learning for the use at home. In schools, we observed that teachers who use robots are pioneers, who invest time and sometimes money into new technologies out of personal interest. The others do not feel strongly against robotics but are probably discouraged by the lack of institutional injunction, appropriate training, budget, and ready-to-use pedagogical materials. At the end of this work, we conclude by giving a set of guidelines, based on our experience, for the design of educational robots. This project demonstrated very promising results and we believe that it can be a first step toward renewing teaching habits.

EPFL2015

Thymio

Fanny Riedo

EPFL2015