A framework for research on technology-enhanced special education

Based on results from the Technologies for Childrenwith Individual Needs Project and two case projects,we propose a new multidisciplinary framework forresearch between computer science, educationaltechnology, and special education. The frameworkpresents a way to conduct research that aims atdeveloping new methods for technology-enhancedspecial education and for developing adaptablesoftware and hardware tools for individual needs ineducational settings.Peer reviewe

The visual programming environment ROBI for educational robotics

This paper presents the outcomes of a research project focused on the training of Computational Thinking, resorting to a block-based visual programming language created to program an Arduino Uno based robot. To support the design and implementation of the visual programming environment Robi, we start discussing the relevance of Educational Robotics to motivate and engage children in programming activities. Students usually face great difficulties to learn computer programming and it is nowadays accepted that young people shall be trained in Computational Thinking to acquire the skills necessary to easily solve problems within and beyond the realm of Computer Science and Engineering. The resolution of obstacles imposed by the costs and reduced availability of typical Educational Robotics kits, in combination with the benefits of existing block-based programming languages, like simplicity and intuitiveness, motivated the project here reported and analyzed. We aim at showing that Robi, a visual block-based programming language and robot programming environment, provides an easy, accessible and intuitive platform to learn how to solve problems programming a computer and support the training of Computational Thinking

A robotokkal történő oktatás az élménypedagógia aspektusából

Háttér és cél: A tanulmány a robotokkal történő tanítás alkalmazásának lehetőségeiről szól. A tanulmány elméleti részében a robotok oktatási folyamatban való alkalmazásának főbb irányzatait elemezzük hazai és nemzetközi szinten. Ezt követi egy, a robotokkal történő oktatással kapcsolatos kutatás összefoglalása. Minta és módszer: A vizsgálatban 84 pedagógust kérdeztünk meg kérdőív használatával. Az eredményeket SPSS segítségével elemeztük leíró statisztikai analízissel és Chi-négyzet teszt számítás alkalmazásával

Teacher training on Educational Robotics: a systematic review

3noopenThis study systematically reviews the literature concerning structured training experiences with Educational Robotics (ER) by in-service teachers (ISTs) and pre-service teachers (PSTs). The sixteen papers selected highlight the relevance of these courses in order to update professional identity and to support professional development (PD) beginning with undergraduate education. Through these training sessions, both ISTs and PSTs adapted and integrated their knowledge about robotics and the pedagogy behind it, coming to understand the benefits that new technologies can offer. Therefore, they built a positive attitude towards ER and enhanced their self-efficacy. This enables teachers to properly integrate ER in the classroom, using a more conscious and less obsolete methodology. Consequently, they become, together with their students, active co- designers of the educational process. Finally, improvements in teaching methods and contents will significantly impact on the learning process, especially in terms of motivation and inclusion.openGiannandrea, L.; Gratani, F.; Renieri, A.Giannandrea, L.; Gratani, F.; Renieri, A

Robots in special education: reasons for low uptake

Purpose: This paper identifies the main reasons for low uptake of robots in Special Education, obtained from an analysis of previous studies that used robots in the area, and from interviewing Special Education teachers about the topic. Design/methodology/approach: An analysis of 18 studies that used robots in Special Education was performed, and the conclusions were complemented and compared with the feedback from interviewing 13 Special Education teachers from Spain and UK about the reasons they believed caused the low uptake of robots in Special Education classrooms. Findings: Five main reasons why Special Education schools do not normally use robots in their classrooms were identified: the inability to acquire the system due to its price or availability; its difficulty of use; the low range of activities offered; the limited ways of interaction offered; and the inability to use different robots with the same software. Originality/value: Previous studies focused on exploring the advantages of using robots to help children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions and Learning Disabilities. This study takes a step further and looks into the reasons why, despite the benefits shown, robots are rarely used in real-life settings after the relevant study ends. The authors also present a potential solution to the issues found: involving end users in the design and development of new systems using a user-centred design approach for all the components, including methods of interaction, learning activities, and the most suitable type of robots

Examining engagement and achievement in learners with individual needs through robotic-based teaching sessions

Research suggests that robotics can provide an engaging learning experience for learners with special educational needs. However, further work is required to explore the impact of robots within the classroom, particularly for learners with intellectual disabilities (ID). This paper seeks to further explore the potential effects of robots on such learners through examining engagement and goal achievement within teaching sessions. Eleven participants with ID were recruited from two countries to take part in the study using an ABAB design where the participants acted as their own controls. An appropriate learning goal for each participant was selected by the teacher and equivalent control sessions designed seeking to achieve the same learning goal but without the robot. Engagement, using eye‐gaze, learning goal achievement with and without help and goals not achieved provided the outcome measures from the sessions. This study found no significant difference between the robot and the control sessions for any of the outcome measures utilized suggesting robots are as effective as teaching tools as traditional methods. Through an increased sample size and a rigorously applied experimental protocol, this study provides new data and methodological considerations for further work based on the techniques applied in this study

Robotics as a Means of Increasing Student Achievement in Middle School Science

This study reports on the effectiveness of a Robotics engineering curriculum in increasing the middle school students‘ achievement in science and math. Specifically, it aimed to find out if the students taking the robotics class performed significantly higher in science and math than a control group. The research examined and compared the scores in a pre and posttest and the normalized learning gains of students taking robotics in addition to their regular science and math versus those who are taking science and math only. Although this study showed that there is no significant difference in the science achievement scores of students between the experimental and control group, gender was identified an as important factor that affects the learning outcomes in a Robotics class. Further analyses also showed that despite the fact that students used general math ideas as they engage in the problem solving process during robotics-driven activities, their knowledge of math is no different from those who are not taking robotics

Percepcija nastavnika o primeni informaciono- komunikacionih tehnologija u nastavnom procesu

Пут до бољег образовања води преко заинтересованих, обучених и мотивисаних наставника. У последњих неколико деценија наша земља улаже много у интеграцију информационо-комуникационе технологије (ИКТ) у образовно-васпитни процес, укључујући и организацију обучавања наставног кадра у школама. Међутим, мало се зна о перцепцији наставника о примени ИКТ у наставном процесу код нас. Ова студија има за циљ да утврди перцепцију наставника о примени ИКТ у раду са децом са сметњама у развоју, узимајући у обзир и однос са одређеним социодемографским карактеристикама. За процену перцепције наставника о примени ИКТ-а у наставном процесу са децом са сметњама у развоју коришћена је Скала перцепције наставника према ИКТ-а у наставном процесу (Perceptions towards ICTs in teaching-learning process scale; Baş, Kubiatko, & Sünbül, 2016) која се састоји од 25 ајтема. Скала је подељена на три субскале: субскала Ставови (Attitude scale – АТТ), субскала Применљивост (Usage scale – US) и субскала Уверења (Belief – BEL). Узорком је обухваћено 52 запошљена Школе за децу са сметњама у развоју "11.Октобар" у Лесковцу, уједначен по полу и старости испитаника. Анализом резултата је утврђено да наставници имају позитивну перцепцију и уверења према употреби ИКТ у наставном процесу, али сама имплементација није на задовољавајућем нивоу, јер је јако мали број наставника користи у раду. Разлике у прецепцији према употреби ИКТ у односу на социодемографске карактеристике не постоје. У раду су детаљније представљени резултати истраживања, као и ограничења, а дате су и препоруке будућим истраживачима.The way to better education leads through interested, trained and motivated teachers. In the last few decades, our country has invested a lot in the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in the educational process, including the organization of training teachers in schools. However, little is known about the perception of teachers about the application of ICT in the teaching process in our country. This research has got the objective to determine teachers' perceptions of the use of ICT in working with children with disabilities, taking into consideration the relationship with certain sociodemographic characteristics. For assessment of teachers' perceptions of the use of ICT in the teaching process with children with disabilities, the Teachers' Perception Scale towards ICT in the teaching process was used (Baş, Kubiatko, & Sünbül, 2016). consisting of 25 items. The scale is divided into three subscales: the Attitude (ATT) subscale, the Usage (US) subscale and the Belief (BEL) subscale. The sample included 52 employees of the School for Children with Developmental Disabilities "October 11th" in Leskovac, equal in gender and age of the respondents. The analysis of the results has showed that teachers have a positive perception and beliefs towards the use of ICT in the teaching process, but the implementation itself is not at a satisfactory level, because a very small number of teachers use it in their work. There are no differences in perception towards the use of ICT related to sociodemographic characteristics. This paper presents the results of the research in more details, as well as the limitations, and gives recommendations to future researchers

A aprendizagem por projectos mediada por robots : área disciplinar não curricular, área de projecto do 12º ano

Relatório da prática de ensino supervisionada, Ensino de Informática, Universidade de Lisboa, 2011O presente relatório reflecte o trabalho e a experiência obtida durante a prática de ensino Supervisionada, respeitante à disciplina de Introdução à Prática Profissional IV – Informática, do Mestrado em Ensino de Informática, da Universidade de Lisboa. O trabalho aqui fundamentado baseou-se em aulas devidamente supervisionadas na Escola Secundária Camões, situada em Lisboa. No cômputo a actividade teve a duração de seis aulas de noventa minutos de onde foram retidas as principais conclusões da problemática em estudo. A turma cooperadora deste trabalho era constituída por alunos do 12º A, 12º B e 12º C do Curso de Ciências e Tecnologias. A prática e observação foram realizadas na área curricular não disciplinar Área de Projecto. A escolha da disciplina está intrinsecamente relacionada com a questão da problemática em causa que centra-se fundamentalmente na aprendizagem por projectos mediada por Robots. É parte aglomerante deste relatório uma breve introdução onde é realizado um breve enquadramento do objecto em estudo e das questões que dão base a este trabalho. Depois da introdução é, também, feito um enquadramento relativo à prática leccionada e orientações curriculares onde foi realizada uma breve descrição da área curricular não disciplinar Área de Projecto e o seu surgimento no Ensino Secundário no ano lectivo 2004/2005. Neste contexto é descrita uma breve reflexão da aprendizagem por projectos mediada por robots e a sua importância. Posteriormente é feita a identificação do local de intervenção do estudo com uma breve caracterização da escola e identificação e constituição da turma. Também é parte integrante deste ponto a identificação do plano de actuação e do módulo temático, com a descrição dos principais conteúdos e objectivos a atingir no plano de trabalho. Segue-se uma breve explicação das estratégias de intervenção onde são descritas as dinâmicas de trabalho e a avaliação dos projectos. É feita a exposição do plano de actividades a desenvolver, bem como a sua calendarização de acordo com as normas do Mestrado de Ensino em questão. Na finalização deste trabalho de estudo, são explícitos os métodos de avaliação das aprendizagens, a descrição do ocorrido nas aulas supervisionadas e os métodos utilizados na recolha dos dados necessários para análise e apresentação das conclusões que permitem dar resposta à problemática e às questões implícitas no objecto de estudo. Este relatório termina com uma breve reflexão de todo o trabalho por mim desenvolvido e previamente planeado para o alcance de conclusões concretas e plausíveis que deram respostas às questões que constituíram o meu trabalho de estudo.The present report reflects the work and the experience during the Teaching Practice under supervision, related to the school subject “Introdução à Práctica Profissional IV – Informática”, from the Master Degree in „Ensino de Informática‟, from the University of Lisbon. The work which is the basis of this summary was based on lessons that occurred under supervision and that took place at “Escola Secundária Camões”, in Lisbon. The activities went on during six lessons of ninety minutes each, from which the main conclusions of what has been studied were taken. The group that took part of this study has included students from different classes: 12º A, 12º B e 12º C from the Sciences and Technologies Area (Curso de Ciências e Tecnologias). The practice and the observation of the lessons were done in the school subject „Area de Projecto‟. The choice of this subject was closely related to the topic that has been developed, centred basically on learning through projects using robots. This report includes a short introduction with the study and the questions that are the basis of the work. After the introduction, it is also referred the framing related to the teaching practice and to the curriculum details of the school subject „Area de Projecto‟ which had its beginning in the years 2004/2005. In this context a brief reflexion on the topic „Learning by projects through robots and its importance‟ is described. Afterwards it is referred the place where the study occurred, a characterization of the school and of the class and its students. It is also referred the identification of the subject unit with the description of the contents and the main purposes to achieve with the working plan. The following item focus the strategies of intervention where the activities, the working steps and the evaluation of the projects are explained. In the last part of this study, the methods used in the evaluation of the students‟ learnings, the description of the observed lessons and also the methods which led to the conclusions, are explained. This report ends up with a short reflection of the work that I have planned and developed in order to achieve the conclusions that were the aim of my study