Exploring the Learning Gains of Implementing Teacher Humanoid Robots in STEM Education: A Systematic Review

Εducational (or pedagogical) robotics has received increased attention over the last few years based on its effectiveness on the learning process. Humanoid robots have been recently introduced in school settings to mainly support teaching of curriculum-based subjects. However, humanoid robots’ benefits on STEM education in typical classroom settings are less examined by the research literature. Instead, most research studies take place in non-typical school or classroom settings (such as laboratories). The main goal of the current review is to sum up results of relevant research studies about the positive impact of teacher humanoid robots on STEM education. The learning benefits in STEM subjects, programming and reasoning skills are examined too. Sample subject of this review are mainstream students aged 4 to 18 years old and research studies are grouped based on their commonalities such as common learning areas and results

Comics, robots, fashion and programming: outlining the concept of actDresses

This paper concerns the design of physical languages for controlling and programming robotic consumer products. For this purpose we explore basic theories of semiotics represented in the two separate fields of comics and fashion, and how these could be used as resources in the development of new physical languages. Based on these theories, the design concept of actDresses is defined, and supplemented by three example scenarios of how the concept can be used for controlling, programming, and predicting the behaviour of robotic systems

Technology Education considering children’s needs: Evidence-based development of Inclusive materials for learning with robots at primary level

The developmental task inclusion effects the design of teaching and learning regarding technology education at primary level. National studies have addressed the issue and have devoted efforts to theory-based development of conditions for inclusive education and their empirical substantiation (Schröer & Tenberge 2022). In German primary schools the subject ‘Sachunterricht’ includes among other domains technology education. An essential field of research is shaping the developmental task inclusion in the context of technology education. However, narrowing down the concept of inclusive education for the multiperspective school subject ‘Sachunterricht’ is complex (Seitz 2018). The use of potentials and consideration of individual needs is one distinguishable context when conceptualizing inclusive education in ‘Sachunterricht’. The consideration of needs in classrooms can be substantiated based on the theory of basic needs (Krapp 2005). Research demonstrates that problemsolving activities with varying degrees of self-direction take different needs into account (Tenberge 2002; Beinbrech 2003). However, the design and substantiation of learning settings, that regard to pupils needs, have so far been largely omitted by research. This justifies the idea of the presented research project. Based on the theory of basic needs, rooted in developmental psychology (Ryan & Deci 2018), a set of problems and tasks for problemsolving with the learning robot Bluebot™ was developed. Learning settings were tested in classrooms and evaluated in a first cycle to adapt them based on evidence. Preliminary findings of pre-post comparisons show effects on problemsolving skills and self-efficacy. The present article falls into four sections of which the first one will define the fundamental concepts addressed. After substantiating the requirements of inclusive technology education, section two will introduce the adaptive set of tasks for technological problemsolving at primary level. Based on the methodical framework in section three, preliminary findings from the first cycle of a design-based-research project are presented and discussed

Robotika za djecu: nacionalne politike i inicijative u tri europske zemlje

This article explores the issue of introducing children between six and ten years of age ‎to robotics and investigates the use of robots in schools and in extracurricular activities. The central ‎questions are 1) whether and how the introduction of robotics is addressed in political strategies and‎ educational policies (RQ1), and 2) what the main actors in the introduction of robots in educational‎ settings are (RQ2). Therefore, a pilot study in three European countries (Austria, Lithuania, Romania)‎was conducted, which included an analysis of national policy strategies, as well as interviews with three‎ stakeholders per country. The article illustrates the specificities of the investigated countries presented as ‎case studies and discusses them in a comparative way. The findings show that the investigated countries’‎ educational policies aim at mirroring the Digital Agenda for Europe and that two opposite approaches ‎to implementation of robotics (bottom-up vs. top-down) can be identified.‎Ovaj članak istražuje upoznavanje djece u dobi od šest do deset godina s robotikom te ispituje‎ upotrebu robota u školama i izvannastavnim aktivnostima. Središnja pitanja su 1) je li uvođenje robotike ‎obuhvaćeno političkim strategijama i obrazovnim politikama i na koji način (RQ1) te 2) tko su glavni‎ akteri uvođenja robota u obrazovno okruženje (RQ2). Kako bi se odgovorilo na ova pitanja, provedena ‎je pilot studija u tri europske zemlje (Austriji, Litvi i Rumunjskoj) koja je uključivala analizu nacionalnih ‎policy strategija, kao i intervjue s po tri dionika u svakoj zemlji. Članak ilustrira specifičnosti istraživanih ‎zemalja prezentirane kao studije slučaja, raspravlja o njima i međusobno ih uspoređuje. Nalazi pokazuju ‎kako obrazovne politike u analiziranim zemljama imaju za cilj preslikati Digitalnu agendu za Europu ‎te da se mogu identificirati dva suprotna pristupa implementaciji robotike, odozdo prema gore i odozgo ‎prema dolje.

Combatting the war against machines : an innovative hands-on approach to coding

Abstract: The 21st century is an era of technological advances that has surpassed previous decades. This is largely due to the level of innovation in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics and automation. However, learners are often reluctant to choose computer programming (coding) as a subject due to it’s perceived difficulty. Nevertheless, it is also well known that learners that are introduced to computer programming at a young age become the computer science university graduates of tomorrow

The use of learning tools for active knowledge construction to develop coding skills

Abstract: Research indicates that providing students with learning tools to scaffold them during a CS1 course can positively affect the manner in which they develop programming skills. Some examples of learning tools are Scratch, Lego Mindstorms and programming strategies. These learning tools provide an opportunity for students to actively learn, as the tools’ fundamental design focuses on multi-dimensional, tangible objects. This paper presents the qualitative and quantitative results which formed part of a study that focused on many learning principles for CS1 courses. Active learning, discussed in this paper, was one of the learning principles. The results to date are promising

Codificación y robótica educativa y su relación con el pensamientocomputacional y creativo : Una revisión compresiva

New technological tools, technology-based services and support are being introduced into our daily lives faster than ever. Among these technological advances robotic technology has increased dramatically in recent years, the same as its inclusion in education. The purpose of the paper is offer a compressive review about computational and creative thinking definitions and its measurement, furthermore, its relationship with coding, educational robotics and the maker movement. The review is based in the most cited papers publish in the last 10 years, retrieved from google scholar and other prestigious databases. The review has showed that with the use of coding and robotics kits there is generally no correct way to solve a challenge, and computational and creative thinking are related to find efficient and good solution to problems. Not having a correct answer but multiple ways of addressing a problem is an experience that many teachers are not familiar with. That is why more scientific research is needed in this regard, in terms of successful interventions that show evidence and good practices that serve as training and guides teachers. Nuevas herramientas tecnológicas, servicios basados ​​en tecnología y soporte se están introduciendo en nuestra vida diaria más rápido que nunca. Entre estos avances tecnológicos, la tecnología robótica ha aumentado dramáticamente en los últimos años, así como su inclusión en la educación. El propósito del trabajo es ofrecer una revisión compresiva sobre las definiciones de pensamiento computacional y creativo y su medición, además, su relación con la codificación y la robótica educativa. La revisión se basa en los artículos más citados publicados en los últimos 10 años, recuperados de Google Scholar y otras bases de datos prestigiosas. La revisión ha demostrado que, con el uso de kits de codificación y robótica, generalmente no hay una forma correcta de resolver un desafío, y el pensamiento computacional y creativo está relacionado para encontrar una solución eficiente y buena a los problemas. No tener una respuesta correcta pero múltiples formas de abordar un problema es una experiencia con la que muchos maestros no están familiarizados. Es por eso que se necesita más investigación científica a este respecto, en términos de intervenciones exitosas que muestren evidencia y buenas prácticas que sirvan como capacitación y guíen a los maestros.New technological tools, technology-based services and support are being introduced into our daily lives faster than ever. Among these technological advances robotic technology has increased dramatically in recent years, the same as its inclusion in education. The purpose of the paper is offer a compressive review about computational and creative thinking definitions and its measurement, furthermore, its relationship with coding, educational robotics and the maker movement. The review is based in the most cited papers publish in the last 10 years, retrieved from google scholar and other prestigious databases. The review has showed that with the use of coding and robotics kits there is generally no correct way to solve a challenge, and computational and creative thinking are related to find efficient and good solution to problems. Not having a correct answer but multiple ways of addressing a problem is an experience that many teachers are not familiar with. That is why more scientific research is needed in this regard, in terms of successful interventions that show evidence and good practices that serve as training and guides teachers.Peer reviewe

Estado del arte en robótica cooperativa aplicada al rescate de víctimas

The present article, in the context of a documentary research carried out and interpreted to be taken as a baseline in research for the ROMA Autonomous Mobile Robotics Group of the Francisco José de Caldas District University, describes the state of art of the applied RC to the rescue of victims. The revision is established chronologically in the last fifteen years; in Latin America; and focused mainly in Colombia. They are used as sources: The Google Schoolar database, and articles from the electronic engineering journals indexed for the year 2017 in COLCIENCIAS. As a product thrown, a particular model of communication technology used in CR is presented in the Colombian context.El presente artículo, en el contexto de una investigación documental realizada e interpretada para que fuera tomada como línea de base en investigaciones para el grupo de Robótica Móvil Autónoma ROMA de la Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, describe el estado de arte de la RC aplicada al rescate de víctimas. Se establece cronológicamente la revisión en los últimos quince años; en Latinoamérica; y enfocada principalmente en Colombia. Se utilizan como fuentes: la base de datos Google Schoolar, y artículos de las revistas de Ingeniería electrónica indexadas para el año 2017 en COLCIENCIAS. Como producto arrojado se presenta un modelo particular de la tecnología de comunicación empleada en RC en el contexto colombiano

Social robots in educational contexts: developing an application in enactive didactics

Due to advancements in sensor and actuator technology robots are becoming more and more common in everyday life. Many of the areas in which they are introduced demand close physical and social contact. In the last ten years the use of robots has also increasingly spread to the field of didactics, starting with their use as tools in STEM education. With the advancement of social robotics, the use of robots in didactics has been extended also to tutoring situations in which these \u201csocially aware\u201d robots interact with mainly children in, for example, language learning classes. In this paper we will give a brief overview of how robots have been used in this kind of settings until now. As a result it will become transparent that the majority of applications are not grounded in didactic theory. Recognizing this shortcoming, we propose a theory driven approach to the use of educational robots, centred on the idea that the combination of enactive didactics and social robotics holds great promises for a variety of tutoring activities in educational contexts. After defining our \u201cEnactive Robot Assisted Didactics\u201d approach, we will give an outlook on how the use of humanoid robots can advance it. On this basis, at the end of the paper, we will describe a concrete, currently on-going implementation of this approach, which we are realizing with the use of Softbank Robotics\u2019 Pepper robot during university lectures

Evaluación de desempeño de redes convolucionales sobre arquitecturas heterogéneas para aplicaciones en robótica autónoma

Humanoid robots find application in human-robot interaction tasks. However, despite their capabilities, their sequential computing system limits the execution of computationally expensive algorithms such as convolutional neural networks, which have demonstrated good performance in recognition tasks. As an alternative to sequential computing units, Field-Programmable Gate Arrays and Graphics Processing Units have a high degree of parallelism and low power consumption. This study aims to improve the visual perception of a humanoid robot called NAO using these embedded systems running a convolutional neural network. The methodology adopted here is based on image acquisition and transmission using simulation software: Webots and Choreographe. In each embedded system, an object recognition stage is performed using commercial convolutional neural network acceleration frameworks. Xilinx® Ultra96™, Intel® Cyclone® V-SoC and NVIDIA® Jetson™ TX2 cards were used, and Tinier-YOLO, AlexNet, Inception-V1 and Inception V3 transfer-learning networks were executed. Real-time metrics were obtained when Inception V1, Inception V3 transfer-learning and AlexNet were run on the Ultra96 and Jetson TX2 cards, with frame rates between 28 and 30 frames per second. The results demonstrated that the use of these embedded systems and convolutional neural networks can provide humanoid robots such as NAO with greater visual recognition in tasks that require high accuracy and autonomy.Los robots humanoides encuentran aplicación en tareas de interacción humano-robot. A pesar de sus capacidades, su sistema de computación secuencial limita la ejecución de algoritmos computacionalmente costosos, como las redes neuronales convolucionales, que han demostrado buen rendimiento en tareas de reconocimiento. Como alternativa a unidades de cómputo secuencial se encuentran los Field Programmable Gate Arrays y las Graphics Processing Unit, que tienen un alto grado de paralelismo y bajo consumo de energía. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo mejorar la percepción visual del robot humanoide NAO utilizando estos sistemas embebidos que ejecutan una red neuronal convolucional. El trabajo se basó en la adquisición y transmisión de la imagen usando herramientas de simulación como Webots y Choreographe. Posteriormente, en cada sistema embebido, se realizó una etapa de reconocimiento del objeto utilizando frameworks de aceleración comerciales de redes neuronales convolucionales. Luego se utilizaron las tarjetas Xilinx Ultra96, Intel Cyclone V-SoC y Nvidia Jetson TX2; después fueron ejecutadas las redes Tinier-Yolo, Alexnet, Inception V1 y Inception V3 transfer-learning. Se obtuvieron métricas en tiempo real cuando Inception V1, Inception V3 transfer-learning y AlexNet fueron ejecutadas sobre la Ultra96 y Jetson TX2, teniendo como intervalo entre 28 y 30 cuadros por segundo. Los resultados demostraron que el uso de estos sistemas embebidos y redes neuronales convolucionales puede otorgarles a robots humanoides, como NAO, mayor reconocimiento visual en tareas que requieren alta precisión y autonomía. &nbsp