LEARNING ACTIVITIES WITH LEGO ROBOTICS EV3

From May 8th to 12th, 2017 the Taccle 3 training course “Teaching coding to children” (http://www.taccle3.eu/en/tallinn-training-course-guide/) was held in Tallin (Estonia), which will focus on introducing programming in primary schools and teaching children how to code. The training has been designed by the Taccle 3 project partners. The training course aimed to develop your own coding competences and also the competences to teach coding to children from 3 to 14 years. There were five training days during which we learned together, in order to: Describe the key principles of coding; Describe the basics of computational thinking; Use appropriate terminology; Build on activities teachers and children already do; Measure progression, differentiate lessons and assess what children have learned; Link the curriculum to the Taccle3 website. The final activity developed by these participants was related to use Lego Robotics EV3 in learning activities

Empirical evaluation of educational interactive systems

[EN ]Educational software systems are usually highly interactive systems that needs to be evaluated from two different perspectives, first as interactive software, mainly using usability and accessibility approaches, and second as an educational product that needs to be evaluated from its learning impact. The empirical evaluation methods may be quantitative, with a more deductive reasoning, or qualitative, with a more inductive reasoning, oriented, however mixed approaches have been used extensively because they combine the both main methods with a more pragmatic knowledge focusing on knowing the consequences or solving problems. The empirical evaluation of interactive educational software due to its own characteristics requires a mixed approach typically. This special issue is devoted to identify, share and valorise best practices and experiences, with a very solid modelling background, that are focused on the empirical evaluation of educational interactive systems with a special emphasis on mixed quantitative and qualitative approaches

Computational thinking and robotics in education

After the computational thinking sessions in the previous 2016-2018 editions of TEEM Conference, the fourth edition of this track has been organized in the current 2019 edition. Computational thinking is still a very significant topic, especially, but not only, in pre-university education. In this edition, the robotic has a special role in the track, with a strength relationship with the STEM and STEAM education of children at the pre-university levels, seeding the future of our society

Current trends in robotics in education and computational thinking

Computational thinking-related issues have had a specific track on TEEM Conference since 2016. This is the sixth edition of this track within the 2021 TEEM Conference edition. This year the papers are centered on programming and robotics, but the artificial intelligence topics increase their presence in the track.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The role of basic mathematics concepts in programming teaching and learning

App Inventor is an online tool to create apps for mobile devices with Android operating system. With this tool, teachers can develop applications and video games that help students to learn fundamental concepts of mathematics through programming. The implementation of the integer division algorithm firstly in App Inventor, and later in C++ using successive subtractions required a detailed explanation of this algorithm. We have implemented an algorithm that uses the integer division theorem in response to a problem detected among mathematics teachers interested in teaching programming. This study involved 19 participants in 4 institutions in Palmira and Medellín (Colombia). The results indicated that the programming languages such as C++, Java and Python presented the erroneous results in the integer division when the divisor is a negative number, a similar situation to that was observed among the participants who presented quotients and incorrect residues in most cases. Using App Inventor in a programming course with teachers Maths allowed us to enrich the application with a video game for the student’ self-evaluation in relation to the appropriation of the algorithm of the division of integer numbers

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.This research was co-funded by the support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat de Catalunya with the help of 2017 SGR 93

WYRED Project

[en]WYRED (netWorked Youth Research for Empowerment in the Digital society) European H2020 project was born with the aim of knowing better what young people think, giving them the opportunity of rising their voices, about the technology influence in every aspect of their daily living. Currently, this project is near to finish its first year, building a different Social Sciences research approach, with a focus more oriented to open science related areas such as crowd science, citizen science, or network-connected science.El proyecto europeo H2020 WYRED (netWorked Youth Research for Empowerment in the Digital society), nació con el objetivo de conocer mejor lo que piensan los jóvenes, escuchando la propia voz de los jóvenes, sobre la influencia de la tecnología en los diversos aspectos de su vida diaria. Actualmente, va camino de culminar su primer año vida, construyendo una aproximación diferente en la investigación en Ciencias Sociales, con un enfoque propio de ciertas áreas de la ciencia abierta como son la ciencia de las masas, la ciencia ciudadana, o la ciencia conectada a una red.European Commision (EC). Funding H2020/CSA. Project Code: 72706

Conceptualización teórico-metodológica para la introducción de la gamificación en el desarrollo de las competencias STEAM en la Educación Superior. Caso: Universidad Ecotec

La presente investigación propone un modelo teórico- metodológico que engloba la incorporación de las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación, TICs, y la gamificación para el desarrollo de competencias STEM en Instituciones de Educación Superior sostenibles. En la consecución de estos objetivos se realizó, en primer lugar, un estudio bibliométrico con el propósito de analizar el impacto de estas herramientas metodológicas, y en el que se manifestaron los aspectos positivos y negativos que se observan de su inclusión en la educación superior. Por otra con el análisis de resultados se proponía determinar la existencia de una tendencia creciente en la última década de modelos de implementación específicos y su adecuada implementación en las IES. A continuación, se realizó un estudio comparativo entre Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES) en Ecuador y España, en el cual se utilizó una encuesta cualitativa previamente validada y distribuida en línea, para determinar los factores de inclusión y uso de las TICs en las IES en dos momentos cruciales de la pandemia sobrevenida en 2019, antes y después del confinamiento. Los resultados mostraron la esencialidad de las TICs para lograr IES sostenibles, destacando el beneficio de su inclusión en el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje y en el desarrollo de habilidades TICs en los docentes. También, se evidenció que los docentes carecían de capacitación y modelos específicos para una correcta inclusión y uso de las TICs en el aula, el cual se destacó mucho más en docentes con mayor experiencia. Otras de los resultados obtenidos fue la relación existente entre el uso de las TICs, experiencia de los docentes, y capacitación en su uso, con el bienestar emocional de los profesionales. El siguiente estudio cualitativo se centró en analizar la influencia de la tecnología y el Coivd-19 en docentes con alta experiencia en educación STEM en las IES. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron las dificultades presentadas por los docentes en una situación excepcional como el COVID-19 en la que el cambio en la modalidad de enseñanza, imposición de uso de tics entre otros factores, generaron altos niveles de ansiedad y estrés emocional relacionado con su percepción de la metodología de trabajo online, indistintamente del país de procedencia. También se evidenció que los docentes con mayor formación en los campos STEM y dominio de las TICs eran menos propensos a desarrollar tecnoestrés, por lo que se consideró que esta variable actuaba como un efecto preventivo. Por último se propone un modelo general STEM sostenible para las instituciones de Educación Superior, que concibe a los diferentes actores (estudiantes y docentes) y los beneficios de la inclusión y uso de las TICs en el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje que contribuya al desarrollo de sus habilidades tecnológicas y bienestar emocional.This research proposes a theoretical-methodological model that conceives for the incorporation of ICT Information and Communication Technologies and gamification for the development of STEM skills in sustainable Higher Education Institutions. For this, a bibliometric was carried out with the objective of analyzing the impact of ICTs and gamification, highlighting positive and negative aspects of their inclusion in higher education, which would allow determining if there was a growing trend in the last decade or specific implementation models of ICTs. its proper implementation in HEIs. Next, a comparative study was carried out between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ecuador and Spain, in which a qualitative survey previously validated and distributed online was obtained, to determine the factors of inclusion and use of ICT in HEIs. in two moments before and after confinement. The results showed the essentiality of ICTs to achieve sustainable HEIs, highlighting the benefit of their inclusion in the teaching and learning process and in the development of ICT skills in teachers. Also, it was evident that teachers lacked training and specific models for the correct inclusion and use of ICT in the classroom, which was much more prominent in teachers with more experience other difficulties related to emotional well-being. In the following qualitative study, the influence of technology and Coivd-19 on teachers with high experience in STEM education in HEIs was analyzed. The results obtained showed the exhibitions presented by teachers in an exceptional situation such as COVID-19 in which the change in the teaching modality, the imposition of the use of tics, among other factors, generated high levels of anxiety and emotional stress related to their perception. of the online work methodology, regardless of the country of origin. It was also shown that teachers with more training in the STEM fields and ICT proficiency were less likely to develop technostress, which is why it is considered a preventive effect. Finally, a general sustainable STEM model is proposed for higher education institutions, which conceives the different actors (students and teachers) and the benefits of the inclusion and use of ICTs in the teaching and learning process that already contributes to development. of their technological skills and emotional well-being

Escenarios de aprendizaje personalizados a partir de la evaluación del pensamiento computacional para el aprendizaje de competencias de programación mediante un entorno b-Learning y gamificación

[EN]The teacher is a key piece of the functionality and efficiency of a university educational model, because, by determining a learning environment under his experience and creativity, he can get that students achieve specific professional competences, especially that teacher who has changed the paradigm focused on himself and has focused on the student, in addition to making use of educational strategies that support the teaching - learning process. Computer programming is an activity that creates software technology and continues to be a profession with high global demand for qualified personnel, which has led universities to offer different alternatives of educational offer, that is, the model of face-to-face learning is not the only way to offer the acquisition of respective competences to the creation of software. In the subject sheets or study programs of the programming courses, it is usually indicated what is going to be taught and an orientation of the strategy to achieve the proposed objectives, that is, the content of the course is indicated, the methods and the techniques, as well as, the media and didactic materials, but do not mention technologies or rely on a technological medium. The Internet may well provide information to students about the contents of the class, offer program codes and videos that illustrate the development with new technologies, but there is the problem of acquiring the basic skills to learn computer programming and development of software in general, mainly the cognitive ability to solve problems through a methodology. The proposal, planning and intervention in class of educational strategies, are the best actions that the teacher can do in the search to help the student overcome the excess of information that can be found on the internet and thus create a work plan to innovate in the higher education. The present doctoral thesis, the result of research work carried out, has the purpose of contributing to the acquisition of the basic skills of programming of students that participate in a b-Learning environment designed based on their singularity of learning and personalization of contents from the cognitive level of computational thinking, besides adding gamification as a motivating activity. To achieve the above objective, educational strategies are proposed that motivate students to acquire the basic skills of programming: i. computational thinking evaluation, ii. personalized education and iii. gamification. The research has clearly differentiated two phases, the first where it was possible to carry out a planning of the activities that allowed the evaluation of the computational thinking, the creation of learning scenarios based on the obtained results and the creation of the elements of gamification; the second phase where the intervention of strategies was carried out in the classroom and the collection of information that measured the effectiveness of the proposed actions to achieve the stated objective. It should be noted that the planning phase was replicable in a different university and country, INACAP - Chile, exposing the contribution and added value of the research due to its adaptability for a different educational context. The main conclusion of the investigation is that motivation of the student, through the recognition of the computational thinking skills that he possesses, the offer of study options considering his individuality in the learning process of the basic programming competences in an environment of gamification and the use of a b-Learning environment, allows reducing the percentage of university dropout without sacrificing the level of educational quality; however, the lack of autonomy of students is a strong challenge to overcome considering the constant changes that technological trends mark in software creation environments and that university graduates will have to learn independently.[ES]El docente es una pieza clave de la funcionalidad y eficiencia de un modelo educativo universitario, pues, al determinar bajo su experiencia y creatividad un ambiente de aprendizaje, puede lograr que los estudiantes alcancen competencias profesionales específicas, sobre todo aquel docente que ha cambiado el paradigma centrado en sí mismo y se ha enfocado en el estudiante, además de hacer uso de estrategias educativas que apoyen el proceso de enseñanza - aprendizaje. La programación de computadoras es una actividad que crea tecnología de software y sigue siendo una profesión con alta demanda global de personal calificado, lo que ha llevado a las universidades a ofrecer diferentes alternativas de oferta educativa, es decir, el modelo de aprendizaje presencial ya no es la única forma en que se ofrece la adquisición de competencias respectivas a la creación de software. En las hojas de asignatura o programas de estudio de las materias de programación generalmente está indicado lo que se va a enseñar y una orientación de la estrategia para alcanzar los objetivos planteados, es decir, está indicado el contenido del curso, los métodos y las técnicas, así como los medios y materiales didácticos, pero no hacen mención de tecnologías o de apoyarse de un medio tecnológico. Internet bien puede proporcionar información a los estudiantes acerca de los contenidos de la clase, ofrecer códigos de programas y vídeos que ilustran el desarrollo con tecnologías nuevas, pero existe el problema de la adquisición de las competencias básicas para aprender la programación de computadoras y el desarrollo de software en general, principalmente la capacidad cognitiva para resolver problemas a través de una metodología. La propuesta, planeación e intervención en clase de estrategias educativas, son las mejores acciones que puede hacer el docente en la búsqueda de ayudar al estudiante a superar el exceso de información que puede encontrar en Internet y así crear un plan de trabajo para innovar en la educación superior. La presente tesis doctoral, resultado del trabajo de investigación realizado, tiene la finalidad de contribuir a la adquisición de las competencias básicas de programación de los estudiantes que participen en un ambiente b-Learning diseñado con base a su singularidad de aprendizaje y personalización de contenidos a partir del nivel cognitivo de su pensamiento computacional, además de agregar gamificación como acción motivadora. Para lograr el objetivo anterior, se proponen estrategias educativas que logren motivar a los estudiantes en la adquisición de las competencias básicas de programación: i. evaluación del pensamiento computacional, ii. educación personalizada y iii. gamificación. La investigación tiene claramente diferenciadas dos fases, la primera donde se pudo realizar una planeación de las actividades que permitieran la evaluación del pensamiento computacional, la creación de escenarios de aprendizaje con base a los resultados obtenidos y la creación de los elementos de gamificación; la segunda etapa en donde se llevó a cabo la intervención de las estrategias en el aula y la recolección de información que midió la eficacia de las acciones propuestas para lograr el objetivo planteado. Hay que destacar que la fase de planeación fue posible replicarla en una universidad y país diferente, INACAP – Chile, exponiendo la aportación y valor agregado de la investigación debido a su adaptabilidad para un diferente contexto educativo. La conclusión principal de la investigación es que la motivación del estudiante, a través del reconocimiento de las habilidades de pensamiento computacional que posee, la oferta de opciones de estudio considerando su individualidad en el proceso de aprendizaje de las competencias básicas de programación en un ambiente de gamificación y el uso de un entorno b-Learning, permite reducir el porcentaje de la deserción universitaria sin sacrificar el nivel de calidad educativo; sin embargo, la falta de autonomía de los estudiantes es un fuerte reto a vencer considerando los constantes cambios que las tendencias tecnológicas marcan en ambientes de creación de software y que de forma autónoma tendrán que aprender los egresados universitarios