Sparking the interest of girls in computer science via chemical experimentation and robotics: the Qui-Bot H2O case study

We report a new learning approach in science and technology through the Qui-Bot H2O project: a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary project developed with the main objective of inclusively increasing interest in computer science engineering among children and young people, breaking stereotypes and invisible social and gender barriers. The project highlights the social aspect of robotics applied to chemistry, at early ages. We successfully tested the project activities on girls between 3 to 13 years old. After taking part in the project, the users rated their interest in science and technology to be higher than before. Data collected during experiences included background information on students, measurements of the project’s impact and students’ interest in it, and an evaluation of student satisfaction of this STEM activity. The Qui-Bot H2O project is supported by the actions of territorial public administrations towards gender equality and the contributions of humanistic and technological universities and entities which specialize in education and business.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under Grant FECYT FCT-20-15626, Line of action 2. Education and scientific vocations (2nd place out of 120 awarded).Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de GènereObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i InfraestructuraObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::10 - Reducció de les DesigualtatsPostprint (published version

A Contextualized Spiral Approach for Teaching Programming in IT Vocational Secondary Education

INTRODUCTION: Brazilian vocational high school education in Computing faces problems such as course failure and dropout, plus dropout from the programs, factors that directly contribute to the deficit of such professionals. OBJECTIVE:  This paper reports an experience of a contextualized and spiral approach carried out with students of the technical program in Informatics. METHOD: The approach aims to facilitate learning and motivate students through the tools JES and PPlay, and the Python language. RESULTS: Learned lessons suggest the adequacy of Python as first language, and of contextualized activities, context reuse and challenges as factors contributing to motivation and learning. CONCLUSION: The use of contexts, languages and environments in sequential and spiral blocks fosters a more active posture of students regarding learning activities

A contribution to the incorporation of sociability and creativity skills to computers and robots

This dissertation contains the research and work completed by the PhD candidate on the incorporation of sociability and creativity skills to computers and robots. Both skills can be directly related with empathy, which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. In this form, this research can be contextualized in the framework of recent developments towards the achievement of empathy machines. The first challenge at hands refers to designing pioneering techniques based on the use of social robots to improve user experience interacting with them. In particular, research focus is on eliminating or minimizing pain and anxiety as well as loneliness and stress of long-term hospitalized child patients. This challenge is approached by developing a cloud-based robotics architecture to effectively develop complex tasks related to hospitalized children assistance. More specifically, a multiagent learning system is introduced based on a combination of machine learning and cloud computing using low-cost robots (Innvo labs's Pleo rb). Moreover, a wireless communication system is also developed for the Pleo robot in order to help the health professional who conducts therapy with the child, monitoring, understanding, and controlling Pleo behavior at any moment. As a second challenge, a new formulation of the concept of creativity is proposed in order to empower computers with. Based on previous well established theories from Boden and Wiggins, this thesis redefines the formal mechanism of exploratory and transformational creativity in a way which facilitates the computational implementation of these mechanisms in Creativity Support Systems. The proposed formalization is applied and validated on two real cases: the first, about chocolate designing, in which a novel and flavorful combination of chocolate and fruit is generated. The second case is about the composition of a single voice tune of reel using ABC notation

A contribution to the incorporation of sociability and creativity skills to computers and robots

This dissertation contains the research and work completed by the PhD candidate on the incorporation of sociability and creativity skills to computers and robots. Both skills can be directly related with empathy, which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. In this form, this research can be contextualized in the framework of recent developments towards the achievement of empathy machines. The first challenge at hands refers to designing pioneering techniques based on the use of social robots to improve user experience interacting with them. In particular, research focus is on eliminating or minimizing pain and anxiety as well as loneliness and stress of long-term hospitalized child patients. This challenge is approached by developing a cloud-based robotics architecture to effectively develop complex tasks related to hospitalized children assistance. More specifically, a multiagent learning system is introduced based on a combination of machine learning and cloud computing using low-cost robots (Innvo labs's Pleo rb). Moreover, a wireless communication system is also developed for the Pleo robot in order to help the health professional who conducts therapy with the child, monitoring, understanding, and controlling Pleo behavior at any moment. As a second challenge, a new formulation of the concept of creativity is proposed in order to empower computers with. Based on previous well established theories from Boden and Wiggins, this thesis redefines the formal mechanism of exploratory and transformational creativity in a way which facilitates the computational implementation of these mechanisms in Creativity Support Systems. The proposed formalization is applied and validated on two real cases: the first, about chocolate designing, in which a novel and flavorful combination of chocolate and fruit is generated. The second case is about the composition of a single voice tune of reel using ABC notation.Postprint (published version

Filosofía educativa dinámica para la gestión tecnológica de aprendizaje

Notions such as STEAM education, computational thinking, gamification, and the manipulation of ICT (Artificial Intelligence, IoT, augmented reality, 3D printing or virtual reality), have appeared to configure what is known as Education 4.0. Under the Latin American context, and the economic, political, cultural and social situation of the countries that make up this geographical space, it is worth asking: to what extent has Education 4.0 been implemented, or some of its elements, unlike developed countries? Latin American educational systems, despite the global trend that seeks to assimilate the elements of this type of education, reflect a minority of countries possible to be classified as education 4.0, identifying the intelligible relationship between economic development and educational model.Nociones como la educación STEAM, el pensamiento computacional, la gamificación, y la manipulación de las TIC (inteligencia artificial, IoT, realidad aumentada, impresión 3D o realidad virtual), han aparecido para configurar lo que se conoce como Educación 4.0. Bajo el contexto latinoamericano y la situación económica, política, cultural y social de los países que conforman ese espacio geográfico, cabe preguntarse en qué medida se ha implementado la Educación 4.0, o algunos de sus elementos, a diferencia de los países desarrollados. Los sistemas educativos latinoamericanos, a pesar de la tendencia global que dirige la asimilación de los elementos de este tipo de educación, reflejan un número minoritario de países que pueden clasificarse como educación 4.0, identificando la relación inteligible entre desarrollo económico y modelo educativo

Dynamic educational philosophy for learning technology management

Notions such as STEAM education, computational thinking, gamification, and the manipulation of ICT (Artificial Intelligence, IoT, augmented reality, 3D printing or virtual reality), have appeared to configure what is known as Education 4.0. Under the Latin American context, and the economic, political, cultural and social situation of the countries that make up this geographical space, it is worth asking: to what extent has Education 4.0 been implemented, or some of its elements, unlike developed countries? Latin American educational systems, despite the global trend that seeks to assimilate the elements of this type of education, reflect a minority of countries possible to be classified as education 4.0, identifying the intelligible relationship between economic development and educational model

Arts, Humanities, & Robotics in (STEAM) Education

O objetivo desta dissertação é enfatizar a articulação de três importantes temas que definem nosso presente e definirão nosso futuro - Artes e Humanidades, educação (STEAM) e Robótica. Espera facilitar a preparação das gerações futuras para a sociedade e economia do século XXI, bem como auxiliar na resolução de problemas de questões mundiais e minimizar os desafios colocados pela relação entre o homem e tecnologia complexa. O objetivo principal é compreender a forma ideal de incluir o 'A' na educação STEAM (K-12) com Robótica, também descobrindo como as escolas europeias estão a implementar STEAM (com ou sem Robótica) e o que especialistas e profissionais nessas áreas têm a dizer sobre esses assuntos. Para além da robusta revisão da literatura, dezasseis especialistas foram consultados, dez fizeram parte do mesmo painel no processo de questionários do Delphi Method e os outros seis foram entrevistados segundo a Critical Incident Technique. Devido à relevância dos temas em estudo, isto será útil para colegas investigadores e profissionais nestas três áreas. À medida que avançamos para um futuro cada vez mais tecnológico para o qual não parecemos estar preparados, o principal problema é a dissonância entre as disciplinas escolares e a falta de aplicabilidade do seu conteúdo na vida real. As STEAM e o conhecimento transdisciplinar têm ganhado força nos últimos anos e têm-se revelado como técnicas educativas adequadas e bem-sucedidas. A articulação das Artes com as áreas STEM tem mostrado resultados notáveis. Todas as áreas devem, desde que faça sentido, trabalhar juntas para fornecer aos alunos as ferramentas, o conhecimento e a educação certas para terem sucesso não apenas na economia global e no mercado de trabalho do Século XX, como também na vida.The purpose of this dissertation is to emphasise the articulation of three important themes that define our present and will define our future - Arts & Humanities, (STEAM) education, and Robotics. It hopes to facilitate the preparation of future generations for the 21st century society and economy, as well as to aid in the problem-solving of key world issues, and minimise the challenges posed by the relationship between men and complex technology. The main goal is to understand the ideal way of including the 'A' in STEAM (K-12) education with Robotics, by also figuring out how European schools are implementing STEAM (with or without Robotics) and what experts and practitioners in these areas have to say on these matters. In order to achieve such results, besides the robust literature review, sixteen experts were inquired, ten were part of the same panel on the Delphi Method questionnaire process, and the other six were interviewed according to the Critical Incident Technique. Due to the relevance of the study's themes, this will be useful and resourceful for both fellow researchers and practitioners in these three areas. As we go further into this evermore technological future for which we do not seem to be prepared for, the main problem is the dissonance between disciplines and the lack of their content's real-life applicability. STEAM and transdisciplinary knowledge have been gaining traction throughout the last years and have been proving themselves as suitable and successful educational techniques. The articulation between the Arts with the areas from STEM have proven to produce remarkable results. All areas must, while making sense, work together in order to provide students with the right tools, knowledge, and education to be successful not only in the global economy and job market of the 21st century, but in life too

An Education 4.0 Pedagogical Approach for Introducing Smart Manufacturing to 5th grade students

Esta investigação é desenvolvida no âmbito do projeto Europeu "ShapiNG" (Shaping the next Generation of Manufacturing Professionals), cujo objetivo principal é atrair estudantes para atividades no campo da indústria. Proporcionar aos estudantes experiências de aprendizagem que os ajudem a compreender as competências necessárias para ser bem sucedido no local de trabalho é uma proposta desafiante no mundo de hoje em rápida mudança e dominado pela tecnologia. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar as tecnologias e abordagens-chave que, combinadas, podem constituir uma arquitetura pedagógica adequada para criar consciência e motivação entre os jovens estudantes, a fim de os inspirar a escolher uma carreira em Engenharia. Com base na teoria de aprendizagem de David Ausubel, foi realizado um estudo de caso para avaliar a eficácia da arquitetura concebida. A população da metodologia de pesquisa consistiu em 60 alunos do 5º ano de escolaridade que frequentavam a aula de "STEM" na "Escola Global". Os tópicos abordados foram modelação e impressão 3D. Após uma revisão minuciosa da literatura e um profundo trabalho de campo envolvendo observação direta e participante, questionários e entrevistas foram feitas com o objetivo de recolher dados relativos a (a) conhecimentos obtidos sobre os tópicos abordados, (b) benefícios de trabalhar colaborativamente e individualmente, (c) eficácia do material instrucional, e (d) motivação para seguir uma carreira em Engenharia. Por fim, através do trabalho realizado conseguimos obter os seguintes resultados principais: não há diferenças significativas no conhecimento adquirido entre o trabalho individual e colaborativo para as atividades propostas; os benefícios do trabalho colaborativo estão associados à possibilidade de negociar conceitos e aprimorar as competências de liderança e organização, enquanto os benefícios do trabalho individual estão relacionados com a possibilidade de auto-superação e de ser criativo; a motivação influenciou a qualidade percebida do material instrucional, sendo que os estudantes motivados classificaram melhor o material instrucional do que os não motivados; os estudantes do sexo masculino estão mais motivados a seguir uma carreira na Engenharia do que os do sexo feminino. Em última análise, os principais resultados deste estudo proporcionam um ponto de partida conceptual e prático para o desenvolvimento de abordagens eficazes em futuros trabalhos de investigação e para atividades que pretendam motivar jovens estudantes para seguir uma carreira na Engenharia.This research is developed within the scope of the European project "ShapiNG" (Shaping the next Generation of Manufacturing Professionals), whose main goal is to attract young students for activities in the field of manufacturing. Providing students with learning experiences that help them to understand the skills they need to succeed in the workplace is a difficult proposition in today's quickly changing world pervaded by technology. The purpose of this study is to identify key technologies and approaches that combined may constitute a suitable pedagogical architecture to create awareness and motivation among young students as to inspire them to pursue a career in Engineering. Drawing on David Ausubel's theory of learning, a case study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the conceived architecture. The research methodology population consisted of 60 students from the 5th grade attending the "STEM" class at "Escola Global". The covered topics were 3D modeling and 3D printing. After a thorough literature review and an in-depth fieldwork involving both direct and participant observation, questionnaires and interviews were done in order to collect data regarding the (a) knowledge obtained on the covered topics, (b) benefits of working collaboratively and individually, (c) effectiveness of the instructional material, and (d) motivation to pursue a career in Engineering. Ultimately, through our research we were able to obtain the following main results: there are no significant differences on the acquired knowledge between individual and collaborative work for the proposed activities; benefits of collaborative work are related to the possibility of negotiating concepts and enhancing leadership and organizational skills, whilst benefits of individual work are related to the possibility of self-overcoming and being creative; motivation influenced the perceived quality of instructional material with motivated students rating better the instructional material than the unmotivated ones; male students are more motivated to pursue a career in Engineering than female. Ultimately, the main results of this study provide a conceptual and practical gateway to bring in effective approaches to future research and activities focused on motivating young students to pursue a career in Engineering