Education 4.0: Robotics Projects to Encourage 21st Century Skills

Education 4.0 is defined as a student-centered learning model that prepares young for the challenges of the 21st Century, how to deal with emerging technological resources and processes. This case study aimed to encourage 21st Century skills and competencies seen as relevant to Education 4.0, such as teamwork, communication, autonomy, creativity, and innovation. In this study, we analyzed the feedbacks collected to identify which skills were encouraged in undergraduate and graduate students during one semester of the Mobile Robotics discipline, using Project-Based Learning (PBL). Students carried out projects and answered a self-assessment questionnaire about their skills. The qualitative analysis of the case study followed the procedures of the Grounded Theory method. The results indicated that learning based on robotics projects could encourage teamwork, communication, and organization skills

A Case Study: Motivational Attributes of 4-H participants engaged in Robotics

Robotics has gained a great deal of popularity across the United States as a means to engage youth in science, technology, engineering, and math. Understanding what motivates youth and adults to participate in a robotics project is critical to understanding how to engage others. By developing a robotics program built on a proper understanding of the motivational influences, the program can be built on a foundation that addresses these influences. By engaging more youth in the robotics program, they will be able to envision a future for themselves as a high-school or college graduate, in addition to a viable employee with marketable skills in tough economy. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the underlying motivational attributes or factors that influenced 4-H youth, parents, volunteers, and agents to participate in the Mississippi 4-H robotics project. Specifically, this research focuses on two unique counties in Mississippi with very diverse populations. Interviews with participants, observation, and document analysis which took place occurred over the course of a robotics year – October to July. This study sought to identify motivational attributes of participants in the robotics project. Once identified these attributes could be used when developing new program curricula or expanding into new counties in Mississippi. Data analysis revealed that there are many unique motivational factors that influence participants. Among these factors, (1) the desire to build and construct a robot, (2) competition and recognition, (3) desire for future success and security, (4) safe place to participate and build relationships, (5) teamwork, (6) positive role models, and (7) encouragement

The significance of accountability mandates in early childhood classrooms: exploring challenges to constructivist perspectives

The mandated reforms and accountability measures imposed upon Early Childhood Education (ECE) in the United States via the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act have had significant impact on the experience of teachers. Opinion has been divided as the educational priority of policy-makers differs from and constrains what many ECE practitioners consider as developmentally appropriate pedagogy. Many argue that developmentally appropriate teaching in ECE has been usurped by the imposition of standardized testing regimes and the time required for test preparation. In addition, explicit teaching practices and a focus on academics, rather than learning through play and other holistic practices, have epistemologically challenged constructivist approaches to contemporary practice. The governmental policy assumption has been that the measurement of a child’s knowledge will improve outcomes. As a result, (and as a broad global phenomenon) ECE has become under increasing pressure to prepare young children through a service provision that requires testing to deliver outcomes that are measurable. In order to develop insight into how mandated reforms have been managed ‘at the coalface’ this study investigates the lived experience of a purposive sample of 10 volunteer ECE practitioners. The investigation sets out to discover how the new reforms have created dilemmas in their practice and how they manage the introduced mandates in light of their epistemological beliefs and perspectives regarding play and other holistic, developmentally appropriate educational practices. The study takes a phenomenological case study approach that is designed to generate researcher rapport and sensitivity to the views and lived experience of participants and also to allow their voices to be heard. In addition, a constructivist grounded theory method explicates important themes identified through a theoretical lens that views a range of dilemmas as they arise in pedagogical practice. This study deepens our understanding of the issues and dilemmas faced by ECE practitioners as they adapt to impositions on pedagogical practice. The findings affirm that the perspectives of teachers matter and they highlight the value attributed to the importance of play as part of ECE pedagogy. In addition, insight is presented into the complex decision making processes required when pragmatically adapting to and navigating constraining workplace conditions

Towards a framework for socially interactive robots

250 p.En las últimas décadas, la investigación en el campo de la robótica social ha crecido considerablemente. El desarrollo de diferentes tipos de robots y sus roles dentro de la sociedad se están expandiendo poco a poco. Los robots dotados de habilidades sociales pretenden ser utilizados para diferentes aplicaciones; por ejemplo, como profesores interactivos y asistentes educativos, para apoyar el manejo de la diabetes en niños, para ayudar a personas mayores con necesidades especiales, como actores interactivos en el teatro o incluso como asistentes en hoteles y centros comerciales.El equipo de investigación RSAIT ha estado trabajando en varias áreas de la robótica, en particular,en arquitecturas de control, exploración y navegación de robots, aprendizaje automático y visión por computador. El trabajo presentado en este trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo añadir una nueva capa al desarrollo anterior, la capa de interacción humano-robot que se centra en las capacidades sociales que un robot debe mostrar al interactuar con personas, como expresar y percibir emociones, mostrar un alto nivel de diálogo, aprender modelos de otros agentes, establecer y mantener relaciones sociales, usar medios naturales de comunicación (mirada, gestos, etc.),mostrar personalidad y carácter distintivos y aprender competencias sociales.En esta tesis doctoral, tratamos de aportar nuestro grano de arena a las preguntas básicas que surgen cuando pensamos en robots sociales: (1) ¿Cómo nos comunicamos (u operamos) los humanos con los robots sociales?; y (2) ¿Cómo actúan los robots sociales con nosotros? En esa línea, el trabajo se ha desarrollado en dos fases: en la primera, nos hemos centrado en explorar desde un punto de vista práctico varias formas que los humanos utilizan para comunicarse con los robots de una maneranatural. En la segunda además, hemos investigado cómo los robots sociales deben actuar con el usuario.Con respecto a la primera fase, hemos desarrollado tres interfaces de usuario naturales que pretenden hacer que la interacción con los robots sociales sea más natural. Para probar tales interfaces se han desarrollado dos aplicaciones de diferente uso: robots guía y un sistema de controlde robot humanoides con fines de entretenimiento. Trabajar en esas aplicaciones nos ha permitido dotar a nuestros robots con algunas habilidades básicas, como la navegación, la comunicación entre robots y el reconocimiento de voz y las capacidades de comprensión.Por otro lado, en la segunda fase nos hemos centrado en la identificación y el desarrollo de los módulos básicos de comportamiento que este tipo de robots necesitan para ser socialmente creíbles y confiables mientras actúan como agentes sociales. Se ha desarrollado una arquitectura(framework) para robots socialmente interactivos que permite a los robots expresar diferentes tipos de emociones y mostrar un lenguaje corporal natural similar al humano según la tarea a realizar y lascondiciones ambientales.La validación de los diferentes estados de desarrollo de nuestros robots sociales se ha realizado mediante representaciones públicas. La exposición de nuestros robots al público en esas actuaciones se ha convertido en una herramienta esencial para medir cualitativamente la aceptación social de los prototipos que estamos desarrollando. De la misma manera que los robots necesitan un cuerpo físico para interactuar con el entorno y convertirse en inteligentes, los robots sociales necesitan participar socialmente en tareas reales para las que han sido desarrollados, para así poder mejorar su sociabilida

Research on Teaching and Learning In Biology, Chemistry and Physics In ESERA 2013 Conference

This paper provides an overview of the topics in educational research that were published in the ESERA 2013 conference proceedings. The aim of the research was to identify what aspects of the teacher-student-content interaction were investigated frequently and what have been studied rarely. We used the categorization system developed by Kinnunen, Lampiselkä, Malmi and Meisalo (2016) and altogether 184 articles were analyzed. The analysis focused on secondary and tertiary level biology, chemistry, physics, and science education. The results showed that most of the studies focus on either the teacher’s pedagogical actions or on the student - content relationship. All other aspects were studied considerably less. For example, the teachers’ thoughts about the students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the goals and the content, and the teachers’ conceptions of the students’ actions towards achieving the goals were studied only rarely. Discussion about the scope and the coverage of the research in science education in Europe is needed.Peer reviewe

Practical, appropriate, empirically-validated guidelines for designing educational games

There has recently been a great deal of interest in the potential of computer games to function as innovative educational tools. However, there is very little evidence of games fulfilling that potential. Indeed, the process of merging the disparate goals of education and games design appears problematic, and there are currently no practical guidelines for how to do so in a coherent manner. In this paper, we describe the successful, empirically validated teaching methods developed by behavioural psychologists and point out how they are uniquely suited to take advantage of the benefits that games offer to education. We conclude by proposing some practical steps for designing educational games, based on the techniques of Applied Behaviour Analysis. It is intended that this paper can both focus educational games designers on the features of games that are genuinely useful for education, and also introduce a successful form of teaching that this audience may not yet be familiar with

The Proceeding of The Commemorative Academic Conference for the 60th Anniversary of the 1955 Asian - African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia 4-6 June 2015

The commemorative academic conference for the 60th Anniversary of the 1955 Asian – African Conference in Bandung Indonesia, implies the academic honesty and excitement to Strengthening Education Cooperation and Remaking Destinies for the Global South. Through a series of research with various perspectives. The researchers not only “market” their ideas but also emphasizes the importance of position the justice as a main principle for strengthening educational. Justine in the development process and the use of benefits is the nearest way to wealth and prosperity