Identification of the Students Learning Process During Education Robotics Activities

This paper presents the design of an assessment process and its outcomes to investigate the impact of Educational Robotics activities on students' learning. Through data analytics techniques, the authors will explore the activities' output from a pedagogical and quantitative point of view. Sensors are utilized in the context of an Educational Robotics activity to obtain a more effective robot–environment interaction. Pupils work on specific exercises to make their robot smarter and to carry out more complex and inspirational projects: the integration of sensors on a robotic prototype is crucial, and learners have to comprehend how to use them. In the presented study, the potential of Educational Data Mining is used to investigate how a group of primary and secondary school students, using visual programming (Lego Mindstorms EV3 Education software), design programming sequences while they are solving an exercise related to an ultrasonic sensor mounted on their robotic artifact. For this purpose, a tracking system has been designed so that every programming attempt performed by students' teams is registered on a log file and stored in an SD card installed in the Lego Mindstorms EV3 brick. These log files are then analyzed using machine learning techniques (k-means clustering) in order to extract different patterns in the creation of the sequences and extract various problem-solving pathways performed by students. The difference between problem-solving pathways with respect to an indicator of early achievement is studied

Escape from Tolentino During an Earthquake Saving as Many Lives and Cultural Objects as You Can

AbstractIn the last five years, the Italian Ministry of Education has placed its focus on digital skills, recognizing them as fundamental and indispensable for the growth of future citizens in the information age. It has thus backed projects aimed at developing computational thinking and digital creativity at school. One of the highest-funded of such projects is "Più vicini al nostro territorio—Valorizziamo i monumenti di Tolentino … giocando con Scratch e App Inventor" (Closer to our territory—appreciating the value of Tolentino's monuments … while playing on Scratch and App Inventor). In this paper we describe this project, its vertical path, and the results of the first activities, which have already taken place in a primary school. These results show the progression of the skills and competences defined in the National Operational Programme document "For school 2014–2020" (Axis I Education, Objective 10.2, Improving students' key competences), and those set out in the National Plan for Digital Education

Educational Robotics and Social Relationships in the Classroom

AbstractIn a constructionist environment, robotics engagingly teaches traditional concepts, while applying them to compelling real-world problems. Educational robotics can help students develop soft skills, like teamwork, and improve the way they relate to each other. Researchers in different disciplines have devoted many efforts to exploring this dimension. One tool that may be useful for exploring the relational dimension of these activities is the sociogram. The case study reported in this paper presents findings from an experience which brought educational robotics, coding and tinkering to fourth graders in a primary school in Ancona (Italy). A questionnaire and a sociogram were administered to students, during curricular activities, before and after the project took place. The findings highlight some improvements in students' relations, but more investigation is needed into the process of describing students' relationships and their development in a project involving innovative methodologies and technology

Ten years of Educational Robotics in a Primary School

AbstractMany researchers and teachers agree that the inclusion of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in early education provides strong motivation and greatly improves the speed of learning. Most primary school curricula include a number of concepts that cover science and mathematics, but less effort is placed in teaching problem-solving, computer science, technology and robotics. The use of robotic systems and the introduction of robotics as a curriculum subject educates children in the basics of technology, and gives them additional human and organizational values. This paper presents a new program introduced in an Italian primary school, thanks to a collaboration with National Instruments and Università Politecnica delle Marche. Specifically, the project's curricular aim was to improve logic, creativity, and the ability to focus, all of which are lacking in today's generation of students. The subject of robotics will be part of the primary school's curriculum for all five years. The program has delivered training to the teachers, and a complete program in which children have demonstrated great learning abilities, not only in technology, but also in collaboration and teamwork

Patrimonio Cultural y Tecnologías Robóticas Móviles

This paper reviews current research works at the authors’ Institutions to illustrate how mobile robotics and related technologies can be used to enhance economical fruition, control, protection and social impact of the cultural heritage. Robots allow experiencing on-line, from remote locations, tours at museums, archaeological areas and monuments. These solutions avoid travelling costs, increase beyond actual limits the number of simultaneous visitors, and prevent possible damages that can arise by over-exploitation of fragile environments. The same tools can be used for exploration and monitoring of cultural artifacts located in difficult to reach or dangerous areas. Examples are provided by the use of underwater robots in the exploration of deeply submerged archaeological areas. Besides, technologies commonly employed in robotics can be used to help exploring, monitoring and preserving cultural artifacts. Examples are provided by the development of procedures for data acquisition and mapping and by object recognition and monitoring algorithms.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Multi-agent system theory for resource management in home automation systems

A paradigm for modelling and analysing Home Automation Systems is introduced, based on Multi-Agent System theory. A rich and versatile environment for Home Automation System simulation is constructed for investigating the performances of the system. The exploitation of limited resources (electricity, gas, hot water) depends on behavioural parameters of the individual appliances. In order to deal with the problem of developing systematic design and validation procedures for control strategies, global performance indices for the system are introduced. Different strategies for allocating resources and establishing priorities in their use can therefore be tested and compared

Guide and Control of an unmanned underwater Vehicle by Visual-feedback techniques

Manual guidance and control of underwater vehicles, like ROVs, is in general a demanding task. A great help comes, in this situation, from the development of automatic guidance systems that, taking care of low and mid level control task, may reduce the burden imposed to human operators. A system of this kind has been constructed for guidance and control of a small work-class ROV (DOE Phantom S2) by inserting a PC in the operator/ROV loop. The standard configuration of the control loop turns out, in this way, to be completely redesigned as a PC-based (control) configuration. The paper describes the basic features of the realized system, that, by allowing both on-line processing of sensory data and implementation of automatic control procedures, enhances the performances of the ROV as a robotic tools. As a specific application of the PC-based control configuration, the implementation of a visual feedback control strategy in a typical inspection mission (underwater pipeline’s inspection) is considered. Images from a CCD camera are processed at high logical level in order to extract information about the relative ROV/pipe position. This information is in turn used for generating and feeding back suitable commands to the ROV’s thrusters, in order to regulate the vehicle position. The system has undergone both field tests and emulation tests, showing a satisfactory behavior that is illustrated and discussed