Abstract
During the last years, educators were challenged to move their lessons from the physical classroom to online classrooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to this situation, they had to come up with new teaching methods and applications and even use ICT to implement hands-on activities. Teaching robotics, a significant subject to promote STEAM education and computational thinking, had to be continued under these circumstances. In this chapter, the work and the results of teaching robotics in online classes are presented. Tinkercad simulation platform was used to teach robotics and plan projects that later were implemented using the Arduino platform robotic system in the physical classroom as hands-on activities.
TopBackground
Teaching educational robotics (ER) in order to promote Computational thinking (CT) is a challenging and desired process for our era. Students are challenged to work in teams to develop artifacts in order to discover new knowledge while educators are their mentors, just like Papert indicates in his constructivist theory (Papert, 1980).
A well-formed educational procedure must be held along with the project-based methodology so students are driven to conquer knowledge through an experimental process. The problem arises when no physical equipment is available, so computer simulation programs should be used. That problem may arise not only due to lack of equipment but also due to a situation similar to the one faced during the Covid-19 era. In this case, when classes were transferred to online, nobody knew how much this would last. The need of teaching ER even online emerged the need of looking for appropriate solutions. Thus a simulation program, which could be used in the online classes and would allow students to catch up with hands-on projects when back to school, seemed ideal
This chapter presents a simulation program which was used in replacement of the physical equipment due to difficulties that was arisen from the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lock down, as well as the way this effort evolved when students were back to physical classrooms and could therefore work with the available equipment. Thus, a hybrid (mixed) intervention is presented, which consists of a 3 on-line and 4 in-class sessions, along with the results of this transition.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Project-Based Learning: A technique that engages students in learning making it deep and long-lasting.
Arduino: An open-source electronics platform or board and the software used to program it.
STEAM: An educational approach that incorporates the arts into the more-familiar STEM model (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). STEAM programs can include any of the visual or performing arts, such as dance, design, painting, photography, and writing.
Tinkercad: Designs can utilize motion and light by using the built-in circuit features. The virtual circuits offer a way to learn before making it in real life. Also, built-in code blocks or custom C++ simulate circuit components.
Computational Thinking: Techniques help with the tasks of solving a problem, the problem itself and the ways in which it could be resolved and understood.
Educational Scenario: An instructional design model for a specific subject under a special situation. It defines what learners and the teacher should do with a given set of resources and tools.
Learning Theories: Explain the processes that people engage in as they make sense of information, and how they integrate that information into their mental models so that it becomes new knowledge. As such they provide teachers the models to develop scenarios that facilitate better learning. They also examine what motivates people to learn.