This paper aims to provide a critical review of the studies dealing with Educational Robotics for children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. We aimed to investigate whether in the literature there is a sound evidence that activities with robots improve the abilities and performances of children with special needs. This paper explores the methodological aspects as well as the outcomes of the selected studies to provide a clear picture of the state-of-the-art on this topic. After a systematic search in the online database via keyword searches, 15 scientific papers were included in this review. We applied strict selection criteria limiting our review only to papers reporting educational robotics activities with children (from 3 up to 19 years old) with a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, in which the children had the opportunity to somehow program the behaviours of real robots. The majority of experiences showed improvements in the participants' performance or abilities, their engagement and involvement, communication/interaction with peers, during robotics sessions. Some studies reported mixed results, calling for the need to carefully design the objective and the related activities of each experience.

This paper discusses the new implementation of a strengthened introductory training course in Educational Robotics for pre-service and in-service learning support teachers. By means of a final written questionnaire we compare the results of the course in 2015 with this year course, when the number of hours were doubled. This year participants expressed a higher appreciation and a better attitude towards robotics. Teachers agreed on the conviction that robotics can enhance students' motivation to learning and that educational robotics sustains a new point of view on science for teachers. Regarding the implementation in class, approximately two third of the participants declare they had already an idea on how to integrate robotics in curricula. More specifically, participants named ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders), ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), learning disabilities, mild mental retardation as aspects that can be effectively addressed by ER.

This paper discusses the design of a workshop in Educational Robotics based on Arduino offered to fifty different classes in Italian schools, from primary school to high school. We provided different examples with two robotic platforms. We present some observations about the current conception of Educational Robotics among teachers and students and about the related problems in its introduction in schools. The paper includes a description of the proposed activities and a preliminary evaluation of the results.

In this paper we present the results of a preliminary study on the impact of educational robotics on students' self-concept beliefs. Some differences have emerged in students with low self-esteem and little faith in the possibility of improving their intelligence. CCS CONCEPTS• Social and professional topics → K-12 education; • Computer systems organization → Robotics;

Badges have been used in education and leisure activities for a long time. Digital badges in particular have been reported to become a gamification element fostering students' engagement and motivation. In our work, we explore the use of badges during making and digital fabrication as a way to foster personalised learning paths within the eCraft2Learn learning ecosystem. The badge system description and visual representations are provided here, alongside the underlying pedagogical justification.

In this article, the authors summarize the development of the first half of curricula designed for the RoboESL project. They then give some more details about the second half of curricula. Through development, the authors adopted LEGO Mindstorms EV3 as an educational robotic platform, the curricula can be adapted to other platforms after some possible simplifications. Having a clear overall perspective of the project, one section of the paper is devoted to providing a comprehensive analysis and some remarks on the expected outcomes.

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In this article, the authors summarize the development of the first half of curricula designed for the RoboESL project. They then give some more details about the second half of curricula. Through development, the authors adopted LEGO Mindstorms EV3 as an educational robotic platform, the curricula can be adapted to other platforms after some possible simplifications. Having a clear overall perspective of the project, one section of the paper is devoted to providing a comprehensive analysis and some remarks on the expected outcomes.