Digital, Block-Based Coding of Robots for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Background. Robotics and computer programming (i.e., coding) are becoming universal in K-12 STEM classrooms. Some educators and experts are calling coding the "new literacy" because every child will need to be literate in coding in order to excel in the twenty-first century (Burke et al. 2016). Participation in robotics and computer coding/programming have shown a wide range of benefits for typically developing children, including increasing student knowledge and participation in the practices of science, engineering, and in problem-solving and team building skills (e.g., Karp and Maloney 2013). Coding (i.e., programming or developing) is the process of instructing a computer, app, phone, or website. Robotics is the field of computer science dedicated to engineering robots. Students might be especially engaged when coding robots because they can use computer programming to interact with physical robots. To code a robot,