Introducing underrepresented high school students to software engineering: Using the micro:bit microcontroller to program connected autonomous cars

Abstract

Outreach that considers underrepresented groups has become one particular push to increase participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math‐related disciplines, with Computer Science and Software Engineering representing one particular domain. We describe our outreach programming employing the micro:bit microcontroller environment for hands‐on software development and how students change their high‐level domain knowledge and attitudes. We find that overall, students were gaining general knowledge and slight increases in their positive attitudes towards a computer science‐related post‐secondary education. We also find differences between incoming knowledge level groups and self‐perception as well as performance differences. We also note a slight majority of students indicated that they liked our approach and that the utilization of the micro:bit microcontroller overall was worthwhile. Future iterations of our programming will utilize these findings and add additional data gathering efforts supplanting the current pre‐ and posttest instruments.

LiDAR point clouds analysis computer tools for teaching autonomous vehicles perception algorithms

“…Without a doubt, the breadth of the different technological blocks implies that the training of engineers in the field of autonomous and connected driving represents a challenge that is either addressed superficially [22] or involves a very heavy and multidisciplinary teaching workload [16], that could be explained in specific programs [51, 57]. In both approaches, multidisciplinarity is quite challenging, as students may not be aware of all technologies involved, so teaching strategies must be carefully selected to provide the appropriate level considering the subject objectives within the Bachelor or Master framework.…”

Survey of Educational Robotics Applications in Secondary Education

“…For example, one study on Educational Robotics written by Kelly & Seeling mentioned "Arduino," but the project did not actually use an Arduino product. 17 The project did, however, use a similar microcontroller and had high quality results that make it worthy of documentation and discussion. Excluding this study from review would prevent accurate conclusions from being made on the quantity of research that is being done using similar methods and having similar objectives.…”

“…Aside from engagement and exposure to STEM topics as part of an educational experience, there is niche demand for Educational Robotics tools as a method of recruitment. This market has formed in colleges and advanced technology institutions who use ERs as a way to recruit students or employees 9,17 ; these projects can be classified as "exposure" projects. The aforementioned studies describe ER programs that have the goal of exposing students to STEM concepts with the hope that they take to continue down a STEM career path once the program ends.…”

“…For example, a study was conducted about ER activity at the University of Central Michigan that sought to discover if an ER summer camp program could have an impact on secondary school student's interest level in pursuing a college degree in STEM. 17 The program was directed towards students from underrepresented populations, and while the program introduced the students to computer science concepts they would likely have not had exposure to, the study did not accomplish its main objective of recruitment. The most encouraging results from the study were that about half of the students seemed to learn something new about computers.…”

“…Copyright © 2022, American Society for Engineering Education and Seeling's words, "lower performing students gaining somewhat more knowledge (albeit at a non-significant level as their higher performing counterparts gained as well)." 17 The idea of exposure is to make introductions to students who may not otherwise get STEM-related experiences. The success of these two studies in terms of recruitment was limited, but their alternative successes is proof of their ability to encourage students to at least have a positive learning experience in the STEM field.…”