Learning Geospatial Concepts as Part of a Non-Formal Education Robotics Experience

Abstract

In the increasingly modern and technological world, it has become common to use global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), receivers, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in everyday life. GPS-equipped mobile devices and various Web services help users worldwide to determine their locations in real-time and to explore unfamiliar land areas using virtual tools. From the beginning, geospatial technologies have been driven by the need to make efficient use of natural resources. More recently, GPS-equipped autonomous vehicles and aircraft have been under development to facilitate technological processes, such as agricultural operations, transportation, or scouting, with limited or virtual human control. As outdoor robotics relies upon a number of principles related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), using such an instructional context for non-formal education has been promising. As a result, the Geospatial and Robotics Technologies for the 21st Century program discussed in this chapter integrates educational robotics and GPS/GIS technologies to provide educational experiences through summer camps, 4-H clubs, and afterschool programs. The project’s impact was assessed in terms of: a) youth learning of computer programming, mathematics, geospatial and engineering/robotics concepts as well as b) youth attitudes and motivation towards STEM-related disciplines. An increase in robotics, GPS, and GIS learning questionnaire scores and a stronger self-efficacy in relevant STEM areas have been found through a set of project-related assessment instruments.

Robotics camps, clubs, and competitions: Results from a US robotics project

“…Separate analyses of the research data were conducted for each year of the camps, clubs, and competitions and many of these annual results have been published elsewhere [3,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]. This paper provides a synthesis of the research results, identifying data trends, and which reflect consistent and stable effects of the robotics experiences.…”

Student Learning of STEM Concepts Using a Challenge-based Robotics Curriculum

“…There has been tremendous growth in educational robotics programs in K-12 and informal education settings in recent years, illustrated, in part, by the participation and publicity surrounding programs like U.S. FIRST Robotics and FIRST LEGO ® League. Robotics offers an exciting and engaging context for students to learn science and engineering concepts and skills, 33,34,35,36,37,38,39 as well as an educational strategy to increase students' excitement and motivation for STEM areas. 40,41,42,43,44,45 It also offers students an opportunity to practice 21st century skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity and innovation.…”

Εκπαιδευτική Ρομποτική Και Αναδυόμενες Μαθηματικές Έννοιες

“…Είναι σαφές ότι εφαρμογες της ΕΡ με παιδιά και εκπαιδευτικους έχουν να επιδείξουν θετικά αποτελεσματα στην αναπτυξη του τεχνολογικού γραμματισμού και δεξιοτήτων επιλυσης προβληματων (Anagnostakis & Michaelides, 2006• Τσοβολας & Κομης, 2010 όπως και στον προγραμματισμό (Καρατραντου κ.α., 2005• Hussain, et al, 2006• Beisser, 2006• Bers et al, 2014. Η σύγχρονη έρευνα έχει καταγράψει αρκετά ενδιαφέροντα πειράματα και δραστηριότητες στο πλαίσιο των οποίων οι σπουδαστές προγραμματίζουν ή/και να συναρμολογούν ρομπότ εξαρχής είτε δουλεύοντας ατομικά είτε σε ομάδες (Denis & Hubert, 2001• Adamchuk et al, 2012• Vandevelde et al, 2016. Επιπλέον, μια άλλη διαπίστωση (Benitti, 2012) αφορά το γεγονός ότι οι εφαρμογές εκπαιδευτικής ρομποτικής λαμβάνουν χώρα κυρίως στο πλαίσιο εξωσχολικών δραστηριοτήτων και οι περισσότερες έρευνες εξακολουθούν να σχετίζονται στενά με τη διδασκαλία των φοιτητών στον τομέα της ρομποτικής παρά με την εφαρμοσμένη χρήση σε επίπεδο σχολικής ηλικίας, κάτι που φαίνεται να προσομοιάζει την αντίστοιχη πορεία χρήσης κι εξάπλωσης των υπολογιστών κατά τα τέλη της δεκαετίας του '60.…”