The Effect of Commercially Available Educational Robotics: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Educational institutions planning to invest in Educational Robotics are faced with a wide selection of products. Yet, we have not been able to find any review studies on the effect of these products, to guide the institutions to get the most out of their investments. For this review, 29 Educational Robotics products were therefore selected, and eight major databases were searched for effect studies involving these. The search yielded 301 results, of which 17 were selected for synthesizing. The studies and their respective findings are discussed in the review. Unfortunately, there were not enough studies to compare the effect of the products and more research is therefore needed. In addition, the studies methodologies and design have been analyzed, and a series of recommendations for how future experimental/quasi-experimental studies within the field can be design and conducted, have been established.

An overview of teacher training programs in educational robotics: characteristics, best practices and recommendations

“…We also recommend using gender-balanced random sampling with an appropriate sample size in order to increase the representativeness and generalizability of the research results. As was also reported in Pedersen et al (2020), researchers' access to samples in educational institutions should be facilitated to achieve this.…”

“…Later, Spolaôr and Benitti (2017) studied systematically relevant educational robotics experiences with theoretical support on tertiary education. A more recent literature review by Pedersen et al (2020) explored the focus, findings and design of research studies conducted with commercially available educational robotics and made several recommendations on how future studies in the field could be designed and conducted.…”

“…We therefore recommend setting requirements to complete the training program and including these requirements in the research study design. As was suggested by Pedersen et al (2020) when they studied the effect of commercially available ER products, ER research design needs improving. This can be achieved by implementing pilot studies and/or control groups, using rigorous research methods (both quantitative and qualitative), and using reliable and validated data collection instruments.…”

A Novel Real-Time MATLAB/Simulink/LEGO EV3 Platform for Academic Use in Robotics and Computer Science

“…In the case of robotics, a variety of low-cost mobile robots have appeared in the last few years, such as Adept, E-Puck, Moway, LEGO Mindstorms, etc. [ 1 ]. These devices do not offer the same accuracy as industrial robots but enough for educational purposes in engineering or even experiments and research tests.…”

EUROPA: A Case Study for Teaching Sensors, Data Acquisition and Robotics via a ROS-Based Educational Robot

“…On the other hand, introducing robotics courses in schools calls for the parallel development of methods for the assessment of new educational technologies and the dissemination of their results [10]. As robot-based technologies are becoming mainstream in schools and universities, educational robotics is gaining its own spin and status among researchers, markets and educators, with new emerging conferences [11], special issues [12] and products [13,14] and with a boost in the relevant literature [15].…”