ROBOTICS AND INCLUSIVE

EDUCATION

CREATED BY WIDE

Strategies for the promotion of digital, coding androbotic skills for social inclusion

32The advantages of

 Robot4All

06Importance ofcomputational

thinking & roboticseducation

 

27Introduction to new

skills and jobs thanksto robotics

C O N T E N T S

03Introduction

14Overcoming barriersin robotic education

 

Promote the acquisition and achievement ofskills and competences promote socialinclusion through innovative integratedapproaches Enhance the access, participation andlearning performance of disadvantagedlearners further strengthen keycompetences in VETIntroduce systematic approaches to, andopportunities for, the continuousprofessional development of VET teachers.Develop VET business partnerships aimed atpromoting work-based learning in all itsforms strengthen the profile(s) of theteaching professions Promote open and innovative methods andpedagogies

The Robot4all Erasmus+ project has been setup as an initiative to tackle and find practicalsolutions in the field of robotics education,and aims to: 

Based on the aforementioned, the followinghave been centered around inclusiveness asone of the main concepts to orient positiveoutcomes and approach potential inequitiesfrom several perspectives.

Equipping young Europeans with theright skills has been reaffirmed by the2016 Council Resolution on ‘A New SkillsAgenda for an Inclusive and Competitive’Europe which stated that skills are apathway to employability andprosperity. However, skills gaps andmismatches are striking, 40% ofemployers cannot find people with theskills they need, whereas students leaveE&T without being sufficiently preparedto enter the labour market. VET(Vocational Education and Training) isvalued for fostering job-specific andtransversal skills, facilitating thetransition into employment andmaintaining and updating the skills ofthe workforce according to sectoral,regional and local needs. Although over13 million learners are engaged in VETeach year, forecasts in several M.S.indicate that there will be a shortage ofpeople with VET qualifications in thefuture.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

O u r P a r t n e r s

The coordinator of the Robot4All project is the Institute ofCivic Education (IDD) of the Leibniz University of Hanover. Theuniversity was founded in 1831, today it has 21,000 studentsand 4,700 staff members.

The «Emphasys Centre» began operating in 1998, as a relatedcompany to «A & A Emphasys Interactive Solutions Ltd» (due tocommon ownership), a successful company specialising inconsultancy, software and support services in the field of ICT.

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Leibniz Universität Hannover

2 EK Peiraia

The 2nd E.K. (Laboratory Center) of Piraeus was foundedin 1986. It is a Greek public Training Center forsecondary vocational education, located in the industrialcity of Piraeus, the largest commercial port in Greece.

Emphasys Centre

Civic Computing is an award winning digitalsolutions provider with almost two decades ofindustry leading experience. They helpbusinesses succeed through effective, usabletechnology by combining our expertise in userexperience design, development and hosting toprovide digital solutions that work.

Civic Computing

Women in Digital Empowerment

CDIMM Maramures Foundation was established inthe year 1994, as a non-profit, non-governmental,non-political organization. Their mission is to supportthe development of the private sector of small andmedium sized enterprises and of other organizationsat local, regional and international level.

The I.E.S. María Moliner is a public highschool. We have two kinds of studies:Secondary Education (compulsory education12-16 and bachelor 16-18), and VocationalEducation.

The  Cyprus Computer Society  (CCS)  is aprofessional and independent not-for-profitorganization, seeking to improve and promotehigh standards amongst informaticsprofessionals, in recognition of the impact thatinformatics has on employment, business,society as well as on the quality of life of thecitizen.

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CDIMM Maramures Foundation

Cyprus Computer Society

I.E.S. María Moliner

Women in Digital Initiatives Luxembourg Asbl(WIDE) is a non profit organisation initiated inLuxembourg in 2013 and officially founded in 2014.Launched as a grassroot initiative by womenvolunteers in 2013, WIDE has now become theleading and national reference organisation tochampion inclusion of girls & women in the newtechnologies and digital field.

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Decomposition - decompose a complex problem intoseveral small parts to make it easier to solve theproblem Pattern recognition – trying to find similarities amongother problems, as well as within problems Abstraction - Abstraction is used to facilitate thecreation of algorithms. It consists in making theproblem less complex by removing unnecessary partsof it.Algorithms - developing a solution to the problem, orthe steps to follow to solve the problem

Computational thinking (CT) includes several problem-solving methods, which consist in expressing problems andsolutions in ways computers do. 

There are four key processes to computational thinking:

D e f i n i t i o n

C o m p u t a t i o n a l t h i n k i n g

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Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zttrcdm/revision/1

Computational thinking (CT) includes severalproblem-solving methods, which consist inexpressing problems and solutions in wayscomputers do. 

A study conducted by Shuchi Groverfrom the University of Stanford indicatesthat robotics help developcomputational thinking. In fact, eightmiddle school and two high schoolstudents accepted to participate in arobotics week in 2010, held in a schoolin India. The workshop and study lasted8 hours per day and included anintroduction to robotics, to logoprogramming, as well as work in pairs toprogram the final project of their choice,among other activities.

First, the study indicates that after therobotics workshop, there has been asubstantial increase in terms ofComputational Thinking Language. Infact, pre-workshop answers did notmention CT vocabulary, such as“abstraction”, “task breakdown”,“conditional logic”, “error checking” or“testing” for example. It also highlightsthat the categories in which studentsimproved the most were theirknowledge of vocabulary linked to CT, aswell as technical terms.

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The aim was, through the differentactivities, to compare student’scomputational thinking skills before, andafter the workshop. To do so, theirknowledge was assessed in terms ofbroad CT concepts, CT principles, CTvocabulary, and procedural andoperational ideas of computation.

Even if the study was conducted with asmall amount of students, it proves thatrobotics can help students increasetheir computational thinking skills.Further research and studies should beconducted to confirm these findings.

Results

D E V E L O P C O M P U T A T I O N A L

T H I N K I N Gthanks to robotics

Request the facilityadministration approval andseek out support

Brainstorm ideas about thesetting of the place andlogistic make a list of materialsneeded and compare it to yourbudget

Call for interestedparticipants/students and havean overview on how many theywill be and their average level ofknowledge and interests inrobotics

Think and detail the logistics -when and for how long conductresearch in terms ofcompatibility aspects with theRobot4All toolkit

Think and detail the logistics -when and for how long conductresearch in terms ofcompatibility aspects with theRobo4All toolkit

Do a list of all roboticseducators who are on board aswell as their time availabilities

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p r a c t i c a l t i p sand steps on sett ing up a robotics club in an educational faci l i ty

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This could have a couple possible outcomes, but mostadministrators should be open that you want to offerstudents an additional opportunity to master STEMskills. If there are budgetary or location concerns,however, it might take a bit of convincing, but asrobotics is crucial in helping students of all agesmaster key skills, the idea should be appealing to anyschool leader; underline specific values robotics clubscan provide, such as: teaching and applying coding,allowing students to work together, and helping themsee how STEM is used in everyday life.

Here are some practical considerations in regards to each of the steps: 

At this point, reflect if the meetings shouldbe:  monthly, weekly, two or three times perweek; after, establish how long the meetingsshould be and on what days of the week; butestablishing a routine will help promoteconsistency and allow for more students toparticipate continuously.

Teachers will need to figure out to what extent theywill want to use the toolkit, correlated to theirexperience levels with robotics and coding tools andalso the level of the students.

This will be useful in terms of organizationand time scheduling for the club meetings.

Take into account that most school clubs start off withonly a handful of members (3-5) and then grow;  Also,at the beginning there are students not yet knowingthey are interested in robotics or all of the things theycan accomplish while using these tools and who mightbe interested to join later.

It is a good idea to hold an initial meetingwith all parties, brainstorm ideas and doan initial assessment of level ofknowledge because this influences theuse of the robotic kit.

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In a study conducted by  Khanlari Ahmadwith six robotics teachers, teachersunderline that robotics classes havebeneficial effects on students. For instance,according to them, robotics help studentsto increase their self confidence, since itlearns them to use a new technology. Intheir opinion, this will lead them to try andto do better in other classes as well. One ofthe teachers explained  that “Students whowere not so successful in other courses,when they saw their success in robotics,believed in themselves and believed that they can succeed in other courses as well.So they tried more to succeed in othercourses”. Another teacher also stated thatrobotics help students to become morecompetent in STEM. Moreover, all theparticipants stated that robotics facilitateslearning, and that it helps attracting morestudents in STEM subjects.  This study alsounderlines that “Four participants out ofthese six participants believed that roboticscreated interest in students who previouslydid not like STEM subjects, while two otherparticipants stated that they have noexperiences to claim that robotics led theirstudents to love STEM subjects."

However, all the participants believed thatrobotics promotes students’ interests towardSTEM subjects; indeed, they believed that”students who previously liked STEM subjectslove these subjects more after takingrobotics course.”Moreover, in this study, five participantsbelieve that robotics is fun and playful, andthat therefore, they learn better since theyaren’t  under any  “pressure”.Finally, all teachers agreed that roboticsshould be taught  in class, to all grades.

*Cited from : - Khanlari, Ahmad - Effects ofeducational robots on learning STEM and onstudents’ attitude towards STEM

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R o b o t i c s A C T I V I T I E S benefits for students

Understand light propagation inlinear way and to all dimensions; Understand light interaction withdifferent materials and sort themusing the terms transparent, semi-transparent and opaque; Understand the light phenomena,such as reflection, diffusion andabsorption.

Light sensor measurements,Observations/recordings,programming  the robottesting  the  program and makingconclusions. 

The following study aims to check ifeducational robotics can increasestudents’ interest in STEM and theirskills in this field. Therefore, the studyconsisted in teaching STEM to twogroup of students, with two differentteaching approaches. One group wastaught STEM subjects with the help of arobotic educational approach, whereasthe other group learned STEM withoutrobotics. The activities were designedbased on the “light concepts” module,which is used to:

The group of students who participatedin the robotic approach, had a LegoMindstorm NXT robot at their disposal,as an educational tool during theactivities.  The activities were quitediverse : 

observations, predictions, experimentationmaking conclusions

On the other hand, students participatingin the non-robotic approach performedthe same experiments using their eyes tomake observations. The followingactivities were done:

In total, 96 students participated in thestudy, and followed either the roboticapproach, or the non-robotic one duringa 10-hour intervention. The results of thestudy showed that robotics can positivelyimpact student’s attitudes towards STEMsubjects, since the students who followedthe robotics teaching approach hadshowed greater interest in STEM thanthose who followed the classicalapproach. This can result in the choice tofollow a career in STEM. However, it isimportant to note, that according to thisstudy, the teaching method did notinfluence students’ preferred careerchoices.*Source:  Robotics as means to increasestudents’ stem attitudes,  Panayiotou,Marievie, Eteokleous, Nikleia, 2017/06/01

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e d u c a t i o n a l r o b o t i c s increase students' interest in STEM

Understanding which aspects of a problem are suitableto computationEvaluating the correlation between computationalmethods and solving a problemUnderstanding both the limits and power ofcomputational tools Finding a new use for a computational technique/toolRecognising the possibility to use computation in a newwayUsing computational strategies/tools and techniquessuch as “divide and conquer” in any situation/domain

In her article “Computational thinking -- What and why?”,Jeannette M. Wing (Avanessians Director of the DataScience Institute and Professor of Computer Science atColumbia University) explains that there are severalbenefits to computational thinking for everyone, since itprovides them with important tools such as:

I M P O R TAN C E O F

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Therefore, we can indicate that computationaltechniques can be used by everyone, in variousdomains.

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R O B O T I C S AN D   I N C L U S I O Nexplaining scheme

The Robot4All toolkit aims to highlight in what ways robotics can be used to enhanceinclusion, regarding socio-economics, gender, language acquisition and outperformingstudents in STEM.

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We have also identified a few potential barriers that could hinder the use ofrobotics in education, all the while with debating on the important advantageswhich a robotics toolkit can bring to educational systems, public or private. Thisbooklet follows the argumentation that robotics can be applied as means ofinclusion and positive outcomes following approached based on four associatedfields:

1Socio-economically speaking,implementing a roboticsprogram can be perceived ascostly, and this is exactly whythe tools developed viaRobot4All could help bypromoting alternative and easyto access resources

2Robotics projects usually areperceived to take a lot oftime and effort, so the e-platform and, theaccessibility of  toolkit willhelp overcome this

I D E N T I F I E D B A R R I E R Sinclusiveness, benefits and potential r isks

5Robotics in general are associated totechnical / industrial professions topursue for the future, which mightbe unattractive to students,especially in terms of genderdiversity in relation to STEM; giventhat the Robot4All toolkit is alsoaccessible for non-ICT teachers/groups of students, it is a goodsolution on this perspective

3Students living in lower incomeneighbourhoods could haveproblems participating inrobotics clubs, and this is whyhaving online robotics material,freely accessible, would bebeneficials

4Academically, robotics couldbe perceived as inaccessibleor requiring good grades.Outperforming studentsmight be excluded ofRobotics, so Robot4all isexactly this, a platform easyto use for all students

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Robotics are also a clever way toreduce social barriers betweenchildren. According to Allison Druinand James A. Hendler in Robots forKids, robotic materials can be usedin various group learning activities,since they offer an opportunity todevelop social interactions.  Forexample, the LEGO system enablesstudents to assemble anddisassemble component parts easilyto illustrate or test an idea, whichmakes it easier for children withlanguage deficits to communicate,since they have the possibility toshow an idea rather than describingit with words. Robotics are also anopportunity for children to “practice their social collaborative skills”.

According to this study,incorporating robotics in groupactivities is beneficial for children,since it will enable all children toparticipate in problem-solving tasks(thanks to Lego or the Lab ViewSoftware for example) no mattertheir skills. This will also prove thatall students’ efforts are equallyimportant, children will recognizethe contributions and work ofothers and feel a common sense ofaccomplishment as a group. This willcontribute to the reduction of socialbarriers between them.  !! Note that close attention shouldbe paid to the nature of the activity,as well as to the profile of eachlearner.

Then, regarding economical barriers, it should be noted that if robotic classes havebeen successfully integrated in some schools, these often have to overcome someeconomical barriers. In fact, as explains José L. Pons in his book Inclusive Robotics for abetter society, robotic kits are often too expensive for schools. As a solution to thisbarrier, teachers could rely on other resources, such as recycled materials forexample.

a. Overcoming socio-economicalbarriers

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First, by this category we mean studentswho either underperform, have poor schoolresults because either they cannot keep upwith the curricula pace or are dramaticallydemotivated. It is not a new concept foreducation, although educational robotics ismostly associated with Science, Technology,Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) indeveloping the understanding ofmathematical concepts and principles ofphysics, engineering and other branches ofSTEM, as well as in developing knowledge indifferent stages of education, frompreschool to higher education. Lately, newresearch directions have been developedwhere it is proved that robotics has suchpositive effects as:  improved learningmotivation    improved interest in learningitself.

Robotics can help overcoming various

factors.

b. Students with learning difficulties inSTEM

Robotics can help overcomingvarious factors that can lead torisks of :severe de-motivation of studentsthat feel they can no longer copewith the learning challenges 

social marginalisation 

risks of early school leaving

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However,  an important issue remains,since STEM jobs are becoming less andless attractive for people. This is relatedto the negative perception they have ofthese careers. In fact, STEM is oftenidentified as a nerdy, male-dominatedand boring field. Moreover, people, andespecially girls, have no achievableimage of what STEM stands for. Beyondthe lack of role models, they do notknow which professions, companies andworking environments are part of STEMtoday or what opportunities these fieldscan offer.

This problem arises at school, whenboys and girls choose their courses,which then influences their careerchoices. This results in a deficit ofqualified workers in the STEM field.Therefore, it is essential to changepeople's negative perception of STEMjobs, through innovative learningtools, with a focus on the variouscareer paths that exist nowadays. *Source: Gender4Stem project

c. Negative perception of STEM jobs

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Nowadays, innovation is mainly driven by Science, Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) disciplines. STEM skills are key to solving current challenges andtaking part in today's society, propelled by new technologies, new skills and innovativejobs.

First, the article Problem solving thanksto computing in class : how to increasegirls’ interest in computing ? written byLizzie Jackson (National Center forComputing Education, UK) underlineshow computing can help girls to solve“real-world” problems, and how thisincreases their interest in computing.  The national Center for ComputingEducation has created a programmeof study for computing, which aims tohighlight why computing is animportant subject that should betaught at schools : “A high-qualitycomputing education equips pupils touse computational thinking andcreativity to understand and changethe world”. 

The article underlines that there is auseful possibility to increase students’interest in computing, which consistsin making them choose a real-worldproblem that they would like to solve.In fact, according to the article, severalresearch studies have identified thatsolving real-world problems can behighly engaging for girls, and can helpto increase their interest incomputing. Moreover, whencomputing provides pupils with theopportunity to help other people, girlsare more likely to  be interested

d. Overcoming gender barriers

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Today, robotics is still mainly considered as a domain exclusively for boys and men. Thisoften discourages women and girls to follow STEM studies or careers. Therefore, itseems crucial to find effective solutions helping overcome gender barriers in robitics.

We focus on robotics as an inclusivetool, arguing that the inclusion ofwomen and a gender balanceapproach should be done since theearly stages of production. Whenspeaking of women or otherunderrepresented groups, thereaction is to indicate their lowpresence in their development.

There is still a low presence of women

in STEM.

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This is a worrying fact that shouldnot go unnoticed, since if we godeeper into STEM studies, we realizethe need for young people in thesegroups to learn technological skills,such as computer thinkingcompetence is important.

In educational robotics, gender stereotypes are often confirmedor even accentuated. Indeed, robots are usually in the shape oftrucks, as robotic classes are often considered as being for boys.From an early age, toys for boys are different than those for girls:they change depending on the gender of the child. Therefore, wewould advise teachers to try something new in robotic classesand to create gender-neutral robots, which can also be appealingfor girls! You can for example create a dancing robot, with neutralcolors. *Cited from: Gender4STEM Erasmus+ project

R O B O T I C S & G E N D E R

D I V E R S I T Y

The KIWI Robotics Kit Legos Computer 

It seems interesting to take into accountthe results from the Ready for Roboticsproject, funded by the National ScienceFoundation. This project focused oncreating a robotics kit for young childrenfrom four to seven years old. Thepurpose was to determine whether girlsand boys already have some genderstereotypes regarding technology andengineering, and whether boys and girlshave the same skills during their classesin Introductory Robotics andProgramming concepts. During thisstudy, children were offered severalrobotics activities. Boys and girls wereboth asked to tell who would love moreto play with these kits: girls or boys? Thefollowing tools/activities were offered toboth girls and boys:

The study showed that the Legos generated the most important gender stereotypes. Infact, out of 42 children, more than half (64%) said that boys would love more to play withthe Legos. The reason why the children thought boys would enjoy more to play with  theLegos, were mainly the colors (yellow, red and blue). One participant even stated thatLegos for girls should be pink, and other children of the group added that boys likemore to build than girls. Moreover, they also commented that boys enjoy building more.Concerning the computer, more than half of the participants (62%) agreed that bothboys and girls would like the computer.

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It should be noted that, if we want to overcome gender barriers, it is important toanalyse gender stereotypes related to robotics, and to understand at what age theyoccur.

However, they explained that evenif boys and girls could love usingthe computer, they would not useit  for the same reasons, they woulddo different activities. A girl statedfor example that  “boys play gameslike Batman. A girl computer wouldhave girl games”. Then, regardingthe KIWI robot, 33% of the childrenbelieved that boys would enjoyplaying with it more. Fairly the sameanswers emerged as for the Legos:the colors of the KIWI prototypesbeing blue and brown (wood color).Children explained that “There’s nogirls colors”, “because it’s a lot ofblue”.

*Cited from: Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2016). Girls, boys, and bots: Gender differences in young children’sperformance on robotics and programming tasks. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations inPractice, 15, 145- 165.

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The sounds and lights of the robot were also an important theme,explaining for example that thesounds of the robot are going tobother some girls. However, morethan half of the children (53%)found that both boys and girlswould like KIWI.  This study provesthat children do already have somegender stereotypes when it comesto robotics. These are mostly linkedto the use of colours, which shouldbe taken into account whendesigning robotic kits.

Several studies insist on the idea that gender stereotypes aresometimes built in robots, since robot designers might beinfluenced by current gender norms. Thus, we find femalerobots, and male robots with characteristics and features thatare commonly identify as being female or male. Moreover, itshould be noted that female and male robots will not always beused for the same purposes, and that it can influence ourexpectations of the robot. In fact, as soon as we decide toembody gender within robots, stereotypes will follow. Gendercan be integrated in robots through several ways :

Thus, some researchers argue that robots mightsometimes increase social/gender stereotypes.  However,in her study, PhD Londa Schieblinger underlines thatrobots might also be a clever way to promote socialequality and to put an end to gender stereotypes, inseveral steps:

By challenging persistent gender stereotypes 

Designing customisable robots, so that users can choosewhat the robot will look like

Design genderless robots Design “robot specific” identitiesthat go beyond social and stereotypes

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Voice (female or male)

Name of the robot

Physical appearance

An experiment at a science museum,where a humanoid robot asked visitors(male N = 76; female N= 58) to give adonation. The robot in the experimenthad a non-gendered appearance, andgender was manipulated by voicequality (pre-recorded humanmasculine and feminine voices). Theresults showed a cross-gender effect.Male participants rated the femalerobot as more credible andtrustworthy than the male robot, whilefemale participants rated the malerobot as more

By consequence, and what Case study b)demonstrates is that robotics teams need toinclude an equal balance of both women andmen amongst the developing teams, asidethose being also interdisciplinary.

c a s e  s t u d y A . * Interaction between robot genderand human gender

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credible and trustworthy than thefemale robot.* cited from “Diversity and Inclusion inEngineering Education: LookingThrough the Gender QuestionEducational Robotics for InclusiveEducation”; Daniela et Lytras, Springer2018

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Today, there are several reasons thatexplain why teaching robotics in schools isessential. First, robotics help both children (girls andboys) as well as adults acquire severalimportant soft skills, such as creativity,innovation and team-work. KarolinaZawieskaand and Brian R. Duffy, in “Thesocial construction of creativity ineducational robotics” argue that one of themost considerable benefits of robotics is “itspotential to inspire curiosity and creativity instudents.” In fact, they explain that thiscreativity emerges thanks to the process ofbuilding, programming and manipulatingrobotic platforms.  Then, in “The Role ofEducation for the Social and EconomicUptake of Robotics”, José L. Pons insists onthe idea that teaching robotics to childrenfrom an early age will have a positive effecton them, since it will not only provide themwith hard skills, but also with crucial softskills. In fact, it will help them acquiringmore knowledge in the fields of science andtechnology, but also increase their self-confidence, their creative thinking, team-work, critical thinking and problem-solvingskills.

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why t e a c h r o b o t i c s ?developing new ski l ls such as creativity & teamwork

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Although a common belief nowadays isthat robots might steal jobs fromhumans, according to BenjaminShestakofsky’s research, robots do not steal jobs, but create more jobs forhumans and create growth. He explainsfor example  that “software automationcan substitute for labour, but it alsocreates new human-machinecomplementaries”. He also indicatedthat computer technologies haveactually created new occupations in thefields of hardware, software, networkingproducts and services.

Furthermore, he explains that new jobsemerge in various STEM fields  such asbiotechnology, renewable energy andmobile technologies have also emergedthanks to technological advances androbotics.*cited from: Robotics for soft skills training,Rubinacci et al., Research on Educationand Media, vol. 10, 2017

n ew j o b s developed thanks to robotics

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Moreover, according to figures by theEuropean Commission, one additionaltechnology job creates around 5complementary jobs. These new jobs,will need new skills, some of which arestill unknown today. Professions of thefuture will also emerge, such as AItrainers and AI explainers (workers whointerpret the outputs generated by AI).

Furthermore, new opportunities ofemployment will emerge forprogrammers or specialists in robotmaintenance, for the creation of newrobots for example. *cited from: AI and Automation,European Commission

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Students and teachers are confidentabout the effectiveness of labs inpromoting soft skills. Also, the teachersagreed that it was a good chance tostimulate collaboration, group workingand enhanced communication abilitiesin students.  The feedback from theteachers has confirmed that itstimulated students’ interest in STEMand coding as well as their skills in groupwork, mediation and negotiation,problem definition and solving.

The students evaluated the lab verypositively, both about hard skills andsoft skills. This lab allowed the studentsto start acquiring the knowledge thattransforms into skills and competencies,which is crucial for their future inacademic and working careers.*cited from: Robotics for soft skills training,Rubinacci et al., Research on Educationand Media, vol. 10, 2017

c a s e s t u d y B . *

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Robotics based trainings and workshops can be very useful in helping adults and alsoyoung people to develop their soft skills as well as their hard skills. The most notablesoft skills which according to various studies, are enahnced or devleoped in roboticsare:

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Regarding the hard-skills, in a research done in a student robotics club, the majorityof answers designated the following as most relevant:

science related skills in general, robotics,technology, mathematics, coding androbot programming

Teamwork

Problem solving

Problem understanding

Technical skills in general

n ew S K I L L S developed thanks to robotics

Potential strategies toovercome lack of interest andto reaching and engaging abroader range of learners inroboticsIn the future, If we wishto address larger target groupsof learners, broaderperspective projects areneeded. A wider range ofpossible robotic applicationshas the potential to engageyoung people with a widerrange of interests. Pursuingthis challenge Rusk et al* (inAlimisis) argue that in order todevelop innovative ways toincrease the attractiveness andlearning profits of roboticsprojects in general, fourstrategies for engaging a broadrange of learners in roboticscan be adopted.

Furthermore, according to ACER*educational robotics strengthen andsupport students’ skills developingtheir knowledge through thecreation, design, assembly, andoperation of robots. The paperargues: “Children and youngstudents find it funny and engagingbecause they feel free to interactdirectly with both electrical andmechanical processes andprocedures. The study argues in fact

that programming can be at times toodifficult and boring when learnedthrough the “traditional” abstractmethod. On the contrary, by having tocontrol a physical robot and seeingwhat goes wrong, students learn whatrobots can and can’t do with animmediate experience andunderstanding.

1Projects focusing on themes,

not just challenges

2Projects combining art and

engineering

3Projects encouraging

storytelling

4Organising exhibitions, rather

than competitions

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Young people who are not interested intraditional approaches to robotics becomemotivated when robotics activities areintroduced as a way to tell a story  or inconnection with other disciplines andinterest areas, such as music and art.Different students are attracted todifferent types of robotics activities;students interested in cars are likely to bemotivated to create motorized vehicles,while students with interests in art ormusic are likely to be more motivated tomake artistic robotic creations.The sameauthors, find embodiment as anotherinnovative way that might be introduced inrobotics activities to make them moreattractive, especially for children. Embodied experiences with robotics canbe realised when students physically movetheir own bodies and then program robotsto perform a certain task. In such a caselearning develops from personalembodiment to embodiment throughsurrogate robots Another way to facilitatelearning with robotics is to make thelearners embody the robotic system, forexample by asking learners to followmovements of robots through gesturing.

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The toolkit Robot4All providesinteresting resources, such as studies,findings and study cases aiming tohighlight the benefits of roboticseducation. These resources illustratevarious positive outcomes of robotics,such as the creation of new jobs andthe acquisition of new skills (e.gteamwork and creativity). Robot4Allfocuses on inclusion in robotics withnew online tools, aiming to supportVET teachers. This toolkit especiallyaddresses four identified barriers:gender, socio-economics,outperforming students in STEM andnegative perceptions regarding STEMcareers. VET learners constantly needto develop new skills to adaptthemselves to new jobs (of whichmany do not exist yet).

c o n c l u s i o n

ERASMUS+

ROBOT4ALL - 36

Robotic skills are utterly important,no one should be excluded of gettingthe chance to access this education.The Robot4All partnership hasdeveloped concrete and actionabletools for teachers in order to breakdown the identified stereotypes andcreate a more inclusive work andstudy environment.