Delivering software engineering education through LEGO robotics
16 Oct 2014-pp 169-176
TL;DR: This competition provides an opportunity to instruct the students in the benefits of using a formalized process that is essential in many software engineering projects commonly encountered in industry.
Abstract: The number of software engineering jobs is expected to grow faster than all other jobs over the next decade. STEM education is an important initiative to encourage young students to develop the skills they require to succeed in these positions. The First Lego League sponsors annual tournaments in which students must build and program a robot to accomplish various tasks in order to score points. Previously, the students had not used any process or documentation when developing the programs to run on the robot. This competition provides an opportunity to instruct the students in the benefits of using a formalized process that is essential in many software engineering projects commonly encountered in industry.
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01 Oct 2018
TL;DR: There is no standardization of teaching practices or methodologies for evaluating results, indicating that more research is needed to find the best scenario regarding technologies, methods, and target audience.
Abstract: Educational Robotics (ER) has revealed several benefits in the educational context, not only helping the teaching of disciplines, but also making possible the development of several abilities, such as teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity. Among various robotics kits, LEGO® Robotics has been shown one of the best results considering some evaluated criteria (modularity level, hardware, curriculum, price, etc.). Some studies analyze the teaching practices, some compare technologies, and others evaluate the kits in a pedagogical way. However, it is essential to investigate all these contexts together in order to improve the impact produced by the ER in education and to know the best teaching practices associated with the most powerful technologies. The objective of this Research Full Paper is to identify: a) environments and programming languages adopted in the LEGO® Robotics context, b) educational practices applied during classes based on LEGO® Robotics, and c) the educational levels in which robotics has been applied with positive results. To achieve these goals, we planned and carried out a systematic review of the literature. Our main findings are: a) the most widely used environment and programming language are LabVIEW along with the LEGO®’s block-based programming language, b) we identified LEGO® Robotics is used for teaching programming, interdisciplinary contents, participation in tournaments, robotics, and computational thinking, c) LEGO® Robotics is used with success by students of different levels, such as K12, undergraduate, and graduated. Finally, we discuss some problems and limitations related to ER and point out that there is no standardization of teaching practices or methodologies for evaluating results, indicating that more research is needed to find the best scenario regarding technologies, methods, and target audience.
29 citations
Cites background or methods from "Delivering software engineering edu..."
...The most commonly used programming language was blocklanguage (total of thirty studies), out of which twenty-eight studies were related to LabVIEW NXT and/or EV3 ([43], [7], [2], [21], [11], [15], [51], [32], [16], [49], [19], [47], [14], [4], [45], [5], [41], [46], [22], [33], [48], [18], [25], [50], [3], [20], [42], [24]), while only one study was related to App Inventor plus ([1]), and finally, one study was related to Scratch ([30])....
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...In 2013, four studies were published ([3], [20], [42], [50]), while in 2014, the number increased to seven studies ([18], [22], [24], [25], [33], [46], [48]), followed by four studies ([5], [14], [41], [45]) in 2015, considering only the NXT version....
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...Robot design, implementation and programming [48], [1], [18], [25] 4...
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...LabVIEW (NXT) [2], [3], [5], [7], [14], [18], [20], [22], [24], [25], [32], [33], [49], [41], [46], [45], [48], [50], [42] 19...
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...[46], [47]), two focused on tournaments and Olympiads ([43], [48]), seven focused on programming ([3], [4], [5], [7], [15], [25], [33]), three focused on robotics as Science ([2], [19], [32]), followed by Computational Thinking in two studies ([11], [24])....
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05 Nov 2015
TL;DR: In this paper a new teaching-learning-method including the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 is presented, which is part of the studies of mechatronics in the first two semesters of this computer sciences course.
Abstract: In this paper a new teaching-learning-method including the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 is presented. This computer sciences course is part of the studies of mechatronics in the first two semesters. The programming language being mediated is ANSI-C. Computer science is not the most popular subject in the interdisciplinary engineering field of mechatronics, therefore the EV3 should be included to increase motivation. For the new approach the former course — without the usage of EV3s — was evaluated and a competency profile was identified. On this basis a new didactical method was designed and implemented. The EV3 is programmed with the IDE Eclipse and with a self programmed plug-in.
17 citations
Cites background from "Delivering software engineering edu..."
...Furthermore, in [1]–[5], [7], [10], [11] the LEGO Mindstorms NXT or RCX is applied, not the EV3, which offers a lot of new possibilities....
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...Also the target group is different from the one in this paper: [1], [5], [7], [8], [12]....
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TL;DR: In this article, a real-time educational platform based on the MATLAB/Simulink package and the LEGO EV3 brick for academic use in the fields of robotics and computer science is presented.
Abstract: Over the last years, mobile robot platforms are having a key role in education worldwide Among others, LEGO Robots and MATLAB/Simulink are being used mainly in universities to improve the teaching experience Most LEGO systems used in the literature are based on NXT, as the EV3 version is relatively recent In contrast to the previous versions, the EV3 allows the development of real-time applications for teaching a wide variety of subjects as well as conducting research experiments The goal of the research presented in this paper was to develop and validate a novel real-time educational platform based on the MATLAB/Simulink package and the LEGO EV3 brick for academic use in the fields of robotics and computer science The proposed framework is tested here in different university teaching situations and several case studies are presented in the form of interactive projects developed by students Without loss of generality, the platform is used for testing different robot path planning algorithms Classical algorithms like rapidly-exploring random trees or artificial potential fields, developed by robotics researchers, are tested by bachelor students, since the code is freely available on the Internet Furthermore, recent path planning algorithms developed by the authors are also tested in the platform with the aim of detecting the limits of its applicability The restrictions and advantages of the proposed platform are discussed in order to enlighten future educational applications
16 citations
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: Using of massive open online courses is very limited the for software engineers education in the field of knowledge "Mathematical Foundations" in a mixed model of learning of future software Engineers.
Abstract: The article aim is devoted to determination of the possibility of using an massive open online courses subjects "Mathematical Foundations" for distance learning technologies in a mixed model of learning of future software Engineers. Authors analyzed the demands in the field of knowledge "Mathematical Foundations", which belonged to the category of related areas in the preparation of software engineers. This complex analysis concerns the content of the courses of open online courses of such platforms as: Stanford | Online (online.stanford.edu), MIT OpenCourseWare (ocw.mit.edu), Edx (edx.org), Udemy (udemy.com), Udacity (udacity.com), Coursera (coursera.org) and the National Open University "INTUIT» (intuit.ru). The main problem is the problem of the high dropout rate of higher education students, which learning in system of massive open online courses.Authors identified two main objective reasons. Firstly, the amount of time per week is counted for the average learner and is not adapted to the real conditions and different learning abilities. In particular, authors discover that the level of professional and linguistic training of students, the distinctions in time of delivery of electronic teaching materials were not taken in attention in such courses. Secondly, universities, co-founders of MOOC platforms do not recognize the results of learning on massive open online courses as part of the credit of the relevant discipline. Based on this analysis the authors conclude that using of massive open online courses is very limited the for software engineers education in the field of knowledge "Mathematical Foundations".
1 citations
Additional excerpts
...ru 48PVN215 Как ожидается, в течение следующего десятилетия количество рабочих мест программной инженерии будет расти быстрее, чем других рабочих мест [1]....
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1 citations
References
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Book•
01 Sep 2003
TL;DR: This theory derives and the most common implementation of quality-assurance is user-generated reviews, and this theory is applied to software quality management.
Abstract: Software quality assurance (SQA) is becoming increasingly important to the software and electronics industries as software systems become more complex and integrative. This book is designed to serve the three audiences who will be facing the SQA challenge: students at universities and colleges, participants in vocational training courses and software development and maintenance practitioners/professionals.
322 citations
"Delivering software engineering edu..." refers methods in this paper
...The other benefit the waterfall method gives is that it is a process and documentation oriented development method [19]....
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TL;DR: How the laboratory course is organized and how it induces students to think as actual engineers would in solving real-world tasks with limited resources are described are described.
Abstract: In today's teaching and learning approaches for first-semester students, practical courses more and more often complement traditional theoretical lectures. This practical element allows an early insight into the real world of engineering, augments student motivation, and enables students to acquire soft skills early. This paper describes a new freshman introduction course into practical engineering, which has been established within the Bachelor of Science curriculum of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of RWTH Aachen University, Germany. The course is organized as an eight-day, full-time block laboratory for over 300 freshman students, who were supervised by more than 60 tutors from 23 institutes of the Electrical Engineering Department. Based on a threefold learning concept comprising mathematical methods, MATLAB programming, and practical engineering, the students were required to transfer mathematical basics to algorithms in MATLAB in order to control LEGO Mindstorms robots. Toward this end, a new toolbox, called the ?RWTH-Mindstorms NXT Toolbox,? was developed, which enables the robots to be controlled remotely via MATLAB from a host computer. This paper describes how the laboratory course is organized and how it induces students to think as actual engineers would in solving real-world tasks with limited resources. Evaluation results show that the project improves the students' MATLAB programming skills, enhances motivation, and enables a peer learning process.
137 citations
"Delivering software engineering edu..." refers background in this paper
...Some studies were done at the K-12 level [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12], while others were done at the college level [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]....
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TL;DR: The status of software quality assurance as a relatively new and autonomous field is described and current methods are reviewed, and future directions are indicated.
Abstract: This paper describes the status of software quality assurance as a relatively new and autonomous field. The history of its development from hardware quality assurance programs is discussed, current methods are reviewed, and future directions are indicated.
123 citations
TL;DR: The outreach program not only aims at getting young students excited about engineering but at the same time aims at improving retention rates among electrical and computer engineering freshman-level college students by involving them as paid mentors.
Abstract: This paper describes key success factors for the implementation and development of a LEGO robotics engineering outreach program for elementary school students in West Texas. The outreach program not only aims at getting young students excited about engineering but at the same time aims at improving retention rates among electrical and computer engineering freshman-level college students by involving them as paid mentors. It particularly takes into consideration the rural character of West Texas, which provides hardly any electrical and computer engineering job opportunities, and the fact that a university with a college of engineering serves as academic hub for the area.
60 citations
"Delivering software engineering edu..." refers background in this paper
...Some studies were done at the K-12 level [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12], while others were done at the college level [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]....
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01 Feb 2001
TL;DR: The course unit described here took time out from a Java-based CS 1 course to give students practical experience in programming a small robot in a highly restricted setting.
Abstract: In traditional CS 1 classes students may not develop an appreciation for the planning process in software development Current IDEs provide such immediate feedback that students can complete courses without an appreciation for the need to plan in advance and design thoughtfully The course unit described here took time out from a Java-based CS 1 course to give students practical experience in programming a small robot in a highly restricted setting Outcomes are described in detail They are based on instructor's notes, and on analysis of both videotaped student demonstrations and student summative essays
50 citations
"Delivering software engineering edu..." refers background in this paper
...Some studies were done at the K-12 level [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12], while others were done at the college level [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]....
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