New Orleans, Louisiana
June 26, 2016
June 26, 2016
August 28, 2016
Computers in Education
For close to three decades, [state] rising sophomore students have had the opportunity to have their first taste of college life while attending the [University Name] Summer High School Institute. For over ten years we have team taught two courses to expose students to computer hardware and software programming techniques. We were challenged to combine the course into a single offering. Our goal was to develop an intensive, hands-on, motivational experience where each student would build, program, and develop the interface between the programming board and the robot hardware. We hoped that along the way the students would learn about different engineering fields, computer science, and also the basics of computer programming and interfacing. The course concluded with a robot competition. Students competed to see which robot could go through an unknown maze without bumping into maze walls in the shortest time. The course objectives included: 1) Take the mystery out of engineering and computing, 2) Show that engineering and computer science is fun and exciting, 3) Demonstrate that engineering is for both women and men, 4) Emphasize hands-on, learn by doing exercises, and 5) Inform students of the excellent educational opportunities at the University of _________. For the course a low cost Dagu Magician robot kit was used. Each student built their own robot. The robot was equipped with infrared sensors and an Arduino UNO R3 processor board. The Arduino processor was specifically designed for use by students without a technical background. They are easy to use and program. Students completed a pre- and post-course survey to determine their level of understanding in a number of course concepts. A substantial increase in student understanding was noted.
Barrett, S. F., & Anderson, J. R., & Love, M. Y. L. (2016, June), Robots! - Introduction to Engineering and Computer Science Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26121
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