USING AN INTEGRATED 3D AND ROBOTICS ENVIRONMENT TO TEACH COMPUTATIONAL THINKING EFFECTIVELY Stephanie Graham Shiloh Huff Sabyne Peeler * This research is supported by NSF Grant No. CNS Opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.

MOTIVATION Women and minority groups make up a small portion of Computer Science programs According to a 2005 NSF study: 25% women, less than 20% minorities Statistic is only falling Overall Computer Science retention rate is low Need to increase interest in Computer Science by changing the way it is taught

PROGRAMMING PARADIGMS Graphics-based 3D programming Teach ideas, not syntax Instill computational thinking skills ALICE, GreenFoot, etc. Robotics Stimulate interest Real-world application of general concepts Hands-On approach

INTEGRATION OF 3D PROGRAMMING & ROBOTICS Previous work accomplished [2]: Using graphical programming in combination with robots Modified original ALICE code to support Scribbler Robots Create a real and virtual world to help with understanding applications of CS

STEPS TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

RELATED WORKS Preop Program – University of Alabama Finch Dreams CS2N National Instruments

EXISTING STATUS OF DOROTHY Robot Handler that Communicates with DOROTHY Python files that communicate to Robot Simple Movement Turning Moving Straight Object Detection Method that returns value of Object Sensor

PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS Fully implement all of the Scribbler’s capabilities Refining pre-existing content Easier access to robots abilities Simplifying user's interactions Simplify the Robot Handler

ENHANCING FUNCTIONALITY OF DOROTHY Possibly limit the instructions that DOROTHY is capable of sending to the robot General Structure to implement sensors New abstract classes in DOROTHY Robot Capabilities Sound Camera Robot's sensors Light/Dark sensors Line Detection Color Detection

ROBOT HANDLER Automate or simplify the Handler Graphical User Interface Auto-Assignment of sockets and COM ports Possibly implement Handler directly into DOROTHY Built in Graphical Handler implemented directly into DOROTHY

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS STATUS Improved Obstacle detection Determining how to call Python Programs from DOROTHY Light/Dark Sensors implemented Researching GUIs for the Handler

IMPLEMENTING NEW ROBOTS Objective: To create a more stimulating 3D virtual environment used to teach computational thinking by integrating new robots into the DOROTHY program and implementing their different abilities. Required to achieve this objective: Review of previous/similar works Analysis of current DOROTHY and robot Handler code Familiarity with programming the new robots Manipulation and/or creation of new Robot Handlers Addition of new objects to DOROTHY for different robot types

AVAILABLE ROBOTS Our main focus for now will be implementing the Erratic robot into DOROTHY, and later we may try to implement the Nao robots.

NEW ROBOTS – CURRENT STATUS DOROTHY now has a robot handler that translates DOROTHY code for the Scribbler robots Socket stream allows DOROTHY to send and receive information to and from the connected robot(s) Makes DOROTHY capable of connecting to different kinds of robots Robot handlers can be written in different programming languages, native to different robots In process of deciphering Python code for Scribbler robots

CURRENT HANDLER – HOW IT WORKS Constantly listens for ‘action’ and ‘question’ events from DOROTHY Dictionary translates events into the robot’s native language. Sends translated commands to the robot. Sends sensor data from robot back to DOROTHY

CURRICULUM Objective: Introduce concepts of computational thinking using DOROTHY Interest students in CS using robots and their applications Increase minority count in CS Need to define different topics to be covered by Middle and High School students Not too difficult for Middle School, not too simple for High School

CURRICULUM CHANGES Introduction Level – What is Computer Science Basic data structures in Dorothy Fun and simple activities Counting in Binary Moving Robots through virtual and real environments More detailed version of Computer Science definition Introduction to functions with Dorothy Thinking problems LightBot game Maze-Solving Robots Robots Applications State Machines Middle SchoolHigh School

CURRICULUM CHANGE STATUS Looking into how students learn CS principles Trying to answer the following questions: What concepts are the most important? Which concepts are easy to understand? What will garner the most interest in CS? Information to gather from: CS Education Conferences (SIGCSE, ItiCSE) End result: Powerpoints, handouts and lesson plans for activities

WORKS RELATED 1. Buzzetto-More,N., Rustagi, N., and Ukoha, O., “Unlocking the Barriers to Women and Minorites in Computer Science”, Journal of Information Technology Education, Volume 9, Shuman, M., and South, D., “Integration of a 3D Programming Environment with Robotics to Stimulate Interest in Computing” 3. Wing (2006) Wing, J., “Computational Thinking,” Communications of the ACM, 49, 3 pp Feb

WORKS RELATED, CONT. 1. Davis, J., Wellman B., Anderson, M., and Raines, M. (2009). Providing Robotic Experiences through Object-Based Programming (PREOP), Proceedings of the 2009 Alice Symposium. 2. Finch Dreams (2010). Accessed June 2012 at