View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by idUS. Depósito de Investigación Universidad de Sevilla International Journal of Engineering Education Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 1823±1832, 2016 0949-149X/91 $3.00+0.00 Printed in Great Britain # 2016 TEMPUS Publications. Application of Robot Programming to the Teaching of Object-Oriented Computer Languages* J. M. RODRIÂGUEZ CORRAL, A. MORGADO-ESTEÂ VEZ, D. MOLINA CABRERA and F. PEÂ REZ-PENÄ A School of Engineering. Avenida de la Universidad de CaÂdiz, 10, 11519, Puerto Real (CaÂdiz), Spain. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] C. A. AMAYA RODRIÂGUEZ and A. CIVIT BALCELLS Technical School of Computer Engineering. Avenida Reina Mercedes, s/n, 41012, Seville, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Object-oriented programming (OOP) abstract concepts are often difficult to understand for students, since it is not easy to ®nd the equivalence of such concepts in daily life. In this paper we will study if an interdisciplinary approach based on an introduction to robotics and robot programming helps the student in acquiring the OOP concepts. For our experiments, we selected a sample of thirty individuals among students with an adequate knowledge of procedural programming. This sample was divided into two groups of ®fteen students each: for the ®rst one we used a standard introductory approach to C#, whereas for the second one we developed an experimental course that included a demonstration program that illustrated OOP basic concepts using the features of a speci®c type of commercial ball-shaped robot with sensing, wireless communication and output capabilities. After the courses, both groups were evaluated by completing a multiple-choice exam and a C# programming exercise. Our results show that the student group that attended the course including the robot demo showed a higher interest level (i.e. they felt more motivated) than those students that attended the standard introductory C# course. Furthermore, the students from the experimental group also achieved an overall better mark. Keywords: interdisciplinary projects; mobile robots; object-oriented programming; robot programming; teaching-learning strategies 1. Introduction engineering [7±9]. More precisely, we will try to answerÐusing preliminary quantitative resultsÐif Object-oriented design can be, in principle, very a robot could also be a suitable didactic tool in order natural, since in real life we usually think in terms to help students to understand better OOP basic of objects, which have certain properties and beha- concepts. The lack of quantitative research on robot viors. However, it has been shown that when teach- uses in education has been criticized in the past ing the abstract OOP concepts students often have [6, 10]. difficulties, as they ®nd that it is difficult to match Nowadays, the use of robots [11] for educative these concepts to situations in real life [1]. purposes is widely extended: ``Robotics is a true Also, when writing programs, those students multidisciplinary ®eld that forces us to cross tradi- initiated in procedural programming tend to tional disciplinary boundaries to develop working adopt the traditional view of considering a program systems. In addition to the electromechanical sys- as a set of instructions and control structures [2]. tems that endow mobility, most autonomous robots However, understanding an object-oriented pro- also contain one or more computers and the soft- gram requires understanding what objects are and ware and hardware scaffolding necessary to support how messages are exchanged among them in order them'' [12]. to accomplish tasks [3]. ``Robotic technology offers an excellent platform In our previous work [4], we tried to give a providing a hands-on learning environment for response to student's difficulties relating to the reinforcing theoretical topics in Computer Science, understanding of OOP concepts using a set of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Mathe- tangible user interfaces (TUIs) which operate as a matics'' [13]. sensor wireless network [5], as a physical support The educational approach proposed in this work where such concepts are represented in a visible and aims to introduce the students to the ®elds of tangible way. robotics and robot programming [13] from an In this work, we intend to use a robotÐinstead of eminently practical point of view, and also to a TUIÐas a didactical resource, given its movement familiarize them with OOP [14, 15], thus leading to capacities and its possibilities as a didactic tool [6] a learning experience in an interdisciplinary context. and, specially, in the teaching of sciences and In fact, Robotics and OOP are ®elds closely related * Accepted 20 April 2016. 1823 1824 J. M. RodrõÂguez Corral et al. in the practice, since there are currently a number of Furthermore, the students' motivation in their object-oriented robot programming frameworks learning process is an important factor to be taken [16±19]. into account: ``Robotics has an inherent appeal on In this regard, there are teaching tools based in both emotional and intellectual level that makes it programming microworlds in order to help students attractive to a broad range of learners across multi- to understand better OOP concepts [20, 21]. Jeroo, ple dimensions, such as age, gender or academic Karel J. Robot and objectKarel software tools model interest'' [13]. microworlds of robots which students can operate sending messages to them. However, from our point of view, it is an incomplete experience, since stu- 3. Technological foundations dents do not work with real robots, but with a software which models them as objects. Mobile robots are autonomous or remotely oper- The use of Sphero robot [22] allows us to explain ated programmable mobile machines capable of basic OOP concepts as object, attribute and moving in speci®c environments. They use sensors method, and thus to stimulate signi®cant learning to perceive their environment and make decisions [23] on students. Sphero has mobile capabilitiesÐ based on the information obtained from them [27± like any other robotÐ, as well as internal lighting (a 29]. They range from the sophisticated space robots set of color RGB LEDs). It can also be used to play to the military ¯ying robots. augmented/mixed reality games [24, 25]). Ball-shaped robots [30] have speci®c advantages, To ®nd out if our approach produces successful such as robustness and stability, that make them results, we will start by developing a demonstration especially suitable for remote inspection tasks like program that illustrates some basic OOP concepts taking measures of physical magnitudes (e.g. tem- using the features of Sphero (i.e. sensing, lighting perature, humidity and luminosity) in different and movement). After this, we will develop two environments [31], and for security-related applica- introductory OOP courses using the C# language: tions [32]. They can also be used for educational One of them will include the mentioned software purposes [33]. demo, whereas the other will be a traditional C# Sphero is a ball-shaped robot designed by Sphero course. To ®nish, we will design two tests: a multi- (previously Orbotix) that can be controlled by a ple-choice exam for evaluating the acquisition of the computer or by means of a smartphone (it can be OOP concepts, and a programming exercise also used with iOS 4.0 or higher versions, and with based on multiple choices. Android devices starting from 2.2 operating Once the two student groupsÐexperimental and system version). Sphero 2.0Ðthe second generation controlÐthat participate in the experiment have of the robot [22]Ðis twice as fast, rolling at a speed completed the two exams, we will proceed to discuss of about two meters per second, and it is three times the results and to extract the conclusions. These will as brightly lit as the ®rst generation robotic ball. be shown in section 7. Sphero 2.0 is currently compatible with more than twenty-®ve applications and games, along with the standard Sphero app. The upgraded 2. Learning principles robot also comes with an inductive charger for In this section, we discuss two principles that, in our extremely easy charge-and-go capability (Fig. 1). opinion, underlie the learning process of the stu- Its on-board technology offers automatic stabiliza- dents of the experimental group: interdisciplinarity tion and precision control features, with a low slung and motivation. First, these students are taking part in an inte- grated learning activity consisting of a practical application of knowledge and skills from three disciplines: Robotics, Object-oriented Program- ming and Event-based Programming. Interdisciplinarity is an important learning prin- ciple: ``New thinking and innovation often occurs in the intersection between existing competencies and knowledge, and in the encounter between persons with different professional backgrounds. Firms are therefore seeking out knowledge workers who pos- sess the ability to think across disciplines and to work together with others on common goals and tasks'' [26]. Fig. 1. Sphero 2.0 into the charging cradle. Application of Robot Programming to the Teaching of Object-Oriented Computer Languages 1825 center of mass for increasing energy efficiency and Two 350 mAh lithium polymer (LiPo) recharge- drivability. able batteries. The robot has the following features (Fig. 2): Fully programmable routines and behaviors