Application of Educational Robotics on an Automated Water Management System

Abstract

Early School Leaving (ESL) has a negative impact in the European educational systems. Despite the fact that ESL is a result of a long process of school failures, it seems that part of it has to do with specific educational practices. Furthermore, the latest studies show that the adoption of the educational Robotics (ER) could help regain the student's interest in school. In this article, the authors present a teaching approach using Educational Robotics. Within the RoboESL Erasmus project, that aims to encourage the weaker students to maintain a positive attitude towards school and at the same time promote creative thinking, teamwork and problem solving. The activity examines the optimization problem of the irrigation process by designing and implementing a fully automated system based on the Arduino Uno platform. Students are motivated to take responsibility for their own learning and understand how knowledge itself is constructed, while trying to find solutions to technical issues related to the irrigation problem. They are encouraged to try different approaches to learning and to take responsibility for their own educational progress.