Educational Robotics in Teaching Programming in Primary School

Abstract

Learning at Slovak primary schools in the last school years takes place in a combined form due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the distance form of teaching, it was possible to reduce the teaching hours and omit some parts of the study plan. Parts of the subjects often omitted were tied to practical lessons in special facilities, possibly to the use of specific equipment or tools, such as laboratory exercises and experiments, building and construction of robots, programming and physical education. Teachers opted the path of least resistance and often preferred to skip such topics. According to the state educational program in elementary school, it is necessary to develop algorithmic and programming thinking. For this purpose, thematic units focused on algorithmic problem solving and programming are used. The article brings the experience of the authors from the programming of robots in elementary school, which can be equally successfully implemented face-to-face as well as remotely using real or virtual robots. To revive learning and increase its effectiveness, the authors used modern teaching aid and digital educational technologies, which have also proven themselves in the distance form of education. We used virtual and augmented reality, worked in remote laboratories and used implementation of laboratory experiments using visualized simulation models and environments and emulation techniques. The authors report on their experience of teaching programming in primary schools using programmable toys, robots and microcontrollers. Simple tools (buttons marked with symbols) and an interactive environment that offers block or icon programming are used to program the movement and control the activities of such objects—robot toys and own constructed robots. Compiling a functional program does not require high analytical and abstract thinking. The program can be easily and interactively assembled from the offered building elements. This method makes programming more fun for elementary school students and ensures their rapid progress and the joy of success.