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Mobile Robots as a Tool to Teach First Year Engineering Electronics

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Book cover ROBOT 2017: Third Iberian Robotics Conference (ROBOT 2017)

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 694))

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Abstract

Engineering degrees require a strong background in Physical Sciences and Mathematics, demanding a high level of conceptualization and abstract reasoning that many students do not possess at the entry level of their high education studies. This can cause students demotivation and dropout, a situation that Higher Education institutions have felt the need to cope with. One methodology to address this problem is to introduce the use of robots in the classes. This tool has unique characteristics that may potentially contribute to increase students’ motivation and engagement, which are key factors on their academic success. This paper presents the rationale, challenges and methodology used to introduce robots as a tool to teach introductory electronics to first year students in a Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Masters degree. The paper also reports evaluation indicators that result from two different surveys, one generic, carried out in the scope of the Quality Assurance System of the University, and another one developed specifically to evaluate the course. The results confirm that there is a clear and overall positive impact. Particularly significant are the gains on the students motivation and subject comprehension, without a noticeable impact on the course difficulty and required effort. It is also specially relevant that students are strongly in favour of keeping robot’s usage due to its impact on both knowledge and motivation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The questionnaire is still open at the moment of writing this text.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge the work of Prof. José Luís Azevedo, the main developer of DETI robot for his work in the development of tools to promote robotics at student level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IT, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Pedro Fonseca & Paulo Pedreiras

  2. IEETA, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Filipe Silva

Authors
  1. Pedro Fonseca
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  2. Paulo Pedreiras
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  3. Filipe Silva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pedro Fonseca .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

    Anibal Ollero

  2. Institut de Robòtica I Informàtica Industrial (CSIC-UPC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Alberto Sanfeliu

  3. Departamento de Informática e Ingeniería de Sistemas, Escuela de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain

    Luis Montano

  4. Institute of Electronics and Telematics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA), Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Nuno Lau

  5. IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carlos Cardeira

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Fonseca, P., Pedreiras, P., Silva, F. (2018). Mobile Robots as a Tool to Teach First Year Engineering Electronics. In: Ollero, A., Sanfeliu, A., Montano, L., Lau, N., Cardeira, C. (eds) ROBOT 2017: Third Iberian Robotics Conference. ROBOT 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 694. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70836-2_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70836-2_32

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70835-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70836-2

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