Have you ever stopped to analyze the use of modern technology in the current scenario? We are surrounded by events and technological devices at all times, technology is being the hallmark of our generation, and also our right hand. We were born already being inserted in this brand. From the moment we open our eyes, still in bed, we are being awakened by the sound of a device: the alarm clock. We get up, brush our teeth (often with electric brushes), make coffee in the coffee maker, send messages by cell phone... it is present in our personal and also professional communication. We sit behind computers to work or study.
In schools it isn't different, the use of these computers has already become an essential part of the vast majority of educational institutions. Children and teenagers, being stimulated from an early age, have a lot of interest in technological tools and for anyone who knows any child or adolescent in the current situation, we know that it is almost impossible to keep them away from a screen. So why not use all this fascination for something productive and educational? This is exactly the proposal of a tool called “educational robotics” (ER) that has been conquering its space.
ER basically consists of using a program where we have a robot created by the students themselves and its objective is to solve the challenges that will be proposed. So in this tool, students participate from the robot assembly movement to the programming part, with different degrees of complexity that can vary from student to student, age, and school grade - and of course, this whole tool comes with instructions and guidelines on how to do each step.
An important point in this development is that the teacher or instructor must always act as a partner advisor, and not just as the holder of the information to which students must turn at all times. That is, this dynamic needs to stimulate the student's engagement so that he alone also learns to analyze the problem, identify what is wrong or right, and fix it to progress.
Analyzing the literature, we see that ER has an impressive teaching potential and several authors point to this instrument as a teaching facilitator for students and teachers (Araujo and Azoni, 2020). In addition, in Neurosciences, the skills that involve actions directed to an objective transform this into a result. Learning through practice and not just knowing how to do it, but understanding and having the ability to explain why it works.
If you liked the idea and would like to know more, some paper suggestions:
Campos FR. Robótica Educacional no Brasil: questões em aberto, desafios e perspectivas futuras. Rev Ibero-Am Estud Educ. 2017; 12(4):2108-21.
Castilho MI. Robótica na Educação: com que objetivo? [dissertação]. Porto Alegre: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; 2012.
Nunes LG. Abordagem "Goal Management Training" no desenvolvimento das funções executivas em adolescentes com queixas de disfunções executivas [dissertação]. São Paulo: Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie; 2018.
REFERENCES
Araújo, G. L. L. D. (2019). Desempenho das funções executivas em adolescentes: estudo de intervenção com robótica educacional (Master's thesis, Brasil).
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