Using Robots to Help Students Learn Programming

Sylvia Clark Pulliam

Western Kentucky University

MSCCC

April 3, 2004

Boe-Bots

• Board of Education Robots

• Introduced to me through NatureShift!

• Parallax Educational Materials

• Robotics! -- Student book

• Basic Stamp Manual -- Reference Manual

• Uses PBasic, similar to Qbasic

• Requires some assembly (quite a bit!)

Classroom Environment

• CS 230 Introduction to Programming

• First programming course (before CS 1)

• Uses QBasic

• Most Computer Science students start here

• Half are in other majors

• Traditional classroom setting

• One computer with data show capability

Sample Program:‘ Robotics! V1.5, Full Speed Ahead – both servos‘ {$Stamp bs2}low 12low 13

for i = 1 to 500 pulsout 12, 500 pulsout 13, 1000nextend

Demonstration of Robot

Benefits of Using Robot

• Students are interested

• Subroutines are a natural

• Requires calculations and thinking

• Output other than to paper or screen

• Involves relative addressing logic

• Many good examples, easy to understand

• Encourages creative thinking

Negatives

• Must go to lab for students to work

• Easy to lose small pieces

• Examples use Go To and obscure code

• Students can’t keep robots with them

• Logistics can be complicated

• Requires time to learn new syntax

• Cost -- nearly $200 each

Conclusions

• This is first semester, preliminary observations

• Student enthusiasm makes up for time needed to learn new techniques

• Need to come up with better logistical plan• I will use the robots again• I should try for a grant to pay for robots for

other classes and money to maintain them