Robotics as an Efficient Tool in Education

Abstract • Educators aim illustrative means to explain theoretical concepts & applications. • Importance of using Robotics • Curriculum covered • Practical lab tangible way to enable teachers to explain scientific content. • Our experience and continuous plan. • Importance of Robotics competitions in the frame of education enhancement & international integration.

Robotics as an Efficient Tool in Education • • • Introduction Covered curriculum Practical lab Achievement plan Conclusion

Introduction • Integration, competition Quality (offer better education &services) • Conveying content in concrete way Well-qualified personnel , Quality standards , Effective techniques & learning environments Role of Robotics as an effective tool in education • Methods of using robotics develop problem solving strategies, formalization of thought, socialization, acquisition of certain concepts through interactive and constructive activities Differ in fields of application, objectives, methodologies. • Development of motivating activities students build knowledge creatively with own view, using new ideas & technologies Robotics offers a bridge between abstraction and reality • Teacher role is a stimulator, teacher-student interaction ! classical model. Teachers need improving skills to deal with students & illustrative tools. • Establishing links & cooperation & Robotics competitions applications for distance collaborative work & remote control of physical devices.

Covered curriculum Advanced subjects Robotic systems and programmable machines Computer vision Natural languages processing Artificial intelligence Expert systems Neural networks Supportive subjects Physics Mathematics Mechanics Electronics Communication Embedded systems Microcontroller systems Parallel systems

Revealed Concepts Motion Planning • coordinate systems • motion • mechanism motion description planning • linear and angular velocities algorithms • mechanism singularities • forces and torques • mechanism static equilibrium • linear and nonlinear control • mass distribution • mechanism dynamics • location and position • measuring errors in mobile robots Perception Emulation & Realization • Vision • 3 D modeling • objects recognition • robotic navigation and obstacle avoidance • hardware systems • artificial intelligence algorithms • neural networks • supervised and unsupervised learning techniques • artificial immune system algorithms • building expert systems

Practical lab Development urged our department to prepare & train necessary cadres. That's why started equipping a special lab: Software Modeling and simulation software applications (Pyro, Labview, MS Robotics Studio, Matlab, Network simulators (wireshark, NS 2) to build different engineering models & apply different concepts & simulating their work, Programming libraries to link with C and Java dedicated to robots. Hardware Robotic manipulators (Puma, Kuka, Lynxmotion), Robotic creatures (Sony AIBO, Honda ASIMO, MIT Genghis), Robotic vehicles (Khepera, Pioneer, Roomba, Braitenberg, DARw. In, LEGO mindstorms RCX and NXT) Accessories Control boards, Sensors, Actuators, Cameras, Microphones. Equipments Oscilloscopes, Signal generators, Measurement devices, Power supply units, Computers, A computer network. Bibliotheca software and hardware brochures, scientific journals, books, experiments booklets.

Achievement plan • Learning models & skills & objectives evaluated to regulate learning process by certain criteria. Projects continually enhanced to use as educational tools • Learning more beneficial when projects defined & realized by students ideas & strategies. • Help for students to maintain motivation, interpret behaviors consequences & correct them using planned instructions. with students initiative, teachers provide reacting environment, & learning by creating & realizing real new works from individual or group ideas. Teachers must present stimuli, address questions, provide interesting models & resources, & give feedbacks about content. • Applied to traditional, virtual, hybrid learning in 2 ways: final year course (all what was acquired can be explained), from 1 st year & up, explaining every subject by itself to finally form whole picture. Exhibitions & competitions form good motivating means for students encouraging to learn, experiment, make own theories & projects

Achievement plan Activities Objectives Constraints Skill domains - Theory - Exercises - Experiments - Projects -Programming - Create robots - Experiment & build up scientific concepts -Specific course - Material lacking - Time limited Un-transferable between domains: - physics courses - programming language syntax Specific to selfacquisition: - planning - problem solving cooperation - self-evaluation - students characteristics - systematic practice with guidance - individuality with free exploration

Achievement plan Depending on: • Moments & Actors: Same student & context develop several learning strategies due to abilities with & without help. - receives information (transference & imitation), - explores available resources & build own project & knowledge (creation). Teacher should develop teaching multiplicity to adjust reactions to student’s learning multiplicity (switch from talking to providing resources & letting students talk). Three development zones concerning students, teachers, & learning environment, should intersect, Larger zone of intersection better education process. • Teachers approaches consider: - creation, experimentation, or transference. Depending on objectives & resources. - creation, leads to exploration & experimentation, referring to own projects. Teacher decide: student will have initiative to define & realize a project (build robots & program them), unification of ideas encountered & enrich with new concepts, or proposes help (transference) explaining some procedures. Student should formulate own hypotheses & build theories, benefit from concrete support (robots, graphics) allows to visualize his process. Creativity: building robots & writing programs. Original models depends on flexibility of materials and students imagination, the way to build & program & choosing robot movements not in project choice.

Some practical projects implemented in our department, awarded Al-Basel prize for creativity &innovation: Practical Projects 1. Design and implementation of a robotic vehicle for exploring irregular areas. (named Rubian). 2. Defining the location of mobile objects using wireless sensors networks. 3. Intelligent and remote control of objects via computer networks. 4. Design and implementation of a climbing robot (named Ankab). 5. Design and implementation of an ad hoc protocol for mobile multi-agent robots. Students built robots using microcontrollers, assembly language, sensors, motors, C language to make user level monitoring & control.

Indicators measuring Achievements student performance (successful tasks, better marks, participation in competitions & exhibitions, employment by companies) student satisfaction (good propaganda, increased number of students registering in postgraduate & undergraduate courses)

Robotics Club Make robotics available in Arabic through issuing books & journals (paper & electronic form). Holding technical projects to link university with industry & society to support national economy & offer job opportunities. Offer necessary knowledge & tools to members to develop their abilities to work in this field. Coordinate with scientific departments & civil organizations for developing & rising society. Organize international conferences in robotics and artificial intelligence.

Conclusion • Different approaches of using robotics in education, & their specific objectives, as well as certain models, should be kept in mind to evaluate learning activities developed in robotics educational environment. Such evaluation can concern products (programs, robots), process (teacher & students interactions), students knowledge, learning context. • Great responsibility lies on administration to adopt certain methods including change of work culture & successfully implement standards using statistics & probability to perform better, understand students needs & reduce defects throughout all educational processes by auditing the process using certain performance indicators, taking into consideration regional & international education integration. • Using robotics in education forms an efficient tool for conveying scientific concepts in realistic way & encourages creativity & forms good means for international integration through conferences & competitions.

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