LET’S DELVE INTO ROBOTICS EDUCATION…

In recent years there has been a great development and focus of the world's attention on robotic technology. Scientists design different types of robots to meet different needs in a variety of fields. Advanced robots have enhanced senses and skills, giving their owners a wide range of possibilities in many areas, thus creating the possibility of changing the nature of various professions.

Robotics has been introduced in recent years in primary and secondary education mainly due to the appearance of special construction packages, at low affordable prices and with relatively easy handling. The term educational robotics is used to describe the use of robotics as a means of learning in the classroom. Educational robotics is a tool to promote Stem learning and at the same time helps to cultivate a variety of critical academic skills and knowledge in a variety of fields as well as in combination between different fields. The main difference with traditional learning methods is that students are actively involved in hands-on learning environments. The students themselves are involved in the design, planning, construction and problem solving as they explore and solve real-world problems that interest them. Through robotics, abstract concepts become visible and children themselves acquire in depth the knowledge and skills of the 21st century necessary for future citizens.

Robots naturally arouse children's interest and curiosity, thus making educational robotics a pole of attraction. Children explore their ideas and questions, guess and experiment with a variety of ways of exploring, discovering and constructing learning themselves through the instant feedback they receive, inspire and make changes. An important part of robotics training is the robotic device itself, both as a computer object, which can execute commands written in different programming languages, as well as in terms of its handling. Robotic education is associated with playful learning, as children often view the robotic device as a toy.This is how the anthropomorphic game and the analog game appear. Through play, children engage with an interest in exploratory activities, examine robotics in the light of their prior knowledge, and develop a deeper conceptual understanding of the operation of robots through the design and solution of authentic problems. The design and programming part are the basic mechanisms of robotics activities for problem solving. In general, educational robotics promotes the development of three creative activities of problem solving, design, problem solving, ingenuity and idea generation. Teaching activities in educational robotics include imitation, capturing information through research and questions, internships, experimentation, exploration and creation.

An age that is suitable for teaching engineering concepts is early childhood. This age is characterized by the need of children to explore the world, with practical experiences and to construct knowledge themselves. So children are naturally curious and want to explore, thus giving fertile ground for the development of engineering activities. With the right guidelines and the use of technology, children can benefit from a playful way of learning. Robotic learning promotes the development of creativity in children through open-ended challenges. Through robotics, children learn to collaborate, make decisions, cultivate their critical thinking and communication skills, develop and evolve both as a team and as separate entities within their groups. At the same time, people with low self-esteem benefit from the team, so everyone cultivates and develops their creativity and imagination. Each student has the opportunity to contribute where he / she deems appropriate according to his / her interests and abilities, as robotics activities are addressed to everyone whether they have some experience in the field or not. The goal of robotics activities is to create an open order to all, where everyone will play an active role, collaborate, learn from each other and research by constructing knowledge without the fear of evaluation.

Finally, we must emphasize that the role of the teacher is mainly helpful, encouraging them to discover knowledge on their own. Creates an environment of care and support for children acts therefore guided by the interests of its students and takes into account their knowledge and experiences to provide guidance. For the adoption of robotics by teachers, it seems that the learning outcomes that they want to achieve each time and of course children to plan interdisciplinary activities for the integration of robotics in the curriculum.