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Integrating Robot Design Competitions into the Curriculum and K-12 Outreach Activities

  • Conference paper
Progress in Robotics (FIRA 2009)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 44))

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Abstract

The Penn State Abington campus has integrated several mobile robot design competitions into project-based design activities to provide enhancement for undergraduate engineering and information sciences and technology courses and also to provide outreach to K-12 institutions. The robot competitions, which encourage interdisciplinary design, teamwork, and rapid prototyping, support a wide range of educational outcomes in a variety of courses. A survey of undergraduate students was also implemented to identify the key lessons learned and overall educational quality of the robot competition activities. Overall, the responses on the quality of the robot competition experience were very positive. The strategic selection and implementation of robot design competitions, such as described in this paper, provide a cost-effective approach to enhancing the curriculum, promoting retention, and encouraging interest in science and technology (STEM) careers in K-12 students.

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References

  1. Robo-Hoops Contest, http://cede.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/robo-hoops/

  2. Penn State Regional Firefighting Robot Contest, http://cede.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/firefighting/

  3. Trinity College Firefighting Robot Contest, http://www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/

  4. Pack, D.J., Avanzato, R.L., Ahlgren, D.J., Verner, I.M.: Fire-fighting Mobile Robotics and Interdisciplinary Design – Comparative Perspectives. IEEE Transactions on Education 47(3), 369–376 (2004)

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  5. Penn State Abington Mini Grand Challenge, http://www.cede.psu.edu/users/avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/index.htm

  6. Avanzato, R.L.: Autonomous Outdoor Mobile Robot Challenge. To appear in Computer in Education Journal (July- September 2009)

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  7. Avanzato, R.L.: Assessment and Outcomes of Robot Competitions at Penn State Abington. To appear in Computer in Education Journal (July- September 2009)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Penn State Abington, 1600 Woodland Road, Abington, PA 19001

    Robert Avanzato

Authors
  1. Robert Avanzato
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea

    Jong-Hwan Kim

  2. National University of Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Shuzhi Sam Ge

  3. National University of Singapore, Singapore

    Prahlad Vadakkepat , Abdullah Al Manum  & Ryohei Nakatsu ,  & 

  4. Technische Universität Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany

    Norbert Jesse

  5. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, P.O. Box, 117576, Singapore

    Sadasivan Puthusserypady K

  6. Heinz Nixdorf Institute, System and Circuit Technology, University of Paderborn, Fuerstenallee 11, 33102, Paderborn, Germany

    Ulrich Rückert

  7. School of Software Engineering and Data Communications, Queensland University of Technology, P.O. Box, Brisbane, Australia

    Joaquin Sitte

  8. Heinz Nixdorf Institute, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

    Ulf Witkowski

  9. The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

    Thomas Braunl

  10. Department of Computer Science, University of Manitoba, P.O. Box, R3T 2N2, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    Jacky Baltes  & John Anderson  & 

  11. Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Ching-Chang Wong

  12. Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Dept. of Education in Technology & Science, 32000, Haifa, Israel

    Igor Verner

  13. Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA

    David Ahlgren

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cite this paper

Avanzato, R. (2009). Integrating Robot Design Competitions into the Curriculum and K-12 Outreach Activities. In: Kim, JH., et al. Progress in Robotics. FIRA 2009. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 44. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03986-7_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03986-7_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-03985-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-03986-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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