No room for robots?
Future of Robots in Education, 3/4/09
Zachary Dodds Harvey Mudd College
strategies for sneaking them in anyway…
This summer… IJCAI 2009in PasadenaJuly 13-16
all platforms
Exhibit: class, team, or individual projects
Challenge: exploration task ~ landmarks
and/or
Why?
all tasks
Institutionally invested in our current, required CS 1
CS1 CS2 ElectivesSoftware Engineering
Operating Systems
Data Structures
but I want to motivate students' computational thinking with robots.
Robotics!Students?
… student-run robotics club
Robotics?Students!
CS1 CS2 ElectivesSoftware Engineering
Operating Systems
Data Structures
Robotics!Students?
… student-run robotics club
Robotics!Students!
Institutionally invested in our current, required CS 1
but I want to motivate students' computational thinking with robots.
An opportunity…
In 2007 the CS department decided to actively invite first-year women into independent summer projects
- build our (low!) number of women majors
- chance to really "get into" CS
pre-major
- without demanding too much background…
Motivating, accessible task?
-- when you're not as courageous as Andy!
An opportunity…
credit to Jeff Forbes and Chad Jenkinsand now Monica Anderson
In 2007 the CS department decided to actively invite first-year women into independent summer projects
- build our (low!) number of women majors
- chance to really "get into" CS
pre-major
- without demanding too much background…
Create!
Independence
Ownership
Guidance
Directed
the idea
help to turn to
"Insomnia"
the specified base
"creative mess"
students!
Create!
Independence
Ownership
Guidance start from
scratch
help w/ directi
on
7 summer weeks is MUCH more than a semester…
test
Directed
Share…
Independence
Ownership
Guidance presenting one's system
on their own
presented at CS colloquium 10/19/09madness vs. method?
Directed
Results?
Share…run
Results?
Share…run
1/3 ~ not as good as we'd hoped…
CS
EngPhysics
Results?
Share…run
3/5 sounds a whole lot better!
EngPhysicsCSCS
CS
Momentum?
Summer 2008
CS 1
The mess theory in action
4 of 10 app.
3 of 4 cs
Simulator ~ final projectTry it out on the Create…
"teaser"
Robotics: Hardware and SoftwareGreed
Lab-seminar advised by Engineering & CS
but taught entirely by students
16 of 45 app.
? of 16 cs
Fall 2008run
run
3 of 8 women, 1 of 8 men CS2
PerspectiveEarly summer projects
CS 1 teasers
First-term seminar
student-led or
summertime
Keys
motivationpowerful, accessible
platform
accessible task
commodity PCs
sustainable
vs. credit
Robots can always fit
in !
external task!
to get them through the door…
to making it positive
Platforms ~ future?Hardware and software that scales up pedagogically
Myro, running FastSLAMmaps
vision
Peaches' pen and landmarks
run
Beyond Blobs…
Image profiles ~ impressive compass
run
Image profiles ~ impressive compass
run
Platforms ~ future?
And scales back down again, as needed!
AAAI 2008
Elaine and campers @ the exhibition
Hence… IJCAI 2009
A pedagogically scalable venue !
in PasadenaJuly 13-16
any platformany landmarksand/or task
Have your students join in…
the labs are online
Robotics: Hardware and SoftwareGreed16 of 45 app.
? of 16 cs
Fall 2008
One Laptop Per Child
Netbooks (Chad Jenkins)
Tekkotsu (David T. et al.)
Platforms: future?
Fall 2008
Results…
picturepictures
Thoughts
Summer projects
ownership & support: create – tests - shareCS 1 teasers
First-term seminar
motivating tasks & venues
shared across departmentsstudent-ledcurricularized
Keys
motivationpower & accessibility
accessible task (and venue)
commodity PCs
Platforms: future?Outdoor vehicle: Jeep
Thoughts
Summer projectsownership & support: create – tests - share
CS 1 teasers
first-term seminar
motivating tasks & venues
shared across departmentsstudent-ledcurricularized Keys
motivationpowerful platforms
accessible platforms
accessible task and venuecommodity PCs
Robotics at CS's margins:
outward in and vice versa.
Future of Robots in Education, 3/4/09
Zachary DoddsHarvey Mudd College
images
Robotics: drawing power from the margins
Future of Robots in Education, 3/4/09
Zachary DoddsHarvey Mudd College
Extremal
Extreme
Robots motivate
funphysicalneed nurturingcapture an essence of being human that other computational interactions lack
messy vs. clean
An undergraduate CS view of the curricular world
CS1 CS2 Subfields
Software Engineering
Operating Systems
Operating SystemsCS0
What to do with that motivation?
This the answer to the symposium's question - and it's our choice.
(1) exposurestory - not good intra-departmental problems…
(2) recruitment
(3) depth
students recruit themselves! <-- our findings
(4) integrationfocused investigations
focused investigations
An undergraduate CS view of the curricular world
CS1 CS2 Subfields
out-of-band
Operating Systems
Operating SystemsCS0
What to do with that motivation?
This the answer to the symposium's question - and it's our choice.
(1) exposurestory - not good intra-departmental problems…
(2) recruitment
(3) depth
students recruit themselves! <-- our findings
(4) integrationfocused investigations
focused investigations
images
First-year Advising
Future of Robots in Education, 3/4/09
Zachary DoddsHarvey Mudd College
Extremal
Extreme
Robots motivate
funphysicalneed nurturingcapture an essence of being human that other computational interactions lack
First-year advising
First-year Advising
Challenge: create extremely accessible resources
Rachel, Vedika, and Jessica
Middle/high school events
Depth: Elaine
Myro materials OLPC ~ PC + motorsAnswer: vision
The undergraduate CS view of the curricular world
Future of Robots in Education, 3/4/09
Zachary DoddsHarvey Mudd College
Computation
The undergraduate CS view of the curricular world
Future of Robots in Education, 3/4/09
Zachary DoddsHarvey Mudd College
Computation
The undergraduate CS view of the curricular world
SIGCSE '09
CS 1 strategy 1
CS 1 strategy 2
CS 1 strategy 3
CS 1 in
anonymization in blue
Audrey Lawrence
It is more important for a student of X to have computational-savvy
than it is for a student of CS to have X-savvy.
SIGCSE '09
CS 1 strategy 1
CS 1 strategy 2
CS 1 strategy 3
CS 1 in
anonymization in blue
Looking ahead, it is more important for a student
of X to be computationally-savvy
X
At its best, computation amplifies.
than it is for a student of CS to be
X-savvy.
Opportunity in orthogonality!
Warning: do not say this to anyone in field X !
Our audience is not our students!
At its best, computation amplifies.
Personal
Relevant
Accessible
Sharableaxis
CS departments might consider following the computation…
axis
Prescribed
Shortcuttable
Passion Beauty
Joy Awe
What is learned is the square root of what is taught!
balancing actBloom's 2-sigma rule
All educatonal experiments are doomed to succeed…
Education ~ economics, not science.
real
Top Related