AUTHOR=Funk Matthias G. , Cascalho Jose Manuel , Santos Ana Isabel , Mendes Armando B. 

TITLE=Educational Robotics and Tangible Devices for Promoting Computational Thinking

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Robotics and AI

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/robotics-and-ai/articles/10.3389/frobt.2021.713416

DOI=10.3389/frobt.2021.713416

ISSN=2296-9144

ABSTRACT=<p>Recently, efforts have been made to add programming activities to the curriculum that promote computational thinking and foster 21st-century digital skills. One of the programming modalities is the use of Tangible Programming Languages (TPL), used in activities with 4+ year old children. In this review, we analyze solutions proposed for TPL in different contexts crossing them with non-TPL solutions, like Graphical Programming Languages (GPL). We start to characterize features of language interaction, their use, and what learning activities are associated with them. Then, in a diagram, we show a relation between the complexity of the languages with factors such as target age and output device types. We provide an analysis considering the type of input (<italic>e.g.</italic>, TPL <italic>versus</italic> GPL) and output devices (<italic>e.g.</italic>, physical robot <italic>versus</italic> graphical simulation) and evaluate their contribution to further insights about the general trends with respect to educational robotic systems. Finally, we discuss the opportunities to extend and improve TPLs based on the different solutions identified.</p>