'Laboratory of Educational Robotics' - An undergraduate course for Primary Education Teacher - Students (*) .
Simos Anagnostakis, Panayotis G. Michaelides · 2006
In the Information Technology dependant current societies, the Science and Technology Literacy (STL) is crucial. It is necessary to the prosperity and the further development of the society but, also, it is a prerequisite for the existence of the democratic society of citizens (a democratic right according to UNESCO). Because of the rapid developments in the field, the vast majority of people are not literate in modern Science and Technology (especially in Information Technology). Consequently, the social interaction of the citizens cannot contribute significantly to STL. Only through a systematic education, an adequate STL may be effected. In this aspect, the compulsory education, whose focus is on the preparation of the future citizens, acquires special importance. An effective STL through education presupposes appropriately trained teachers. In this work, we present the design of an undergraduate course to the Department for Primary Education teachers at The University of Crete. The course is titled 'Laboratory of Educational Robotics'. Its syllabus includes the assembly and (simple) programming of different modules towards the construction of a robot performing specified (simple) tasks. The course objectives include the familiarization with the notion of robots and the development of cognitive skills.