Beyond wrestling: using sumobots to engage students in the computer science classroom
Elvra Rebecca Caldwell, Elva J. Jones · Journal of computing sciences in colleges · 2013
The United States Department of Labor predicts that between 2008 and 2018, 1.4 million computing jobs will become available in the United States [9]. It is imperative that colleges produce more students studying Computer Science if we are to fill those jobs. This concern has caused many universities to seek innovative teaching methods. The computer science discipline teaches students design, logical reasoning, and problem solving. Previous research shows that the creative aspects of Computer Science can help gain interest in the major, especially among women. Robotics is a growing research area in Computer Science Education. Educational robots were introduced in the computer curriculum at Winston-Salem State University based on the constructivist pedagogical approach. Robots are being used in the computer science classroom to both teach hardware and software concepts and to motivate students. Introducing the sumobots in the curriculum has taken away some of the fear of programming moans and groans of students entering the Introduction to Computer Software Systems Course at Winston-Salem State University. This paper discusses how the Computer Science Department at Winston-Salem State University uses robotics as a teaching tool to captivate and engage students in an introduction to computer software systems course.