Robotics, games and books fostering opportunities for computational thinking and digital literacy

Robotics, games and books fostering opportunities for computational thinking and digital literacy

📅 Tuesday 19/05 16:00-17:30h

📍 Workshop Space B

🔎 Needs Analysis

Computational thinking (CT) can facilitate various areas of development. Well-known examples are plugged-in and unplugged applications such as programmable robots or (digital) SmartGames, which mainly focus on the (combined) use of visual, textual or tactile modalities and contribute to programming skills and digital literacy. Less obvious are applications in which CT development can contribute to the development of reading skills and motivation for language. From this different contextual embedding, it is interesting to discover whether combining illustrative (picture) books with educational robotics, serious games and unplugged board games can contribute to the development of CT and what added value can be attributed to digital literacy in this regard. The workshop combines book stories with attractive robots and games that will have measurable effects on the development of CT, particularly in terms of motivating, engaging, involving and stimulating curiosity about language.

📒 Session Description

The workshop includes an introduction, self-design and evaluation part. First, the background and initial findings of already conducted research into application of combinations of (picture)books, robotics, smartgames and board games will be explained. Participants will then have the opportunity to try out a storyline approach for themselves through guided exercises and discover the added value of combining (picture)books, robots and serious games/boardgames regarding facilitation motivation for language and reading skills. Participants then design their own storyline approach based on the combination of (picture) books, robotics, serious games and board games, with a focus on creating an attractive context. This involves designing their own robotics skins. Finally, participants take turns playing the game variants they have designed themselves based on their storyline approach, whereby the use of (picture)books, robots, serious games and board games is appealing and results-oriented.

💡 Learning Objectives

In this workshop, we introduce participants to less obvious combinations of unplugged and plugged technology-supported applications that can have a distinctive influence on the (further) development of CT and digital literacy. The aim is for participants to discover and recognise that stimulating and facilitating reading skills and motivation for language by combining books, serious games and board games can have promising effects on the development of CT and digital literacy, which will have an impact on language skills, reading skills and motivation for reading. At the end of the workshop, all participants gained insight into the possibilities of working according to a book story/storyline approach facilitated by unplugged and plugged technology-supporting materials, and have reflected on the many opportunities and possibilities that exist for less obvious applications for CT development and digital literacy, and to refine research into language skills and motivation for language.