Deepak KumarComputer ScienceC p SBryn Mawr College

Founded in 1885Founded in 1885

1300 Undergraduate d 300women and 300

Graduate students

695 miles from here

N C tNew Computer Science program (since 2001)( )

October 30, 2008 2IPRE/Deepak Kumar

Interest in CS has sharply declinedInterest in CS has sharply declined

Gender gap has growng p g

The context of computing has changed

Focus on CS1 as an entry ramp into CS

The IPRE initiative

October 30, 2008 3IPRE/Deepak Kumar

MissionMissionExplore making CS education more fun and effective through the context of a personal robot

TargetAll levels, from middle school to graduate school

Hosted ByGeorgia Tech with Bryn Mawr College and Microsoft Research

Funded By3 year seed funding provided by Microsoft Research (MSR) , GeorgiaTech, and Bryn Mawr CollegeGeorgiaTech, and Bryn Mawr College

October 30, 2008 4IPRE/Deepak Kumar

…

Introductory computing courses serve as a gateway into the CSserve as a gateway into the CS curriculum.

Should provide interesting and diverse range of examples and g pexercises.

October 30, 2008 5IPRE/Deepak Kumar

…

Alignment of course content to student interests to increase engagement can have a positive impact on students choosing to enter computing as a major inchoosing to enter computing as a major in college.Bair, B. and Marcus, M. 2007. Women’s Interest in IT: The Fun Factor. In Reconfiguring the Firewall: Recruiting Women to Information Technology across Cultures and Continents, Burger et al (editors), AK Peters.(2007).

Most tasks should be attainable and provide a basis for supportive andprovide a basis for supportive and positive feedback to students.Akbulut, A. Y. and Looney, C.A. 2007. Inspiring Students to Pursue Computing Degrees. Communications of theACM (CACM) Volume 50 Number 10 October 2007

October 30, 2008 6IPRE/Deepak Kumar

ACM (CACM). Volume 50, Number 10. October 2007.

Use a personal robot

Let the needs of the curriculum drive the d i f th b t ft d t tdesign of the robot, software, and text

Use tools that are easy to use scale withUse tools that are easy to use, scale with experience

Create an accessible, engaging environment for new, diverse population of students, p p

October 30, 2008 7IPRE/Deepak Kumar

Computer Science ≠ programming

Make computing a social activity

M k ti diMake computing a mediumfor creativity

Performances vs. competitions

October 30, 2008 8IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 9IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 10IPRE/Deepak Kumar

Run pilot courses with available robotsRun pilot courses with available robots

Poll students about desired features

Experiment with software APIp

Develop CS1 materials based on the above

Goal is to teach computing, not robotics

October 30, 2008 11IPRE/Deepak Kumar

The robot6 Light sensors7 IR sensorsStall sensor2-Tone speaker5 LEDs2 Motors2 MotorsBluetooth wirelessCameraGamepadGamepadMyro Python APIVision & Image Processingg

October 30, 2008 12IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 13IPRE/Deepak Kumar

No prior experience necessary!p p y

Field tested with CS instructorsField tested with CS instructors

Training WorkshopsTraining Workshops

Extensive Instructor’s materialsExtensive Instructor s materials

Support availableSupport available

October 30, 2008 IPRE/Deepak Kumar 14

October 30, 2008 15IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 IPRE/Deepak Kumar 16

Imagine a corral (anImagine a corral (an enclosed area with maze like partitions and pan entrance) with a light source at the entrance (as shown in the figure(as shown in the figure to the right). Given the robot's position, can we design a behavior that will enable the robot to exit the corral?exit the corral?

October 30, 2008 17IPRE/Deepak Kumar

Chapter 1 The World Of RobotsChapter 1 The World Of Robots Chapter 2 Personal Robots Chapter 3 Building Brains Chapter 4 Sensing From WithinChapter 4 Sensing From Within Chapter 5 Sensing The World Chapter 6 Insect-Like Behaviors Chapter 7 Control ParadigmsChapter 7 Control Paradigms Chapter 8 Sights & Sounds Chapter 9 Image Processing & Perception Chapter 10 Artificial IntelligenceChapter 10 Artificial Intelligence Chapter 11 Computing & Computation Chapter 12 Fast, Cheap & Out of Control

18IPRE/Deepak KumarOctober 30, 2008

pic = takePicture()show(pic) # top picture

for pixel in getPixels(pic):r, g, b = getRGB(pixel)if r > 250 and b < 100 and g > 130:

setColor(pixel white)setColor(pixel, white)else:

setColor(pixel, black)

show(pic) # bottom picture

October 30, 2008 19IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 20IPRE/Deepak Kumar

Fundamentals of computingProgram development processg p pBasic roboticsMedia computationMedia computationSocial implications of computing & robotics.Principles of computationPrinciples of computation

October 30, 2008 IPRE/Deepak Kumar 21

Learned CS concepts through robots

Robots made learning experience more hands-on, tangible, and exciting

Most frustrating parts were dealing with robot hardware inconsistencies

Viewed CS as a type of logic and problem solving; requiring patience & thought

Discovered that CS and robots are applicable to the real world

October 30, 2008 22IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 IPRE/Deepak Kumar 23

Ability to drawAbility to drawAbility to take picturesAbility to listenAbility to listenAbility to make music/tonesAbility to play sounds and talkAbility to expressAbility for robot interactionAbility to have a web presencey p

October 30, 2008 24IPRE/Deepak Kumar

2 motorsAbility to drawAbility to drawWheel encodersPen PortIR range SensorsLight/Photo sensorsColor Camera16x16 LED matrixSound (speech/music)Sound (speech/music)Programmable LED’sMicrophoneRechargeable batteriesBluetooth WirelessBattery-level sensingStall sensing

October 30, 2008 25IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 IPRE/Deepak Kumar 26

For more information, visit:

www.roboteducation.org

Credits:

Ben Axelrod, Tucker Balch, Doug Blank, Natasha Eilbert , Ashley Gavin, Gaurav Gupta, Mansi Gupta, Mark Guzdial, Jared Jackson, Deepak Kumar, Marwa Nur Muhammad, Keith O’Hara, Shikha Prashad, Richard Roberts, Jay Summet, Monica Sweat, Stewart Tansley, D i l lkDaniel walker

October 30, 2008 27IPRE/Deepak Kumar

October 30, 2008 IPRE/Deepak Kumar 28