Educational robotics and videogames in the classroom

Abstract

Nowadays, using ICTs in the classroom is not unusual. In Argentina, the “Conectar-Igualdad” and “Primaria digital” programs are allowing us to shorten the first digital divide — access to digital technologies. However, ICTs are used as a “passive instrument”, as children and teenagers use some applications and services with very little criticism towards them. This faces us with a second digital divide around the use of ICTs. This paper presents four initiatives developed at the LINTI (Laboratory of Research in New Information Technologies) of the Computer Science School of the National University of La Plata, in the research line “Education, Videogames and Free Software” whose goal is to take innovative proposals to the classroom promoting a critical appropriation of ICTs and a significative, active learning. In this sense the use and encouragement of free software and open source code has a fundamental role, allowing users to adapt the code to specific needs. These initiatives are oriented towards teaching programming in high school, teaching our history through a videogames and acquiring values in the public space in the primary school through a game.