Sarah Thomaz

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Sarah Thomaz is a pioneer in educational robotics, dedicated to making programming and robotics accessible to young learners. Her research focuses on developing intuitive, pedagogical tools that bridge the gap between complex technology and elementary education. Her seminal work, "RoboEduc: A pedagogical tool to support educational robotics" (2009, 41 citations), introduced a foundational environment for integrating robotics into classrooms, reflecting on how such technology can transform traditional learning methods. This paper remains a key reference for educators and researchers seeking to adopt new, hands-on educational approaches. Thomaz further advanced the field by creating a multi-level programming software, detailed in her 2010 work, and a web-based, configurable development environment (2013) that allows users to program various robotic platforms using either registered languages or her own R-Educ language. By lowering the barriers to entry, she has empowered students to explore programming and robotics from an early age. Her contributions have laid critical groundwork for the widespread adoption of educational robotics, inspiring a generation of young innovators.