Ilenia Fronza

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About

Ilenia Fronza is a computer science education researcher whose work sits at the intersection of computational thinking, educational technology, and emerging AI systems. She has made significant contributions to understanding how block-based programming environments and physical hardware prototyping can cultivate practical software development competencies across diverse educational levels, with her 2019 paper on this topic accumulating 23 citations and standing as her most influential work. Fronza has also pioneered the use of robotics as a pedagogical vehicle for computational thinking, demonstrating how robot programming can engage and motivate students — including those in liberal arts contexts who might otherwise be deterred by traditional programming instruction. Her 2019 development of RoboCards reflects a sensitivity to real-world teaching challenges, offering facilitators flexible tools for managing diverse learners in coding camp environments. More recently, Fronza has expanded her research horizon toward cutting-edge topics, examining the business and ethical dimensions of conversational generative AI within cooperative multi-robot systems. Across her body of work, she consistently bridges theory and practice, making her research particularly valuable to educators, curriculum designers, and scholars interested in the responsible integration of technology in both classroom and societal contexts.