Information technology is an area rich in job opportunities and innovation and therefore attracts many students. Nevertheless, the Educational Institutions (EI) that are home to courses in this area also has problems with the retention of students, a fact that has impact on the financial health of them. This paper describes how the experience with freshmen can help mitigate this problem. The results reported here are useful for stimulating similar actions in other EI. In this case, Educational Robotics and Unppluged Computing actually functioned as a language of welcome and stimulation in the field, not, as one might suppose, a childish language.