Second annual robotics summer camp for underrepresented students

Abstract

The University of Minnesota Center for Distributed Robotics and the Digital Technology Center hosted the second annual Technology Day Camp, a week long camp targeting underrepresented students such as girls, African Americans, and Hispanics from the Twin Cities metro area. Students were surveyed prior to the camp revealing a strong proclivity towards math and science, but a resistance to the perceived lifestyle of computer scientists. With an emphasis on the college experience, building hardware, creating software, and interacting with robots, the camp implemented proposed changes from the previous year as well as new activities with a special emphasis on robotics. The successes and failures are discussed in an effort to provide insight for organizations hosting similar programs, new research questions are presented, and a materials list is provided.

JBrick

“…In the US, as the numbers of students pursuing computer science and related degrees has declined in recent years, efforts have been undertaken to increase interest and participation in computing degrees [1,2,6]. Like other underrepresented groups, students who are visually impaired do not participate in computing careers to their full potential.…”

“…As robotics has become popular as a means for engaging precollege students in computing and engineering [1,6], the need for accessibility persists. Robotics, such as Lego Mindstorms, are as appealing to students who are visually impaired as they are to sighted students [4,5].…”

Gender issues in computer science education in Greece

“…In a study conducted in a summer camp for girls in US, when girls were asked about what a computer scientist can do in his/her free time, 72% believed that he/she would be at a computer; working or playing games. When asked about the appearance of a computer scientist, they tend to describe or draw a person with glasses and lab coat (Cannon, Panciera, & Papanikolopoulos, 2007).…”