Programming Ozobots for teaching astronomy

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2021

Autores

Balaton, M (Autor) Outra; Cavadas, J (Autor) Outra; Carvalho, PS (Autor) FCUP; Lima, JJG (Autor) FCUP

Revista

Título: Physics Education

Vol. 56

ISSN: 0031-9120

Editora: Institute of Physics Publishing

Indexação

Scopus - 7 Citações

Classificação Científica

FOS: Ciências sociais > Ciências da educação

CORDIS: Ciências Físicas > Astronomia

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-00T-Y02

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6552/abfb44

Abstract (EN): Experimental teaching is essential for a good understanding of science, especially on Physics. Practical activities play an important role for engaging students with science, mainly when they interact directly with equipment, collect experimental data with computers and/or use interactive software for data analysis. In this work, we present the use of low-cost mini-robots as an 'object-to-think-with' for teaching and learning with technology. The activity concerns programming the robots to make them run in circular paths, record videos of their trajectories and analyse them with Tracker Software, to boost the study of Astronomy contents. This kind of practical activity develops multiple skills in students and is usually very well accepted because it involves robots, programming, manipulating technology and for raising topics that are difficult to understand in real-life observations, making them cognitively accessible to the vast majority of students. In this practical activity, students are asked to create the robot programming code and make a video recording (with a smartphone) of the robots' trajectories, mediated by the teacher, who assists in the construction of the experimental activity and analysis of the data obtained. The results will allow students to understand Kepler's laws of planetary motion and why some planets seem to have an apparent retrograde motion as seen from the Earth, a problem that arose in IV BC and was only officially solved by the Copernicus heliocentric model, published in 1543, the year of his death. © 2021 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica