Background: In the digital age, fostering young children's computational thinking (CT) and executive functions (EFs) through programming has emerged as a significant research issue. While unplugged programming activities are commonly adopted in preschools, robot programming activities have recently gained attention for the potential to enhance…

Computational thinking in the educational environment has awaken a rising interest, having been included as part of the curricula from the very beginnings of education. Programmable robots have become a valuable positive resource in order to succeed in the development of computational thinking, demanding proper training from kindergarten teachers…

This study aimed to introduce unplugged algorithm activities developed for preschool children and to examine their implementation process. The activities used in the study were designed to support preschool children to develop and apply different solutions to problem situations that require algorithmic thinking and to learn basic algorithm…

The aim of this study was to explore how the Coding as Another Language (CAL) curriculum, developed by Boston College's DevTech Research Group and utilizing the ScratchJr app, impacted students' computational thinking, coding skills, and reading comprehension. To accomplish this, the research team randomly assigned thirteen schools in a…

This study aimed to explain the development stages of an online coding application engine (SIGUN) according to the R2D2 instructional design model to support and develop cultural transfer in social sciences education and popularize the national culture. During the definition phase of R2D2, analyzes of needs, learner, task and content were made. In…

This paper details a digital technology solution to a problem that arose during a science lesson in an early years class. The teacher used the opportunity to enable the children to apply their knowledge and skills of a software application developed in a recent ICT class. Using the age-appropriate app, the students could communicate their learning…

The introduction of STEM education, and specifically the implementation of educational robotics (ER), has drawn researchers' attention and has shown that teachers play a crucial role in leading this innovation. The present study concerns in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers, focusing on their perceptions and attitudes about ER use…

In recent years there has been an increasing focus on the missing "T" of technology and "E" of engineering in early childhood STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) curricula. Robotics offers a playful and tangible way for children to engage with both T and E concepts during their foundational early childhood…

Life-long learning, including development of professional competence, is an essential paradigm of the 21st century. The goal of this research is to analyse the quality and efficiency of the educators' professional competence enhancement programme dubbed "Fundamentals of Programming in Visual Programming Environment Scratch" in accordance…

This article reports on the results of a teacher training course in which 41 teachers, working together with three university researchers, experienced a different way to engage in meaningful teaching and learning activities in design, coding and robotics. The course was run in an Italian school during the lock-down period of the COVID-19…

Schools around the globe increasingly realized the importance of technology and its application in the education system. To guarantee a successful educational innovation, schools seek out different parties for valuable opinions. Among them, parents are the important feedback providers, because their attitudes are influential on children's academic…

This study aims to establish a robust measurement to obtain a comprehensive understanding of perceptions of programming education (POPE) of teacher and principal groups. In this study, the POPE scale contains three dimensions: (a) understanding in programming (UP), (b) support for programming (SP), and (c) expectation of programming (EP).…

This study examining the robotic codings and robotic tournaments from the perspectives of Information Technology (IT) teachers was carried out using the qualitative case study method. In the study, a total of 20 teachers from private schools and state schools were asked for their views. The research data collected from the IT teachers helped…

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the…