2016/11/29 by J. Boender, E. Currie, M. Loomes +2
Computer Science · #cs.CY #cs.PL
paper · pdf · doi:10.4204/eptcs.230.2
published as EPTCS 230, 2016, pp. 17-29 · In Proceedings TFPIE 2015/6, arXiv:1611.08651
arxiv created 2016/11/29 · arxiv updated 2016/11/30
We present our approach to teaching functional programming to First Year Computer Science students at Middlesex University through projects in robotics. A holistic approach is taken to the curriculum, emphasising the connections between different subject areas. A key part of the students' learning is through practical projects that draw upon and integrate the taught material. To support these, we developed the Middlesex Robotic plaTfOrm (MIRTO), an open-source platform built using Raspberry Pi, Arduino, HUB-ee wheels and running Racket (a LISP dialect). In this paper we present the motivations for our choices and explain how a number of concepts of functional programming may be employed when programming robotic applications. We present some students' work with robotics projects: we consider the use of robotics projects to have been a success, both for their value in reinforcing students' understanding of programming concepts and for their value in motivating the students.