TY - GEN
T1 - RoboBlockly Studio
T2 - ACM conference on Designing Interactive Systems, DIS 2026
AU - Li, Leyi
AU - Du, Chenyu
AU - Sun, Jiafei
AU - Purwanto, Erick
AU - Zhang, Qing
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).
PY - 2026/6/12
Y1 - 2026/6/12
N2 - Computational thinking (CT) is increasingly promoted as a core literacy, yet learners and teachers face challenges in connecting abstract program logic to meaningful outcomes. We design and evaluate RoboBlockly Studio, an integrated interactive system that combines block-based programming, a conversational AI teaching agent, and embodied robot execution. RoboBlockly Studio creates a tight iterative loop of authoring, running, observing, and revising. Informed by interviews with five programming teachers, the system was designed to support four goals: (1) preserving learner agency in computational thinking, (2) making program behavior transparent and interpretable, (3) grounding programming in embodied, classroom-aligned tasks, and (4) scaffolding reflection through pedagogically grounded AI dialogue. We deployed RoboBlockly Studio with 32 high school students, observing how robot and AI feedback influenced students' interactions with code, reflections on problem-solving strategies, and understanding of CT concepts. We discuss design insights and implications for creating interactive, embodied learning environments that integrate AI and robotics to support CT learning in computing education.
AB - Computational thinking (CT) is increasingly promoted as a core literacy, yet learners and teachers face challenges in connecting abstract program logic to meaningful outcomes. We design and evaluate RoboBlockly Studio, an integrated interactive system that combines block-based programming, a conversational AI teaching agent, and embodied robot execution. RoboBlockly Studio creates a tight iterative loop of authoring, running, observing, and revising. Informed by interviews with five programming teachers, the system was designed to support four goals: (1) preserving learner agency in computational thinking, (2) making program behavior transparent and interpretable, (3) grounding programming in embodied, classroom-aligned tasks, and (4) scaffolding reflection through pedagogically grounded AI dialogue. We deployed RoboBlockly Studio with 32 high school students, observing how robot and AI feedback influenced students' interactions with code, reflections on problem-solving strategies, and understanding of CT concepts. We discuss design insights and implications for creating interactive, embodied learning environments that integrate AI and robotics to support CT learning in computing education.
KW - block-based programming
KW - computational thinking
KW - conversational AI tutor
KW - educational robotics
KW - Embodied interaction
KW - human-robot interaction
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105042739002
U2 - 10.1145/3800645.3813071
DO - 10.1145/3800645.3813071
M3 - Conference Proceeding
AN - SCOPUS:105042739002
T3 - DIS 2026 - Proceedngs of the 2026 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference
SP - 1021
EP - 1040
BT - DIS 2026 - Proceedngs of the 2026 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference
A2 - Yen, Ching Chiuan
A2 - Lee, Jung-Joo
A2 - Do, Ellen Yi-Luen
A2 - Zheng, Clement
A2 - Yoo, Daisy
A2 - Tang, Tony
PB - Association for Computing Machinery, Inc
Y2 - 13 June 2026 through 17 June 2026
ER -