Towards a Formal Definition of Educational Robotics

There is an increasing number of articles, web pages, robotic kits and other materials that are using the term Educational Robotics (ER) to refer to the use of robots in education, however the current definition of ER is still vague and open to misinterpretation. Therefore, anyone can claim that their work falls in the category of ER just because robots are involved. Despite all benefits of robotics, its incorrect use may be counterproductive. Therefore, the incremental use of the term ER is meaningless if it is not used correctly. Consequently, a concrete and precise definition of ER is required to support the development of it. This paper presents a first attempt to develop a concrete definition of ER, which describes all fields of study that constitutes it and how they are related between them. The definition is the result of the experience acquire during the participation of the European project Educational Robotics for STEM (ER4STEM).