Programming Smart Objects: How Young Learners’ Programming Skills, Attitudes, and Perception Are Influenced

Programming literacy is crucial for current and future generations of young learners, irrespective of their career paths. Programming education is thus essential, making teaching methods and tools to be tailored to the target audience. In this context, contemporary visual programming environments, particularly block-based programming, have become instrumental in introducing programming concepts to young learners. Educational theories such as Constructionism advocate an approach centered on the learner to deepen and motivate learning. In computer science, these theories can be applied by providing hands-on experiences that connect computer science to real-life situations through the manipulation or construction of physical and tangible computational devices. This study explores the impact of creating a smart object for a smart home using block-based programming on young learners' attitudes and perceptions toward programming and their programming skills acquisition. An introductory programming workshop involved 28 8th grade students from a secondary school constructing and programming a smart-lighting object in a smart home setting. Performance, attitude, and perception trajectories were assessed through repeated questionnaires. Our results indicate that constructing and programming a real-life smart object enhances learners' confidence and programming skills. This paper contributes to programming education literature by demonstrating the potential of block-based programming, specifically in the context of state-of-the-art smart technologies, to foster programming skills and develop positive attitudes and perceptions among learners.