**4. Original course design: "Roborescue" and "Rattlesnake"**

small robots are programmable with four buttons and can be moved over a map easily. Before renting those sets, teachers get a short workshop at ETH where they learn about basic robotic

Elementary schools can participate in a similar project. Teachers are trained by a research team from ETH, who also give advice and support while using the technology in the classroom. Topics of this project are the concept of computational thinking and the functionality of robots. Lessons are arranged as project-based learning, and pupils learn to program robots

A different project of the ETH is the "RoboMINT" in which children learn to build a robot. In a "Dancebot course," pupils learn to solder and program a dance-choreography for the robot they have built. A second course uses small lights attached to a robot and a camera with long time exposure to draw a picture. For the picture, the robot uses a coded paper to follow lines.

The DNA Learning Center (DNALC), which is promoted by the United States of America's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a private, not-for-profit research and education institution at the forefront of molecular biology and genetics, offers class field trips and summer schools

Besides RWTH Aachen University and the Technikum29, the Bayer Science & Education Foundation has provided Anna-Freud-School in Cologne with an accessible laboratory for pupils. Laboratory equipment and computerized workplaces were purchased with the budget of 22,000 Euros. These new features allow children with disabilities to work on projects independently and to identify and nurture talents early. In this way, the school is able to promote pupils who are physically disabled or have a chronic or psychosomatic illness. The Foundation supports projects, which are used to complement lessons in school and to draw

The Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts (USA) offers short courses in robotics for secondary school students (Grades 6–10), who can learn about the highly sought-after skills of mechanical and electrical engineering, computers, math, and science. Participants work with their peers and knowledgeable staff to build basic robots and program them to complete simple tasks. Inconveniently, though, this course is currently not offered on a regular basis.

Learning about robotics is an enjoyable and exciting way for students to increase knowledge in the areas of science, mathematics, and technology and provide students with an opportunity to gain first insights. Our extensive research has shown that around the globe, there are laboratories available that also work in equal or related fields of robotics, though very few are

To foster an interest in STEM-fields, it is necessary to involve pupils in the process of programming a robot playfully. Technical universities in Germany and Switzerland already offer a broad range of courses for pupils to learn basic programming starting at a young age.

both constantly available for students and offering a chance at hands-on experience.

science.

playfully.

The sets can be rented for free [12].

138 Causes and Coping with Visual Impairment and Blindness

devoted entirely to public genetics education [13].

**3.4. Student laboratories for disabled children**

interest in natural science and technology [14].

At RWTH Aachen University, high school students are given the chance to gain insight by using LEGO Mindstorms construction sets in a school laboratory and constructing and programming various robot models. They are using the graphical programming interface NXT-G to discover an easy introduction to programming, since it is suitable for nonprofessionals [15].

To prepare and motivate students for a future career in robotics, the course program allows students to try their hand at building, programming, and testing robots in a highly interactive and playful environment. In order to captivate students, the course allows them to create either a "rescue robot" [16] that can search for virtual victims in a simulated rescue mission or a "rattlesnake" that snaps shut when someone crosses its field of vision. The choice of the scenario is subject to the age of the students—lower grades create a rattlesnake, (which is easier to build and to program) while junior and senior classes go on a more complex rescue mission. The four main phases of the course are: the introduction, which gives basic information; the construction; the programming process; and the reflection or evaluation phase. To follow along a learning process, the underlying didactic course concept focuses on individual practical, experimental, and playful experiences [15]. In accordance with the feedback of the course participants, this course design was chosen to build up an extracurricular learning venue for students with visual impairment and blindness to give them first insights into robotics.

The educational laboratory is not located at the students' respective schools; rather, it has been set up at RWTH Aachen University. This allows high school students to take a peek into the daily routine at university and is also meant to facilitate the decision-making process when it comes to choosing further steps after graduating from high school [17].
