Using Robotics to Teach Computer Programming

The history of "robots used to teach computing" is interesting, the language "logo" and physical turtles that run on it. Roughly Apple II era. Also the heathkit HERO robot series, still perhaps the best machine hardware of the genre.

Floor turtles were very popular in UK schools. Also, Big Trak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Trak

They were using Bee-bots with the youngest children at my son's school last week (mostly 4 year olds still).

http://www.bee-bot.us/bee-bot/bee-bot.html

Minecraft's ComputerCraft turtles anyone?

You mean Logo's turtles :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_(programming_language)

Which I just learnt is in turn based on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_(robot)

He means these: http://computercraft.info/wiki/Turtle