JAVA: LEARNING TO PROGRAM WITH ROBOTS is an innovative approach to teaching and learning introductory object-oriented programming. Students are introduced to object-oriented concepts with simulated robots, a hands-on approach that is engaging and fun for both students and instructors. Robots are used to lay a solid object-oriented foundation upon which students build an in-depth understanding of programming concepts using a wide range of non-robotic examples. The robots approach has been successfully used for nearly six years at the University of Waterloo and has introduced more than 6,000 students to OO programming using Java.