Child–robot interactions using educational robots: an ethical and inclusive perspective

This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under Grant FECYT FCT-20-15626, Line of action 2. Education and scientific vocations (2nd place out of 120 awarded).Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de GènereObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i InfraestructuraObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::10 - Reducció de les DesigualtatsPostprint (published version

Averting Robot Eyes

Home robots will cause privacy harms. At the same time, they can provide beneficial services—as long as consumers trust them. This Essay evaluates potential technological solutions that could help home robots keep their promises, avert their eyes, and otherwise mitigate privacy harms. Our goals are to inform regulators of robot-related privacy harms and the available technological tools for mitigating them, and to spur technologists to employ existing tools and develop new ones by articulating principles for avoiding privacy harms. We posit that home robots will raise privacy problems of three basic types: (1) data privacy problems; (2) boundary management problems; and (3) social/relational problems. Technological design can ward off, if not fully prevent, a number of these harms. We propose five principles for home robots and privacy design: data minimization, purpose specifications, use limitations, honest anthropomorphism, and dynamic feedback and participation. We review current research into privacy-sensitive robotics, evaluating what technological solutions are feasible and where the harder problems lie. We close by contemplating legal frameworks that might encourage the implementation of such design, while also recognizing the potential costs of regulation at these early stages of the technology

Exploring the use of Android devices and LEGO Mindstorms in Children Color Learning Process

Students are becoming less and less interested to learn about science and technology which causes alert to the education industry. The lack of usage of technology itself in education causes the students to be uninterested to learn as they can only learn the theory but cannot see how it is implemented in the real world. The refusal and slow implementation of incorporating technologies into the education system is also not helping the situation. The reason of the students, the teachers and the system are not really ready to incorporate such technologies worsen the problem.This project mainly aims at introducing a learning approach using interactive technology which is attractive to children and hopefully develops into a new exciting learning pattern that matches the future generation desires. Given the recentness of the approach, the project is also developed with an intention to introduce the new technique involved whilst at the same time paves the way for future work to be conducted related to the incorporation of advanced technology into education process. Using Lego Mindstroms as a learning tools incorporate with an Android device by using a Bluetooth connection will allow children to learn while using technology to interact with the environments. By testing the project to a number of target users, feedbacks are collected and the result and effectiveness of the project are recorded. The objectives of the project are meet and the respondent of the project which are children from age of 3 to 5 give good respond to the prototype. Out of the 10 children tested with the prototype, majority like the project and was able to learn effectively. Parents tend to thinks that it is better for their children to learn from the surrounding than learn with virtual item like learning only using apps that show colors at the screen only. This project will hopefully be the first step in attracting children interest back to the science and technology fields which have been a problem in the last few years

Developing Computational Thinking with Educational Technologies for Young Learners

This article aims to provide an overview of the opportunities for developing computational thinking in young learners. It includes a review of empirical studies on the educational technologies used to develop computational thinking in young learners, and analyses and descriptions of a selection of commercially available technologies for developing computational thinking in young learners. The challenges and implications of using these technologies are also discussed

Humanoid Robots Supporting Children’s Learning in an Early Childhood Setting

This qualitative study explored the affordances provided by the integration of the NAO humanoid robot in three preschool classrooms. Using the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework as a lens, the researchers qualitatively analyzed data from focus groups, observations, field notes and student artifacts, using grounded coding to uncover language and communication, physical, cognitive and social–emotional learning experiences for children. The researchers also examined interactions between the robot, children and teachers to identify successes and challenges experienced during the integration. Findings indicate the robot provided opportunities for student development in all learning domains. Students were intellectually curious about the robot; data showed their eagerness to “talk with,” generate questions about, make eye contact with and learn more about the robot. Students viewed these interactions as two-way. The presence of the robot created much enthusiasm and excitement, resulting in the opportunity for students to practice waiting their turn and cooperation. Challenges uncovered show that teachers lacked experience and knowledge in the integration and operation of the robot. Despite these challenges, findings show that teachers welcomed the robot as a tool in the classroom to align with curriculum requirements and meet the developmental needs of children

Sparking the interest of girls in computer science via chemical experimentation and robotics: the Qui-Bot H2O case study

We report a new learning approach in science and technology through the Qui-Bot H2O project: a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary project developed with the main objective of inclusively increasing interest in computer science engineering among children and young people, breaking stereotypes and invisible social and gender barriers. The project highlights the social aspect of robotics applied to chemistry, at early ages. We successfully tested the project activities on girls between 3 to 13 years old. After taking part in the project, the users rated their interest in science and technology to be higher than before. Data collected during experiences included background information on students, measurements of the project’s impact and students’ interest in it, and an evaluation of student satisfaction of this STEM activity. The Qui-Bot H2O project is supported by the actions of territorial public administrations towards gender equality and the contributions of humanistic and technological universities and entities which specialize in education and business.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under Grant FECYT FCT-20-15626, Line of action 2. Education and scientific vocations (2nd place out of 120 awarded).Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de QualitatObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de GènereObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i InfraestructuraObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::10 - Reducció de les DesigualtatsPostprint (published version

Icanlearn: A Mobile Application For Creating Flashcards And Social Stories\u3csup\u3etm\u3c/sup\u3e For Children With Autistm

The number of children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise, presenting new challenges for their parents and teachers to overcome. At the same time, mobile computing has been seeping its way into every aspect of our lives in the form of smartphones and tablet computers. It seems only natural to harness the unique medium these devices provide and use it in treatment and intervention for children with autism. This thesis discusses and evaluates iCanLearn, an iOS flashcard app with enough versatility to construct Social StoriesTM. iCanLearn provides an engaging, individualized learning experience to children with autism on a single device, but the most powerful way to use iCanLearn is by connecting two or more devices together in a teacher-learner relationship. The evaluation results are presented at the end of the thesis