Changing the Environment Based on Empowerment as Intrinsic Motivation

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 3.0 which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.One aspect of intelligence is the ability to restructure your own environment so that the world you live in becomes more beneficial to you. In this paper we investigate how the information-theoretic measure of agent empowerment can provide a task-independent, intrinsic motivation to restructure the world. We show how changes in embodiment and in the environment change the resulting behaviour of the agent and the artefacts left in the world. For this purpose, we introduce an approximation of the established empowerment formalism based on sparse sampling, which is simpler and significantly faster to compute for deterministic dynamics. Sparse sampling also introduces a degree of randomness into the decision making process, which turns out to beneficial for some cases. We then utilize the measure to generate agent behaviour for different agent embodiments in a Minecraft-inspired three dimensional block world. The paradigmatic results demonstrate that empowerment can be used as a suitable generic intrinsic motivation to not only generate actions in given static environments, as shown in the past, but also to modify existing environmental conditions. In doing so, the emerging strategies to modify an agent’s environment turn out to be meaningful to the specific agent capabilities, i.e., de facto to its embodiment.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The effect of the guided discovery learning model assisted with google workspace for education towards rhythmic gymnastics learning outcomes

This study aimed at determining; 1) the learning outcomes difference between the students taught by the guided discovery learning model assisted with google workspace for education and the students who were taught by conventional learning, and 2) the interaction between the learning model and learning interest towards students' learning outcomes. True-experimental with a post-test-only control design was used as a research design of this study. The eighth-grade students of junior high school N0 1 Amlapura were involved as the population of this study. Simple random sampling was used to determine this study’s sample from the total population. Test and questionnaire distribution were conducted to collect the data and the instruments used were tests and questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed inferentially statistically by using two ways anova with the assistance of the SPSS 26 program. The results showed that; 1) student learning outcomes using the guided discovery learning model assisted by google workspace for education were higher than those using the conventional model, 2) there was an interaction between the learning model and interest in learning on the learning outcomes of rhythmic motion activities, 3) the learning outcomes of the students who were treated by guided discovery learning model assisted by google workspace for education were higher than the students who were only taught by the conventional model in the high learning interest group, 4) the learning outcomes of the students who were treated by conventional learning were higher than the students taught by applying guided discovery learning model assisted by google workspace for education in a low learning interest grou

Kontribusi Pembelajaran Guided Discovery Learning dan Locus of Control terhadap Hasil Belajar Praktik Hidrolika

AbstrakTujuan penelitian untuk menguji kontribusi pembelajaran dengan pendekatan guided discovery learning dan locus of control terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika. Penelitian menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan deskriptif korelasional. Populasi penelitian yaitu mahasiswa yang mengikuti mata kuliah Praktik Hidrolika sebanyak 137 orang di Program Studi Teknik Sipil Fakultas Teknik dan Perencanaan Universitas Ekasakti Padang. Sampel penelitan sebanyak 78 orang yang dipilih menggunakan simple random sampling. Alat pengumpul data menggunakan angket dan dokumentasi hasil belajar mahasiswa. Data dianalisis menggunakan statistik inferensial dengan regresi ganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa:  pembelajaran dengan pendekatan guided discovery learning berkontribusi signifikan terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika; pembelajaran dengan pendekatan locus of control berkontribusi signifikan terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika; dan pembelajaran dengan pendekatan guided discovery learning dan locus of control secara bersama-sama berkontribusi signifikan terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika. AbstractThe purpose of the research was to examine the contribution of learning with guided discovery learning and locus of control on learning outcomes for Hydraulic Practice. The research used quantitative methods with correlational descriptive. The research population was 137 students who took the Hydraulics Practice course in the Civil Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering and Planning of Ekasakti University Padang. The research sample was 78 people who were selected using simple random sampling. Data collection tools used questionnaires and documentation of student learning outcomes. Data were analyzed using inferential statistics with multiple regression. The results showed that: the learning process with the guided discovery learning approach contributed significantly to the learning outcomes of Hydraulic Practice; the learning process with a locus of control approach contributes significantly to learning outcomes in Hydraulics Practice; and learning process with the guided discovery learning and locus of control as in aggregate significantly contribute to the learning outcomes of Hydraulic Practice

A study on the role of affective feedback in robot-assisted learning

In recent years, there have been many approaches to using robots to teach computer programming. In intelligent tutoring systems and computer-aided learning, there is also some research to show that affective feedback to the student increases learning efficiency. However, a few studies on the role of incorporating an emotional personality in the robot in robot-assisted learning have found different results. To explore this issue further, we conducted a pilot study to investigate the effect of positive verbal encouragement and non-verbal emotive behaviour of the Miro-E robot during a robot-assisted programming session. The participants were tasked to program the robot’s behaviour. In the experimental group, the robot monitored the participants’ emotional state via their facial expressions, and provided affective feedback to the participants after completing each task. In the control group, the robot responded in a neutral way. The participants filled out a questionnaire before and after the programming session. The results show a positive reaction of the participants to the robot and the exercise. Though the number of participants was small, as the experiment was conducted during the pandemic, a qualitative analysis of the data was carried out. We found that the greatest affective outcome of the session was for students who had little experience or interest in programming before. We also found that the affective expressions of the robot had a negative impact on its likeability, revealing vestiges of the uncanny valley effect

Pelatihan Pemrograman Robot EVOCE di SMP Negeri 37 Pekanbaru

This community service activity at SMP Negeri 37 Pekanbaru aims to provide education on educational robot programming as a renewable learning media discovery. This activity introduces interactive learning media to meet the problems faced by young learners. This educational robot programming education provides students with experience in introducing educational robots. The positive impact on community service activities is that educational robots are an alternative means of learning for children by inviting them to collaborate and prepare a series of instructions. This community service activity was carried out at SMP Negeri 37 Pekanbaru. Activities help train children's logical thinking and awaken their love for learning foreign languages