Bringing tabletop technologies to kindergarten children

Taking computer technology away from the desktop and into a more physical, manipulative space, is known that provide many benefits and is generally considered to result in a system that is easier to learn and more natural to use. This paper describes a design solution that allows kindergarten children to take the benefits of the new pedagogical possibilities that tangible interaction and tabletop technologies offer for manipulative learning. After analysis of children's cognitive and psychomotor skills, we have designed and tuned a prototype game that is suitable for children aged 3 to 4 years old. Our prototype uniquely combines low cost tangible interaction and tabletop technology with tutored learning. The design has been based on the observation of children using the technology, letting them freely play with the application during three play sessions. These observational sessions informed the design decisions for the game whilst also confirming the children's enjoyment of the prototype

Robots for inclusive classrooms: a scoping review

Robot-based activities have been proven to be a valuable tool for children with learning and developmental disabilities. However, their feasibility in general educational environments needs further exploration. This scoping review provides a critical examination of robot-based learning experiences involving children with disabilities, implemented either in mainstream schools or in specialized centers in order to gain insight into their potential to support inclusion. For this purpose, a search was conducted in the multidisciplinary Scopus and WoS databases, completed with Dialnet database. Based on PRISMA guidelines for literature reviews, we limited the systematic analysis to 33 papers published after 2009 that contain information on the instructional design and details of how the activities were implemented. On the other hand, studies reporting interventions with robots for clinical purposes were excluded as well as papers focused exclusively on technical developments. Content analysis shows that most experiences lead to improvements in terms of educational goals and/or stakeholders’ satisfaction. However, the analysis also reported issues that may hinder the adoption of these practices in general classrooms and integrated education services. The reported difficulties include the lack of stability and autonomy of the robots used, the need for aids and adaptations to enable children with sensory and physical impairments to interact easily with the robots, and the requirement of technical support with system’s setup, implementation and maintenance. We conclude that robots and robotics are a powerful tool to address the needs of diverse learners who are included in mainstream classrooms. This review aims at presenting evidences of good practices and recommendations for successful implementation.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Complexity, Pedagogy and the Economics of Muddling Through

This paper was first presented at the AEA meetings on complexity. It was later published in a book edited by Massima Alszano and Alan Kirman, Economics: Complex Windows, Springer Publishers.

Needs Analysis on Robmanjar (Learning Partner Robot) Game Design to Stimulate Early Childhood Literacy

The purpose of this study was to analyze the learning needs of early childhood by designing the Robmanjar (Learning Partner Robot) game to stimulate the development of basic literacy in children's SPNF SKB Pontianak City Playgroup. The design of the Robmanjar game was prepared based on an analysis of the needs of the children's learning outcomes in the Pontianak City SPNF SKB Play Group in the first quarter of the odd semester of the 2022/2023 school year. The research method used was survey research. The number of respondents consisted of 1 educator, 8 parents of students, and 8 children of the SPNF SKB Playgroup in Pontianak City. Data collection techniques used interviews, observation, and questionnaires. The data analysis technique used was descriptive quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results showed that the average results of the elements of achievement in learning the basics of literacy were still low because the level of achievement of children who developed as expected was still below 50%. The details of the developmental achievements of the elements of the basics of child literacy in the Pontianak City SPNF SKB Play Group were 40.6% of children who had not yet developed; 42.2% of children started to develop; 15.6% of children developed as expected; and 1.6% of children developed very well. For the learning achievement elements of basic literacy to increase, it is necessary to design types of games that can stimulate children's development in the learning achievement elements of basic literacy. The Robmanjar game is expected to stimulate aspects of child development in the Pontianak City SPNF SKB Playgroup in the learning achievement elements of basic literacy

Educational Robotics in Science Teaching: A Study on The Development of a Research Project at the Federal Institute of Education Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS)

The use of technologies such as educational software and robotics to support the teaching and learning process is increasing. Educational robotics has proven to arouse interest in students, as it allows physical handling and active participation in the learning process. In this sense, this manuscript aims to describe the Educational Robotics research project as an Incentive to the Study of Science approved in PROPPI EDITAL No. 77/2017 - INTERNAL SOURCE 2018/2019, which had as a proposal to integrate undergraduates of Licentiate Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science of IFRS - Campus Ibirubá to jointly carry out analyzes and develop procedures for teaching and learning science (mathematics/physics) using Educational Robotics resources, motivating students of the Technical Course in Computing Integrated to High School. Thus, while this project offered an internship field for undergraduates, it promoted interest in the study of science among participants, leading them to engage and promoting greater participation

Child labour and supply chain : profitability or (mis)management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a realistic assessment, with an historical perspective, of the current practises and progress made by organisations towards elimination of child labour in global supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – Literature review in the area of use of child labour within the global supply chain was combined with additional information obtained from the company searches of the GRI database, company ranking tables, and other sources. Findings – Child labour is one of a number of areas of concern in global supply chains. Continued exploitation of child labour indicates an imbalanced state and consequently forces can be unleashed through standardization, collaboration and communication amongst all stakeholders to ensure protection of the vulnerable. This paper is part of the broader analysis informing incremental changes to supply chain management to preserve the rights and welfare of children in the present and future generations. Research/limitations/implications – The analysis is based on secondary data sources and further research is thus needed to verify the individual weightings of the criteria used in the primary ranking of the companies. Practical implications – The findings provide encouragement for policy and decision makers to implement incremental changes to global supply chains in order to protect the rights and welfare of children, according to the standards of Social Accountability (SA) 8000, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and other world trade stakeholders. Originality/value – This paper questions the view that child labour incidences have diminished proportional to economic development. A swinging fulcrum with hidden traps for developed and developing nations in light of cross border transactions through supply chains has been proposed

English ludic corner as a teaching resource for the learning process in students of fifth year“a” of basic education at “Mariscal Sucre School”, during the academic cycle 2012 – 2013

Learning English is very important for students of fifth year "A" of Basic Education at Mariscal Sucre School where this research was conducted to know the problem that teachers and students have. The children cannot express their ideas in a clear and concrete way because they don’t manage enough vocabulary and don’t have suitable teaching methods that encourage them to develop their English communication skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. In fact, teachers are limited to use traditional teaching resources such as photocopies and textbooks, becoming monotonous the English language learning for their students. In addition, teachers apply the same strategies and techniques for all class activities which don’t permit to develop the teaching-learning process in a dynamic and interesting form. That’s way the purpose of this research was to design the necessary and appropriate ludic materials, which help teachers motivate students in learning a foreign language such as English. These resources help students and teachers to maintain a good working environment in the classroom and make lessons interesting and meaningful, so children can improve their academic level and interact with their partners in a fun way. The guide contains a detailed explanation of each recreational activity like dynamic games, puzzles, hopscotch, etc. It also includes the respective description and instruction about materials and activities to facilitate the understanding. Finally, the contribution of this research was to motivate teachers and students to use ludic materials in English classes. The method used in this research work was the descriptive, and included a population of 65 people, which helped to obtain actual data for doing statistical analysis of each question of the survey. The education supported on ludic resources facilitates the interaction among teacher, student and didactic materials.El aprendizaje del idioma Inglés es muy importante para los estudiantes de Quinto año “A” de Educación Básica de la escuela Mariscal Sucre en donde se realizó la presente investigación para conocer el problema que tienen los profesores y estudiantes. Los niños no pueden expresar sus ideas de una forma clara y concreta debido a que dominan poco vocabulario y no poseen los medios pedagógicos adecuados que motiven en ellos el desarrollo de sus habilidades de comunicación del inglés, tales como Listening, Speaking, Reading y Writing. En realidad, los maestros se limitan a utilizar recursos didácticos tradicionales como las fotocopias y los libros de texto, tornándose monótono el aprendizaje del idioma inglés para sus alumnos. Además, los docentes aplican las mismas estrategias y técnicas para todas las actividades en clase lo que no permite desarrollar el proceso enseñanza aprendizaje de una forma dinámica e interesante. De esta manera, el propósito de esta investigación fue el de diseñar los materiales lúdicos adecuados y necesarios, que sirvan de ayuda a los maestros para motivar a los alumnos en el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera como es el idioma inglés. Estos recursos ayudan a los estudiantes y profesores a mantener un buen ambiente de trabajo en el aula y hacer más interesantes y significativas las clases; así los niños pueden mejorar su nivel académico e interactuar con sus compañeros de una forma divertida. La guía contiene una explicación detallada acerca de cada actividad lúdica como juegos dinámicos, rompe cabezas, la rayuela etc. Además se incluye la respectiva descripción y la instrucción de los materiales y actividades para facilitar su comprensión. Finalmente, la contribución de la presente investigación fue motivar a profesores y estudiantes a utilizar los materiales lúdicos en las clases de inglés. El método utilizado en el presente trabajo, fue el descriptivo con una población de 65 personas lo cual ayudó a obtener datos reales para realizar el análisis estadístico de cada una de las preguntas planteadas en la encuesta. La educación apoyada en recursos lúdicos, facilita una interacción entre profesor, estudiante y recursos didácticos

Creating DYOR: Do your own robot an educational robotic toy kit

[EN] This project presents DYOR: an educational robotic toy kit how it helps the school students to get better understanding of the aspects of engineering before they get ready to choose their career. It provides an ideal platform enabling school students understand various elements like science, manufacturing technology, mathematics, design and apply their knowledge in these areas effectively with additional inputs like programming, logical analysis to create solutions for the given task.[ES] Este proyecto presenta DYOR: un kit de juguete robótico educativa cómo ayuda a los estudiantes de la escuela para obtener una mejor comprensión de los aspectos de la ingeniería antes de que se disponen a elegir su carrera. Proporciona una plataforma ideal estudiantes de la escuela que permite comprender diversos elementos como la ciencia, la tecnología de fabricación, las matemáticas, el diseño y aplican sus conocimientos en estas áreas eficazmente con entradas adicionales como la programación, análisis lógico para crear soluciones para la tarea encomendada.Singh, H. (2016). Creating DYOR: Do your own robot an educational robotic toy kit. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/67515TFG