Should we welcome robot teachers?

Abstract Current uses of robots in classrooms are reviewed and used to characterise four scenarios: (s1) Robot as Classroom Teacher; (s2) Robot as Companion and Peer; (s3) Robot as Care-eliciting Companion; and (s4) Telepresence Robot Teacher. The main ethical concerns associated with robot teachers are identified as: privacy; attachment, deception, and loss of human contact; and control and accountability. These are discussed in terms of the four identified scenarios. It is argued that classroom robots are likely to impact children’s’ privacy, especially when they masquerade as their friends and companions, when sensors are used to measure children’s responses, and when records are kept. Social robots designed to appear as if they understand and care for humans necessarily involve some deception (itself a complex notion), and could increase the risk of reduced human contact. Children could form attachments to robot companions (s2 and s3), or robot teachers (s1) and this could have a deleterious effect on their social development. There are also concerns about the ability, and use of robots to control or make decisions about children’s behaviour in the classroom. It is concluded that there are good reasons not to welcome fully fledged robot teachers (s1), and that robot companions (s2 and 3) should be given a cautious welcome at best. The limited circumstances in which robots could be used in the classroom to improve the human condition by offering otherwise unavailable educational experiences are discussed

Associating Facial Expressions and Upper-Body Gestures with Learning Tasks for Enhancing Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Learning involves a substantial amount of cognitive, social and emotional states. Therefore, recognizing and understanding these states in the context of learning is key in designing informed interventions and addressing the needs of the individual student to provide personalized education. In this paper, we explore the automatic detection of learner’s nonverbal behaviors involving hand-over-face gestures, head and eye movements and emotions via facial expressions during learning. The proposed computer vision-based behavior monitoring method uses a low-cost webcam and can easily be integrated with modern tutoring technologies. We investigate these behaviors in-depth over time in a classroom session of 40 minutes involving reading and problem-solving exercises. The exercises in the sessions are divided into three categories: an easy, medium and difficult topic within the context of undergraduate computer science. We found that there is a significant increase in head and eye movements as time progresses, as well as with the increase of difficulty level. We demonstrated that there is a considerable occurrence of hand-over-face gestures (on average 21.35%) during the 40 minutes session and is unexplored in the education domain. We propose a novel deep learning approach for automatic detection of hand-over-face gestures in images with a classification accuracy of 86.87%. There is a prominent increase in hand-over-face gestures when the difficulty level of the given exercise increases. The hand-over-face gestures occur more frequently during problem-solving (easy 23.79%, medium 19.84% and difficult 30.46%) exercises in comparison to reading (easy 16.20%, medium 20.06% and difficult 20.18%)

Robots in education and care of children with developmental disabilities : a study on acceptance by experienced and future professionals

Research in the area of robotics has made available numerous possibilities for further innovation in the education of children, especially in the rehabilitation of those with learning difficulties and/or intellectual disabilities. Despite the scientific evidence, there is still a strong scepticism against the use of robots in the fields of education and care of people. Here we present a study on the acceptance of robots by experienced practitioners (specialized in the treatment of intellectual disabilities) and university students in psychology and education sciences (as future professionals). The aim is to examine the factors, through the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, that may influence the decision to use a robot as an instrument in the practice. The overall results confirm the applicability of the model in the context of education and care of children, and suggest a positive attitude towards the use of the robot. The comparison highlights some scepticism among the practitioners, who perceive the robot as an expensive and limited tool, while students show a positive perception and a significantly higher willingness to use the robot. From this experience, we formulate the hypothesis that robots may be accepted if more integrated with standard rehabilitation protocols in a way that benefits can outweigh the costs

Methodology and Results on Teaching Maths Using Mobile Robots

In 58 Italian Public Comprehensive Institutes (Istituti Comprensivi), that include Primary and Elementary schools, 2911 students experimented the use of a mobile robot, Sapientino Doc by Clementoni, to learn curricula matters such as Mathematics, Geometry and Geography (MGG). The project “A scuola di coding con Sapientino” was developed during the 2016/2017 regular school year for about 3 months (April–June 2017). The schools were distributed throughout Italy and involved 2911 students from 5 to 8 years old, 155 classes, and 163 teachers. The aim of the research is to demonstrate a learning gain in Mathematics, Geometry and Geography, after the students use a mobile robot during regular lessons held by their own teachers in their classrooms. In this paper, we present the methodology used to develop the project and the results of data analysis

Marine Robotics: An Effective Interdisciplinary Approach to Promote STEM Education

© 2018, Springer International Publishing AG. GUPPIE, a Glider for Underwater Problem-solving and Promotion of Interest in Engineering was developed in Nonlinear and Autonomous System Laboratory at Michigan Technological University to be used as an educational tool to broaden the impact of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning. The GUPPIE educational program utilizes high-interest themes, meaningful contexts, and hands-on activities to engage students as early as 4th grade and sustain their interest and learning to and through college. The program has engaged over 2000 students since 2013. The interdisciplinary nature of GUPPIE and hands-on activities in diverse areas from hardware development, and programming to gathering and interpreting data will improve students’ ability for critical, creative problem solving, and ultimately increase individual motivation for pursuing STEM academic and career pathways

Improving Students’ Concepts About Newtonian Mechanics Using Mobile Robots

In this paper we proposed an educational robotics project using MARRtino mobile robot to students of Italian high schools, aged from 15 to 19 years old. The MARRtino Educational Robot for high school project (MHS) lasted 70 h during the 2017/2018 school year. Students teams built a mobile robot and programmed it to participate to RomeCup 2018 competition and to make experiments in their school Physics Laboratory. We measured if the educational robotics activity improved students Physics concepts learning, Technology perceptions and attitudes, and perception of collaborative work attitudes. Moreover, the by-product of the educational activity was to broaden participation of young students in the technology field and to enrich the high school Physics Laboratories with a new technological and educational tool, a mobile robot

Expanding the Curricular Space with Educational Robotics: A Creative Course on Road Safety

While initiatives worldwide continue to place pressure on schools to improve STEM education, the already overcrowded curriculum often leaves little space for the integration of new courses or topics. Numerous benefits are reported in the literature about the use of educational robotics; yet, their integration in school contexts requires time that cannot be taken from other important courses. In the end, most educational robotics activities are done outside the curriculum such as in after-school programs and summer camps. The major contribution of this work is the presentation of a case of creative and non-intrusive integration of educational robotics to support the current school curricula. We present an example of expanding the curricular space, by integrating educational robotics in an existing course unit. In the absence of formal educational robotics curriculum and courses, the study presents an exemplar case of educational robotics integration in a creative and non-intrusive way. The lesson design and implementation are presented; the creative infusion can be realized and holds benefits for the students. Through educational robotics, students can practice new skills such as problem solving and teamwork, while they gain knowledge in the specific domain of the course unit

A critical reflection on the expectations about the impact of educational robotics on problem solving capability

This paper discuss the outcomes of an experimental course we run during the 2016-17 school year in two secondary junior schools. The aim of the experiment was to validate the use of educational robotics as a mindtool, investigating the impact of robotics on problem solving capability. The course lasted about four months and it was evaluated through a self-assessment with pre and post-activity questionnaires. The emerged results encouraged us to reflect about the role of metacognition and the importance to take it into account for the evaluation of problem solving. In the paper, the activity with the students is described and the analysis of the pre and post-activity questionnaires are discussed and conclusions are drawn