Social robots in educational contexts: developing an application in enactive didactics

Due to advancements in sensor and actuator technology robots are becoming more and more common in everyday life. Many of the areas in which they are introduced demand close physical and social contact. In the last ten years the use of robots has also increasingly spread to the field of didactics, starting with their use as tools in STEM education. With the advancement of social robotics, the use of robots in didactics has been extended also to tutoring situations in which these \u201csocially aware\u201d robots interact with mainly children in, for example, language learning classes. In this paper we will give a brief overview of how robots have been used in this kind of settings until now. As a result it will become transparent that the majority of applications are not grounded in didactic theory. Recognizing this shortcoming, we propose a theory driven approach to the use of educational robots, centred on the idea that the combination of enactive didactics and social robotics holds great promises for a variety of tutoring activities in educational contexts. After defining our \u201cEnactive Robot Assisted Didactics\u201d approach, we will give an outlook on how the use of humanoid robots can advance it. On this basis, at the end of the paper, we will describe a concrete, currently on-going implementation of this approach, which we are realizing with the use of Softbank Robotics\u2019 Pepper robot during university lectures

ROBOT DE DOS GRADOS DE LIBERTAR COMO UNA PLATAFORMA EDUCATIVA PARA ROBÓTICA (A 2-DOF ROBOT AS AN EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM FOR ROBOTICS)

En este trabajo se presenta el inicio del desarrollo de una plataforma de apoyo educativo para la materia de robótica. La plataforma presentada está basada en LabVIEW y cuenta con un robot planar de 2 grados de libertad, construido con actuadores Dynamixel, los cuales son parte de un kit de robótica de Robotis. El objetivo de la plataforma desarrollada es ofrecer al docente un apoyo didáctico en áreas temáticas de la robótica, tales como el cálculo e implementación de la cinemática directa e inversa, planeación de trayectorias y control, en un esfuerzo por motivar al estudiante con un resultado práctico de la teoría revisada en la clase.Palabra(s) Clave: LabVIEW, robótica educativa, robot planar.  AbstractThis work presents the beginning of an educational platform for the robotics subject. The presented platform is based in a 2-dof robot controlled with LabVIEW; the 2-dof robot is built with Dynamixel actuators, which are part from a robotics kit of Robotis. The goal of the developed platform is to offer an educational support in the topics reviewed as part of the robotics subject such as direct and inverse kinematics, planning of trajectories and control, this as an effort to encourage the students with a direct application of the reviewed topics during a robotics’ class.Keywords: 2 dof robot, educational robotics, LabVIEW

A sociological contribution to understanding the use of robots in schools: the Thymio robot

The Thymio II robot was designed to be used by teachers in their classrooms for a wide range of activities and at all levels of the curriculum, from very young children to the end of high school. Although the educationally oriented design of this innovative robot was successful and made it possible to distribute more than 800 Thymio robots in schools with a large majority in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, it was not sufficient to significantly raise the number of teachers using robot technology in their teaching after three years of commercialization. After an introduction and a first section on the design of this educational robot, this paper presents some results of a sociological analysis of the benefits and blockages identified by teachers in using robots, or not, with their pupils

A review: Can robots reshape K-12 STEM education?

Can robots in classroom reshape K-12 STEM education, and foster new ways of learning? To sketch an answer, this article reviews, side-by-side, existing literature on robot-based learning activities featuring mathematics and physics (purposefully putting aside the well-studied field of "robots to teach robotics") and existing robot platforms and toolkits suited for classroom environment (in terms of cost, ease of use, orchestration load for the teacher, etc.). Our survey suggests that the use of robots in classroom has indeed moved from purely technology to education, to encompass new didactic fields. We however identified several shortcomings, in terms of robotic platforms and teaching environments, that contribute to the limited presence of robotics in existing curricula; the lack of specific teacher training being likely pivotal. Finally, we propose an educational framework merging the tangibility of robots with the advanced visibility of augmented reality

Child–robot relationship formation: A narrative review of empirical research

This narrative review aimed to elucidate which robot-related characteristics predict relationship formation between typically-developing children and social robots in terms of closeness and trust. Moreover, we wanted to know to what extent relationship formation can be explained by children’s experiential and cognitive states during interaction with a robot. We reviewed 86 journal articles and conference proceedings published between 2000 and 2017. In terms of predictors, robots’ responsiveness and role, as well as strategic and emotional interaction between robot and child, increased closeness between the child and the robot. Findings about whether robot features predict children’s trust in robots were inconsistent. In terms of children’s experiential and cognitive states during interaction with a robot, robot characteristics and interaction styles were associated with two experiential states: engagement and enjoyment/liking. The literature hardly addressed the impact of experiential and cognitive states on closeness and trust. Comparisons of children’s interactions with robots, adults, and objects showed that robots are perceived as neither animate nor inanimate, and that they are entities with whom children will likely form social relationships. Younger children experienced more enjoyment, were less sensitive to a robot’s interaction style, and were more prone to anthropomorphic tendencies and effects than older children. Tailoring a robot’s sex to that of a child mainly appealed to boys

An Edutainment Robotics System with Online Self-learning

東京都立大

Ohjeistus opetusympäristössä toimivan robotin ulkonäön suunnitteluun

Robotiikka on kehittynyt ajansaatossa teollisuusympäristöissä käytetyistä roboteista kohti älyrobotteja, jotka toimivat itsenäisesti, kykenevät keräämään tietoa, havainnoimaan ja toimimaan samassa ympäristössä ihmisen kanssa sekä kommunikoimaan ihmisen ja ympäristön kanssa. Ihmisen ja robotin välisen vuorovaikutuksen (eng. human-robot interaction, HRI) tutkimusalue pyrkii ymmärtämään, suunnittelemaan ja arvioimaan robottisysteemiä, jota ihminen käyttää. Yksi merkitsevä tekijä ihmisen ja robotin vuorovaikutuksessa on robotin ulkonäkö. Lisäksi teknologian ja opetusinfrastruktuurin kehitys on johtanut siihen, että nykypäivän oppimisympäristössä on mahdollista hyödyntää erilaisia robotteja eri opetusmenetelmissä ja rooleissa. Tämän pro gradu -tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää kuinka robotin ulkonäkö vaikuttaa ihmisen ja robotin väliseen vuorovaikutukseen (HRI) oppimistilanteessa opiskelijan näkökulmasta. Tavoitteen saavuttamiseksi työssä käytettiin suunnittelutieteellistä tutkimusmenetelmää ja -prosessimallia, jonka seurauksena syntyi IT-artefakti eli suunnitteluohje. Suunnitteluohjeen avulla voidaan suunnitella robotin ulkonäkö opetusympäristöön. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen viitekehys sisältää johdattelun ihmisen ja robotin väliseen vuorovaikutukseen sekä siihen vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Erityisesti viitekehys kohdistuu robotin ulkonäön merkityksestä edellä mainittuun vuorovaikutukseen. Tämän lisäksi teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä tutustutaan jo opetuskäytössä käytettyjen robottien ulkonäköön ja rooleihin, joita kyseiset robotit ovat suorittaneet opetusympäristössä. Suunnitteluohjetta varten on kerätty aineistoa opiskelijahaastatteluin (n=10) ja aikaisemmista tutkimuksista, joissa on käytetty robotteja opetusympäristössä. Aikaisemmissa opetusrobotteihin liittyvissä tutkimuksissa käytetyt robotit ovat eronneet ulkonäöllisesti toisistaan. Myös opiskelijahaastatteluissa ilmeni, että erilaisiin opetustilanteisiin kuvaillut robotit erosivat ulkonäöllisesti toisistaan, vaikka ne sisälsivät myös yhtäläisyyksiä muihin opetustilanteisiin kuvattujen robottien kanssa. Opiskelijahaastatteluiden perusteella merkittävimpinä ulkoisina ominaisuuksina opetusmenetelmästä riippumatta opetusroboteille nähdään yläruumiin raajat, kuten pää, kasvot ja kädet, joiden tulee toimia osana opiskelijan ja robotin välistä vuorovaikutusta. Myös puhe nähdään merkittävänä tekijänä vaikkakin se ei suoraan ole osa robotin ulkonäköä. Merkittävin eroavaisuus robottien ulkonäölle ja kyvylle opetusmenetelmien välillä oli liikkeen puuttuminen eri robottien välillä. Kirjallisuudesta on mahdollista huomata, että liialliset ihmispiirteet robotissa voi aiheuttaa ihmisissä robottia välttävää käytöstä. Tämä havainto voidaan osittain myös todentaa opiskelijoiden kuvailemien robottien avulla. Tutkimuksen tuloksena syntyy 7 vaiheinen suunnitteluohje, jota demonstroidaan luomalla prototyyppi opetusrobotista

The nature and rationale of the robotic curriculum in elementary school

Background and Objective:As widespread changes have occurred in the community, the use of technology has also expanded. To effectively prepare for and cope with evolving of this century we need to design and develop special curricula. Educational robotics is an advanced technology that requires special attention. In the past few decades, robotics has attracted the attention of researchers and teachers as a valuable tool in developing cognitive / social skills of students and in supporting the learning of subjects in science, mathematics, language, and technology. There are several important reasons why young students should be exposed to robotics. As our world becomes more and more technologically advanced, students need to early experience so that to feel comfortable with and be aware of technology. In addition, the inclusion of robotics in the school curriculum will help prepare students to enter the job market with technological literacy. Robotics is an attractive approach to technology training due to its interdisciplinary nature, which requires expertise in a wide range of fields from mathematics to aesthetics. This can attract the interest and engagement of students who have not been successful in traditional subject matters. The purpose of this paper is to explain the philosophical orientation and educational robotics foundations at the primary school level so that policymakers, engineers and curriculum developers can formulate curriculum models for implementation. Methods: In this research, educational robotics was analyzed and synthesized using the synthesis research method. Valid documents and research from the last four decades have been selected and categorized using a criterion-based purposive sampling technique. Findings: Synthesis findings indicate that robotics in schools work in two ways as an independent subject and as an educational enabler serving other topics. Logical justification of it is based on constructivist, including epistemological (personal and multidisciplinary), psychological (attention to motivation, creativity and etc.) and sociological foundations (interaction, predictability and etc.). Conclusion: In order to design a curriculum, a planner must first pay attention to the nature of the subject or knowledge and then proceed to develop a plan based on the orientations of the curriculum. Because the subject is robotics training in elementary school, the planner must pay attention to its nature first. The findings of this synthesis showed that robotics can serve in schools at all levels as an independent subject or as an educational enabler in the service of other subjects. Therefore, it is necessary to differentiate between the concepts of robotic training and training robotics. In robotics training, the subject is robot training; but in educational robotics, the robot is considered as a method, tool or technique that is used to teach other subjects.   ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS  ©2019 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.  ====================================================================================