ROBOT TEACHERS TECHNOLOGY SHOW AND TELLWINTER 2016

WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

WHAT CAN ROBOT TEACHERS DO?

HOW WILL ROBOT TEACHERS AFFECT OUR LIVES?• Robot teachers are already being used in classrooms to work

as:• Companions for children with autism in the classroom• Therapy for children with autism• Vocabulary development in early grades• English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instructors• Able to teach simple skills

HOW WILL ROBOT TEACHERS CHANGE COMMUNICATION?• Programmed to be responsive to stimuli• Some facial expressions and gestures• Able to learn as they teach information• Accumulate knowledge through experience• Able to track motions and recognize language

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES AROUND ROBOT TEACHERS?• “I worry that if kids grow up being taught by robots and

viewing technology as the instructor, they will see it as the master” says Mitchel Resnick, head of Lifelong Kindergarten group at Media Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology• Concerns about ethical issues and effectiveness in the

classroom

WHAT CHANGES ARE FORECAST?

• Robots will be employed as teacher aids• They will not replace teachers all together• “With the right kind of technology at a critical point in a

child’s development, they (Robot Teachers) could supplement learning in the classroom.” stated Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington.

WHO ARE THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN ROBOT TEACHING TECHNOLOGY?• Institute of Science and Technology• The project is supported by more than $100 million in grants• Mainly from South Korea• Involves more than 300 researchers

CAN ROBOT TEACHERS BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM?• As of December, 2010, South Korea has hundreds of them in

place in classrooms as teacher aides• In San Diego, a robot name RUBI is teaching Finnish• Honda Labs in Mountain View, California employs a robot to

help teach children household chores

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM ROBOT TEACHERS?• Adults• Children• Teachers• Institutions• Households• Businesses

SOURCES:

• Carey, Benedict, Markoff, John, Students, Meet Your New Teacher Mr.Robot, New York Times; July 10, 2010 Retrieved January 20, 2016 at: www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/science/11robots.html• Young, Jeffrey R., Robot Teachers Are The Latest E-Learning

Tool, The Chronical of Higher Education; October 31, 2010