Technology has changed so vastly all across the world. Some things are brand new and others become obsolete. People learn from the many new technological advances that grace our presence day to day. I found one that was so fascinating. It’s a robot that teaches children. South Korea has robots in the classroom!!! Yujin Robotics (the name of the company producing them) has been demonstrating “Robosem” (a telepresence enabled bot) that can teach basic lessons or allow a remote human instructor to teleconference into a class. Yujin’s bot focus on teaching English to kindergarten students. They chose English to be one of the dominating subjects for the robots to teach because its cuts down on South Korea having to import many foreign tutors.
Robosem pairs a large LCD display with teleconference accessories (camera, mic, speakers, etc) All of these accessories are put inside a approachable frame which children are attracted to. The robot comes fully loaded with lesson plans or it can be operated remotely as a telerobot for live instruction via its monitor.
South Korea is really ahead of the United States when it comes the technological advances. Their goal is to ultimately be able to integrate robotics into their education system. They are expecting many others countries to adopt the technologies that are developed for the educational goals. South Korea plans to place a robot in every kindergarten class in 2013.
I found this article really interesting and I want to know your thoughts about this. Do you think robots would be a good asset to our educational system in the U. S.? If so what would be good subjects for the robots to teach. Do you think students could learn from the robots? Just write you thoughts I’m interested to know!
Heres to link to the article if you wanted to look more in depth about the Robots.
http://singularityhub.com/2011/02/26/another-robot-enters-korean-classrooms-as-automated-teaching-advances/
This is crazy! I'm not sure how I feel about this whole robot idea. When I first read this blog, and the article after, I thought "Ok, this is a very neat idea, kids would love this!" Then after awhile many questions/concerns came to me as far as how credible a robot teacher would be.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest concern with the whole robot teaching a class idea is the interactivity aspect. I read the article and it didn't say anywhere about whether or not the robot could answer questions students may have during the lessons. Is it just programmed to teach a lesson straight through without taking breaks, asking questions, starting discussions, etc. I guess with the younger kids class discussions aren't as prominent but I can imagine just how many questions that could arise.
We've been talking so much this semester in all three of our courses about how important engaging students in a class is, whether it's online or face-to-face. I think especially with kids you have to be patient and teach lessons a different way than say graduate students so another one of my concerns would be if the robot could handle that.
From what I've learned about it so far it sounds like it could be a useful tool and could work but I think I would use it as another tool to help the teacher teach certain lessons. I would not resort to the robot teaching a lot of the lessons. I would definitely be interested to see how exactly it taught a lesson. I definitely think it would be a cool new gadget to get kids excited about learning in a different setting, but again I don't think it should become the new way of teaching by any means. It's a very cool/interesting idea, but I don't think we're ready for that just yet!
This reminds me of The Jetsons! I was brainstorming about how a robot could be used to aid the children learning English. I was thinking maybe it could act as a language dictionary and recite proper pronunciation and definitions for the children. It would also be neat if the robot could perform games to help the children learn, especially with conjugating verbs since English seems to have many irregular verbs.
ReplyDeleteLike Britney said, while it is a neat concept, I have concerns. I wish the article would have gone into more detail about the robot's capabilities. I, too, wondered whether it could answer questions or pause to give students feedback or breaks. I would hope that the robot is used as a teaching aide only, because I think children learn best from direct, human-to-human interaction rather than from a robot as their main source of information.
It seems like a theme with all of the posts this semester has been our fascination with introducing new technology in the classroom yet concern over when to draw the line. I think a robot as the main source of teaching in a kindergarten classroom is beginning to cross the line of too much technology. First, kindergarteners get iPads in the classroom and now robots. Where will it go from here and are we teaching young children to be far too dependent on technology?
Although it is crazy how South Korea is using robots to teach students English, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. If classrooms started using just robots to teach their classes, what's stopping them from just having all online classes at home? Especially in elementary and middle school years, I think interaction with teachers and students is a huge component of student growth academically and socially.
ReplyDeleteHaving a robot teach students limits the amount of interaction in the classroom. When I'm teaching, I'm always available to help the students during their individual and group work, and answer any questions during lessons. Will the robots be able to do this? Will these robots be able to control classroom management? Who is going to tell the students to stop talking during a lesson? So many people go to school to be teachers, and it is already hard enough to get a job, so will this make it even harder?
Like every other form of technology we have discussed in class and throughout this blog, there are always positive and negatives. However, in my opinion, having robots teach lessons defintiely has more negative outcomes than positive.
I like how Melisa brought up the point about whether robots will be able to handle classroom management. I can imagine so many bad outcomes if a robot acted as the sole classroom manager. But this CNN article (http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-22/tech/south.
ReplyDeletekorea.robot.teachers_1_robot-english-teachers?_s=PM:TECH) made it sound as if the robots are used as aides, so there is always an actual teacher present in the classroom.
It was also interesting to hear the perspective of someone who has invested so much time into learning how to become an effective teacher. I am sure teachers could list dozens of reasons why humans teaching humans inside an actual classroom is beneficial for learning. Teaching is already being "outsourced" in a way, as more classes are only being offered online or students rely on software for learning. And it is crazy to think that teaching could one day be completely "outsourced" to robots.
Since we discuss research so much in this program, it led me to wonder whether South Korea has conducted many studies to see how learning has changed with the robot in the classrooms. As this is a government initiated plan, there have of course been studies, which are briefly discussed in the CNN article I mentioned earlier. The senior research engineer reported students have been more motivated and interested in learning English when the robot was in the classroom. I feel more relieved about the use of the robots now that it seems like they are used more for assistance and repetition work when practicing English, rather than as the sole teacher in a classroom.
Wow. My first question before I make a solid judgement is about the amount of time the robot instruction takes up vs the actual teacher. In other words, is it the sole method of instruction or is it just a tool that is brought in for a period of time? I feel like that would greatly determine whether the robot was successful as an educational tool.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when the article mentioned that the robots are being introduced as early as kindergarten. In my mind, kindergarten is much too early to be taking away one of the main sources of human interaction at such an early stage of development. If we are wary about keeping our kids plugged in to the tv at home, we need to also monitor how much "tube time" happens at school.
This is a really interesting concept because the tech enthusiast in me doesn't want to be close-minded about the possibility of this technology. But at the same time the image of our future as depicted in Wall-E where humans are ginormous and are ushered along their lives in hover chairs, constantly plugged in to a screen 8 inches from their face, haunts me. (Yes I'm using Pixar as the example of my fear for society haha)
I'm all for technology and advancement. But I hope we never lose sight of the actual world around us and the pricelessness of human interaction. Moderation and balance is key.
Wow! I haven't heard of this before. First to answer the question posed in the blog, I do not think these robots would be good in the United States. My personal belief is that technology can add alot to the classroom, but we should not add technologies simply because we can. There is a time and place for everything. Technologies that can impact learning and increase performance of both instructors and students should by all means be integrated into the classroom. On the other hand, a technology should not be adapted simply because it is a technology and is "new and shiny".
ReplyDeleteI can understand Korea's need for these robots. It is costly to import instructors to teach English. Therefore, they are saving money and still helping the children learn a valuable skill in today's world. In the United States, however, the diversity of the population meets the goals of teaching diverse subjects. In my opinion, a teacher should never be replaced if it is avoidable. Technology might enhance learning, but the teacher ignites the fire that is education. The teacher nurtures the education and relates to the person of the student.
So in light of my own biases, I believe that robotic teachers should only be added when the situation is unavoidable. They might make a decent substitute for an instructor, but they should never replace the instructors.
When will we say technology has gone too far?
This is such an advancement for distance lessons! Japanese was offered at my high school but people watched instructional videos on Japanese instead of having a teacher come in. To have a teacher teach via robot instead of watching a video is an improvement for distance learning. However, this is kinda creepy. I am not surprised at all the South Korea is using robots in the classroom. It is a very wired country and has an impressive education system. That being said, I don't like the idea of robots solely teaching children and hope this does not happen in the future. A large part of a child's education is socialization and learning how to interact with other people. Robots cannot give that to children and human interactions are essential for proper development. And like other people said, I am questioning a robot's classroom management skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Melisa that classroom management would certainly extend beyond the robot’s capabilities, and of course, as Caitlin mentioned, most human interaction/communication would be lost between teacher and student as well. If these robots are being used as a primary mode of instruction, of course they are impractical! I do not support robots fulfilling this type of ridiculous/unrealistic role in the classroom. The concept of robots replacing teachers is emphasized in this Geico commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Qc_nmSUGQ&noredirect=1) with the robot daycare center.
ReplyDeleteIF, however, these robots are being used as a supplemental teaching aide, like a technological companion to the curriculum, I can see them having positive impacts in the classroom. Establishing an authoritative presence may be challenging for robots, as students probably do not expect robots to display much emotion and probably do not expect consequences to be administered the way real human teachers would do so. I could, though, see robots providing an exciting and interactive experience for students if used to supplement lessons.