Robotic systems are increasingly being used in the performance of human functions. This has already affected the education system. And in some cases, a serious advantage of AI over humans is noticeable.
C-3P0, R2-D2 and Wall-E are three different robots that are known around the world thanks to their appearance on wide screens. However, small, friendly and humanoid robots have become more than just fictional characters. They gradually start teaching. And so far they are showing themselves as very good teachers.
From the age of 12 months - on average - children learn new words from robot instructors (who look after them, dance and entertain them in every possible way). By elementary school, children are already able to memorize the basics of foreign languages taught to them by humanoid robots.
Robots seem to do well in teaching, but how do they cope with the role of playmate? Children like robots - so much so that even when the robot ignores them, they try to get its attention. Children tell the robots their secrets. They even feel pressure from them to the point that they give the wrong answer to the question, if before that other robots also answered incorrectly.
What happens when kids become robot teachers? It turns out that they do an excellent job of this role. What's more, a study this spring found that children learn better when they memorize material to teach a robot than if they didn't have to.
In order to teach robots something, a child needs to learn to program, which means that they receive fundamental skills, study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) even in elementary school.
Humanoid robots are a unique example of teaching programming skills to students, as they want to teach AI to perform tasks that it could not do before. With a unique motivation to train a robot, students channel their intelligence towards learning the basics of programming. In addition, children learn to solve problems, seek new information, and share their findings with peers.
Promotional video:
Despite the fact that robotic platforms are still very new and most schools have not yet decided on such a serious step, successful results are already visible in introducing robots into the education system. One study, soon to be published in a peer-reviewed publication, looks at a girls' school in South Australia that excels at using robots as teachers and students.
The eighth grade students decided that their programming project would require programming a NAO robot to teach fourth grade girls German words. The eighth graders didn't know how to program the robot or how to speak German. The students independently learned how to program NAO to speak foreign languages, and learned phrases in German themselves.
Once the schoolgirls successfully completed the tasks, they sent the robot to the fourth grade so that their NAO (and their hard work) could be useful for younger students in learning German.
Therefore, robots will definitely find a place in school. They are interesting and motivating for teens, and can have a cascading effect on the education of all grades. Learning with robots, with their help and for them makes learning more effective - not only computer science lessons. And with this begins a new era of learning for Gen Z.
Vladimir Guillen