Exploring design requirements for educational robots used in K-12 education from educator’s perspective

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2018
Gürkanlı, Cengiz Hakan
Robotics field has broad application in human society and design space of robots even broader. In the last decades, robots were started to be used for various purposes after their first examples in industrial settings. Use of robots in various human work domains provide multiple benefits over other technological devices. Education is one of the challenging primary fields in which robots offer advantages over other technologies. Unlike other fields of robotics which requires advanced programming architectures or artificial intelligence, use of robots in education requires more humancentred perspective rather than focusing on the technology itself. Use of technologies in learning environments has a long history. Educational robots are actively used for educational purposes over three decades as a tool for learning activities. However, design and human-centred issues related to educational robotics literature is an overlooked area of research. Therefore, in the light of the previous studies in the area, this study aims to explore design related issues from a human-centred perspective. In the study, questions about the relationship between robot design and learning activities were explored from the educator’s perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 respondents from different institutions. Interview results are examined the following issues: the ways robots support education, current and possible challenges of using robots in education, and how the interventions on the design of robots can support learning environments. In the light of the attained suggestions and comments from educators, study explored design requirements for educational robotics as a tool for learning in school environments. Requirements derived from the perspective of educators can provide guidance for designers who are challenged by designing robots for educational environments.

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Citation Formats
C. H. Gürkanlı, “Exploring design requirements for educational robots used in K-12 education from educator’s perspective,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2018.