What Is the Role of Robots in Education?

Incorporating robots into education is a modern alternative that is becoming increasingly popular to supplement classes at all levels. To understand why this is happening, we must first understand the impact of robotics on education.

Traditional educational norms still exist and cannot be discarded by any professional. However, some are looking for new strategies, and in such cases, the benefits of robotics in education are increasingly being used.

However, as with the history of artificial intelligence, societies around the world do not fully agree on whether to include them in education. But while this is a topic of great debate, the reality is that more and more educational institutions are using robot features in education. It may even help that students will buy fewer term papers online because of their interest in robots.

So if you want to know what educational robotics is, what are the advantages and disadvantages of robots in education, and what types of robots are most recommended for classroom instruction, don't miss this article.

Let's get started!

What Is Educational Robotics?

When analyzing what educational robotics is, first of all, you should know that the word "robot" goes back to 1921, when Czech writer Karel Čapek coined the term for his novel R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots).

And if you look further into the history of robotics, you will find that the term comes from the Czech word "robota", which means hard work. So, with this knowledge, we can conclude that robots in education are a discipline designed to introduce students interactively to robotics and programming from an early age.

Of course, there are robots with different characteristics, and the entry-level may not match the one used in the university, but there is no doubt that they all work excellently.

On the other hand, it is also important to emphasize that robots in education are part of the STEM system, defined as an educational model designed to teach these subjects where practice trumps theory.

In conclusion, according to the Invention Hall of Fame, STEM helps develop many talents in students, including creativity and 21st-century skills.

What Are the Stages of Educational Robotics?

With so much content available, it may be difficult for teachers to understand how to adapt their lessons to the goals of using robots in education. Therefore, to develop the right instructional strategy and get the most out of it, there are seven stages of educational robotics to follow:

• Problematization – A given problem is posed and the feasibility of solving it using robot skills in education is assessed.
• Designing – A diagrammatic step that looks at how robotics will be used to solve the problem.
• Designing – A step to build, with the help of an educational robot, a solution to the problem.
• Programming – The intermediate step of educational robotics steps, as it involves programming the robot to analyze if it can solve the problem.
• Testing – The key moment when the project begins to work, analyzing whether it matches everything that was thought up.
• Documentation – An administrative task in which records are made of how the robot worked in education.
• Presentation – completion of the work, explaining how the robot affected the task at hand.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Robots in Education

As we mentioned in the previous paragraphs, educational robotics has not been around for very long, so opinions on whether or not its implementation is right or wrong are still very controversial.

But despite many points of view, there are specific characteristics of robots in education that allow us to analyze their weaknesses and strengths. So now we will look at the advantages and disadvantages of robots in education.

Pros of Using Robots

1. Opportunities for teamwork and collaboration

Believe it or not, there is a robotics club for kids in the world of robotics, where students get together after school to learn and work with robots.

This type of club encourages students to collaborate, create, and learn from each other as well as improve STEM skills and strengthen human relationships, creating synergy between robotics and education.

2. Students learn at their own pace

One of the benefits of using robots in education is that their parts are sold in kits, allowing young people to learn at home at their own pace. Therefore, although the main content will be given in the classroom, students will also work with robotics in education at home in a fun and didactic way.

3. Reinforcing multiple disciplines

There are educational robotics kits, such as VEX, that motivate students to the program, which in turn helps improve their math and science skills. Thus, in a sense, robots helping education is STEM learning, in which robots are built and programmed while gaining knowledge to learn how to solve everyday problems.

4. Developing cognitive skills

In addition to improving computational thinking, robots in education are designed to help develop other cognitive skills in children and adolescents, such as:

• Learning from mistakes. Understanding that mistakes are not conclusive and always provide opportunities to come to new conclusions.
• Teamwork. Activities such as robotics clubs promote socialization and collaboration.
• Adaptability. As robots in education become more relevant every day, learning about them from an early age will allow students to better adapt to the future.
• Creativity. Finding solutions and being able to assign any task to a robot encourages creativity.
• Self-Esteem. Achieving success in a new area, such as educational robotics, leads to increased self-esteem.
• Initiative. With increased self-esteem, students will be more willing to propose new initiatives.
• Practical application. Following the STEM model, robotics in education motivates students to learn more about these subjects.

Cons of Using Robots

The use of robots in education has shown optimal results at all educational levels, so it is almost impossible to find weaknesses associated with their implementation. However, there is no such thing as perfection, so here are the disadvantages of robots in education:

1. It takes the spotlight away from traditional ways of teaching

Whether you use educational robots for children, teens, or adults, all students will be more engrossed in the device than in the book. Therefore, constant use of educational robotics will distract from traditional ways of learning after a few days.

2. The robot's performance may not meet expectations

Although there are many examples of using robots in education, the risk of buying a product that does not meet your expectations will always be present. So even if you buy the most advanced robot, it may turn out to be faulty or go unnoticed by students, and simply put, you will consider it an unnecessary waste.

3. Difficulty in assembling the robot

Photos of learning robots always show the final product, but rarely include a picture of how it gets into your hands. In other words, the vast majority of robots are not assembled before they hit the market. Therefore, the user will have to assemble it in its entirety, which can be very difficult for someone with no knowledge in this area.

4. Price

Educational robots are growing in function, so new products have the technology to spare. While this may be a plus when it comes to using it to teach classes, it may not be a plus when it comes to paying for it. The more things you can do with the robot, the more expensive it will cost.

So one of the disadvantages of robots in education is their price. From the simplest to the most advanced model, they all have a high price tag.

Tips for a Correct Use of Educational Robotics

There is no list of steps to follow to use educational robotics effectively, but we can give you some tips that will be very useful when you are speaking to students. So, if you have already put the seven steps of educational robotics into practice, here are a few more things to keep in mind:

• Recognize the importance of the adaptation period. If your students have never used robots in education, it's best to familiarize them with them before applying them to troubleshooting.
• Control the use of the robot. These products may be fragile or sensitive to impact, so use their features as long as you can keep them out of harm's way.
• Supplement technology with traditional strategies. We already mentioned that one of the disadvantages of robots in education is that they replace traditional methods, so avoid this.
• Inform yourself before using. No matter how experienced you are in educational robotics, every product is different. So a good tip is to read the instructions for the robot before using it in the classroom.

Conclusion

The use of robots in education is becoming increasingly popular, and there is no doubt that millions of educational institutions will choose them as a tool for classroom instruction in the near future.

Because of their variety, the stages of educational robotics that are associated with their use, and the goals that can easily be accomplished with them, we can say that robots are here and now.