How IDA “Robot” Project Can Transform Classroom Experience? A Speculation

The robots will be sharing a bench besides your children. They will tell stories, singing their favorite songs and help them in their study. Well, you can call it a scene from any Sci-Fi movie, but you can see it in near future, if IDA’s pilot project meets success.

IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) is looking forward to make the learning more helpful by using humanoids in classroom. The authority has already started its pilot project by deploying Pepper and NAO at My First Skool Jurong Point and MY World @ Bukit Panjang since April. The project will be lasted to October. During that period, teachers will be trained to operate these robots. Furthermore, IDA has teamed up with SoftBank Telecom Singapore and Nanyang Technological University Robotics Research Centre.

These things show that IDA is really serious about the introduction of “artificial intelligence” in education field. It’s interesting to see that phase when robots will be sharing classroom with the students. Let’s see how robot can transform the classroom experience:

Making Study a Fun:

The students, especially at primary grades, can learn better when the classroom environment is interesting. And they will be thrilled to see the “toy” interacting with them. A robot can present the lessons to them in interesting ways so that can grasp them easily. After all, robots will be designed by keeping this point in mind.

Problem Solving:

A major portion of the students shy away from complex subjects like Science and Mathematics. Sometime a better teaching can’t help with that. A robot can come handy in this scenario. They will be equipped with the programs that can demonstrate the problem solving steps in engaging ways. In future, they can be expected to promote the high order thinking and creativity. Robots can promote the logical reasoning, critical thinking and analytical reasoning in the higher stages of the study. Robots are helpful to understand the complex ideas and theories into real world understanding.

A Step Towards Computational Thinking

Robots are new and create a curiosity in children to learn program and utilize the robotic platform. As robot will be controlled in few tap over any devices and designed for students of every age. Student can develop a computational thinking as they are surrounded by this technology, without going through the complex codes. It will help them to break down the complexity into several elements to understand.

In this way, robots in schools in Singapore can provide a unique experience to students in terms of learning. But that shouldn’t mean students will be “addicted” to look at it every now and then. We hope that these robots will develop a new approach in students towards education.

This post is written by Apixel IT Support – and IT Service Company with over 5 years of experience in asset management. Through its consultancy service in Singapore, it has helped a number of organizations to update their asset management and integrate it with sophisticated IT Support.