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Robots that Will Make
the Kids Want to
Learn Math and Science
by Dion Greg Reyes
For the kids, learning math and science is
almost always boring. The methods of teaching
such subjects to the young ones do not usually
appeal to them especially when the styles are
too traditional or lacking with techniques or
innovation. You can see in their eyes that they
show no interest at all because let’s face it, they
would rather choose to play with their toys
rather than immerse themselves in the seemingly
difficult to process world of math and science.
But with advent of modern technology through
robots, this might change.
There is a certain charm with robots that children
can be so enticed with. Using that charm, the
robots can capture the attention of the children
to be directed to a fun learning process, teaching
them about math and science. The children will
be immersed more than ever in wanting to learn
with the enhanced interactive tools.
“Kids recognize when they are learning something
themselves—robots give them that. Building and
programming these devices is part of becoming
a creative science and engineering kind of
person.” That’s what Larry Johnson, CEO of a
research organization specializing in educational
technology called New Media Consortium said.
Robots have been proven to be more effective
educational tools starting from the lower grades
up to graduate school.
Here are robot platforms specially designed to
teach children:
Play-i
The robot tandem that encourages kids to engage
in computational thinking without knowing
it, Play-i robots are a product of a successful
Kickstarter campaign. No doubt about that
because it holds a lot of promise in teaching kids
through learning activities. Play-i robots are ball-
shaped and composed of two: Bo and Yana. Bo is
made up of four connected spheres that children
program to glide along the floor on three wheels,
avoiding obstacles and delivering small items in
the process. Yana is a single sphere laden with
sensors. Both are connected with a variety of
Apple iOS and Google Android mobile devices
using Bluetooth 4.0.
“The goal is to keep interaction open-ended and
free-play so kids discover what they can do with
the robot. The robot draws them in while posing
new challenges over time,” says Play-i founder
and CEO Vikas Gupta.
Photo by Robot Launch
50
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics