Collaborative Learning with Social Robots – Reflections on the Novel Co-learning Concepts Robocamp and Robotour

Abstract

This article presents the Robostudio space for collaborative learning (co-learning) around and with social robots, and two novel co-learning concepts. The first concept, Robocamp, is a home-based one-month learning model for family members’ co-learning with a robot. In this model, a social robot is borrowed for families, and weekly hands-on tasks to be conducted with the robot are provided. The second concept, a co-learning workshop called Robotour, takes place in Robostudio and there, university students and primary school pupils together gain an understanding of different aspects of social robots. Both concepts aim for the cooperation between different learner groups and increasing their knowledge about social robots, interaction with them, and how to operate or program them. We present the current state-of-the-art in the area of educational robots, as well as initial evaluations of our concepts with the authentic target groups. We also reflect on our concepts in light of their benefits and potential. According to the evaluation findings, Robocamp provided an encouraging environment that allowed all the participating family members to participate in the collaborative activity, as well as think critically about the limitations of the robots. Robotour successfully raised different learner groups’ curiosity towards robots, which further resulted in the enhancement of their creativity. The knowledge from this article can be utilized by researchers, designers, and teachers, who are interested in the development and implementation of co-learning activities around and with social robots.