Project

Social Robot Toolkit

Bryce Vickmark http://vickmark.com/

Groups

The Social Robot Toolkit aims to provide a platform for children to learn through playful interaction. The social robot (Soro) toolkit allows preschool children to experiment with computational concepts while teaching a social robot new rules. The toolkit also provides a platform for learning interpersonal skills through the use of storytelling that integrates interpersonal and computational concepts. This harnesses preschoolers' natural interest in social interaction to familiarize them with new concepts.

The Social Robot Toolkit aims to provide a platform for children to learn through playful interaction. The social robot (Soro) toolkit allows preschool children to experiment with computational concepts while teaching a social robot new rules. The toolkit also provides a platform for learning interpersonal skills through the use of storytelling that integrates interpersonal and computational concepts. This harnesses preschoolers' natural interest in social interaction to familiarize them with new concepts.

In the first iteration of this project, children used reusable vinyl stickers to create programming rules for their robot companion. The children were able to  explore computational concepts such as commands, sequencing, conditions, and non-determinism.