Humanoid robotics is an emerging field striving to deploy technological devices capable of resembling and mimicking the human form. Primarily, the capability of human-like robots to interact with people has proved to be contributory in areas such as education and caretaking, but less so in adult training. In this study, we outline the design and…

In comparison to children and young students, adult learners usually exhibit more complex learning behaviors and psychological needs during the learning process. Designing social robots for adult learners has, thus, been a challenging task and a far less explored area, and it requires the great efforts from both technical and theoretical…

Aim/Purpose: This paper explores the trends in robot storytelling, its conceptual models, and educational implications. Background: Digital storytelling is the use of digital media elements such as text, images, audio, and video to create and tell a story. A form of digital storytelling using a social robot to do the story presentation is called…

Educational Robotics (ER) has the potential to provide significant benefits to education, provided an increase in outreach by transitioning from the extra-curricular initiatives in which ER has thrived to formal education. As Computer Science (CS) Education is undergoing curricular reforms worldwide, the present study addresses the case of a…

This paper presents a rationale for using professional and continuing education (PaCE) units at post-secondary institutions throughout California to design and implement talent-pipelines, research and development collaborations, and other knowledge ecosystems where emerging and returning professionals can acquire the knowledge, skills, and…

As our society becomes more globalized and interconnected, technology adoption to support lifelong learning presents a continuous challenge for immigrants who need to acquire, update or adjust their learning and skills to the requirements of the host country. Consequently, technology adoption has become an important factor for immigrants to…

Robotic education is a popular topic in recent years. There are robotic education courses from pre-K to K-12 and these courses claim that they support STEM education. However, the teacher's perception of these activities and needs for this education is the missing part of the chain. The aim of this study to find out the perceptions and suggestions…

The article highlights and discusses aspects about the initial perceptions of Computational Thinking of a group of Mathematics teachers in K-12, estimates the contributions of a continuing education course on the subject and addresses possible changes in the participants' way of teaching. The case study was conducted through continuing education…

Real world places are important for foreign language (FL) learning since they provide rich and authentic language and cultural contexts for learners. However, numerous FL learners are unable to travel to target-language environments for language learning purposes. This article develops the concept of telepresence-place-based FL learning and…

The authors of the current investigation developed and evaluated the effects of a tutoring system based on a small-group arrangement to two young adults with autism spectrum disorder on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of sight words. The tutoring system was comprised of a virtual teacher to instruct sight words, and a humanoid…

In recent years, robots have increasingly been implemented as tutors in both first- and second-language education. The field of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) is developing rapidly. Studies have been published targeting different languages, age groups, and aspects of language and using different robots and methodologies. The present…

The importance of authentic communicative practices in foreign language (FL) learning has long been recognized. However, most FL learners lack adequate access to authentic communicative environments in the target language. In this article, we propose the use of telepresence robots as a potential solution to bridge this gap. Telepresence robots can…

The uncanny valley--the unnerving nature of humanlike robots--is an intriguing idea, but both its existence and its underlying cause are debated. We propose that humanlike robots are not only unnerving, but are so because their appearance prompts attributions of mind. In particular, we suggest that machines become unnerving when people ascribe to…

As inspirations from flora and fauna have led to many advances in modern technology, the concept of drawing ideas from nature for design should be reflected in engineering education. This paper focuses on a maple-seed robotic flier (MRF) with various complexities, a robotic platform modeled after the samaras of maple or ash trees, to teach STEM…

Everyone has an opinion about technology. Depending on whom you ask, it will either: a) Liberate us from the drudgery of everyday life, rescue us from disease and hardship, and enable the unimagined flourishing of human civilization; or b) Take away our jobs, leave us broke, purposeless, and miserable, and cause civilization as we know it to…