Orchestration of Robotic Activities in Classrooms: Challenges and Opportunities

Sina Shahmoradi, Jennifer K. Olsen, Stian Håklev, Wafa Johal, Utku Norman, Jauwairia Nasir, Pierre Dillenbourg

Abstract: Bringing robots into classrooms presents a new set of challenges for classroom management and teacher support compared to traditional technology-enhanced learning and has been left almost unexplored by the research community. In this paper, we present the opportunities and challenges of orchestrating Educational Robotics (ER) activities in classrooms. To support our discussion, we present a case study of 25 students working in pairs using handheld robots to engage in a computational thinking activity. While performing the activity, students’ behavioral information was sent from the robots to an orchestration dashboard that was used in a debriefing activity. Although this work is in its preliminary stages, it contributes to framing the challenges that need to be addressed to realistically scale-up usage of ER in classrooms.