Letting Artificial Intelligence in Education Out of the Box: Educational Cobots and Smart Classrooms

Abstract

This paper proposes that the field of AIED is now mature enough to break away from being delivered mainly through computers and pads so that it can engage with students in new ways and help teachers to teach more effectively. Mostly, the intelligent systems that AIED has delivered so far have used computers and other devices that were essentially designed for businesses or personal use, and not specifically for education. The future holds the promise of creating technologies designed specifically for learning and teaching by combining the power of AIED with advances in the field of robotics and in the increasing use of sensor devices to monitor our surroundings and actions. The paper assumes that “schools” (i.e., a place where children will gather to learn) will still exist in some shape or form in 25 years and that teachers will continue to oversee and promote learning among the students. It proposes that there will be educational cobots assisting teachers in the classrooms of tomorrow and provides examples from current work in robotics. It also envisions smart classrooms that make use of sensors to support learning and illustrates how they might be used in new ways if AIED applications are embedded into them.