Skip to main content
Elsevier
View Cart

Robots for Kids

Exploring New Technologies for Learning

  • 1st Edition - March 29, 2000
  • Latest edition
  • Authors: Allison Druin, James Hendler
  • Language: English

Within the sphere of children's learning and play, the concept of robot and the application of actual robots are undergoing a dramatic expansion. Here the term "robot" refers to a… Read more

Purchase options

Sorry, this title is not available for purchase in your country/region.

World Book Day celebration

Where learning shapes lives

Up to 25% off trusted resources that support research, study, and discovery.

Explore resources

Description

Within the sphere of children's learning and play, the concept of robot and the application of actual robots are undergoing a dramatic expansion. Here the term "robot" refers to a growing range of interactive devices-including toys, pets, assistants to the disabled, and overtly educational tools-which are being used in ways that are expected to have profound and beneficial effects on how our children develop and grow.

Robots for Kids: Exploring New Technologies for Learning opens with contributions from leading designers and researchers, each offering a unique perspective into the challenge of developing robots specifically for children. The second part is devoted to the stories of educators who work with children using these devices, exploring new applications and mapping their impact. Throughout the book, essays by children are included that discuss their first-hand experiences and ideas about robots. This is an engaging, entertaining, and insightful book for a broad audience, including HCI, AI, and robotics researchers in business and academia, new media and consumer product developers, robotics hobbyists, toy designers, teachers, and education researchers.

Key features

* contributions by leaders in the fields of human-computer interaction and robotics* product development stories told by leading designers and researchers in organizations such as Microsoft, MIT Media Lab, Disney, and Sony* product application stories told by educators who are making robots a central part of kids' learning experiences, both in and out of the classroom* essays by kids-some, users of robotic technology, and others, designers in their own right

Readership

Specialists in children's design technology as well as game designers, toy designers and other consumer product designers

Table of contents

Section I. New Robot Technologies for KidsRobots for the Rest of UsJ. Hendler (UMD)Chapter 1 - To Mindstorms and Beyond: Evolution of a Construction Kit for Magical MachinesF. Martin, B. Mikhak, M. Resnik, B. Silverman, & R. Berg (Media Lab)1.1 Introduction1.2 From Floor Turtles to Crickets1.3 Applications and Research Focus1.4 Future Directions1.5 Acknowledgments1.6 ReferencesKid's View - My Dragon HelperSharone HendlerChapter 2 - Robot EntertainmentH. Kitano & M. Fujita (Sony Corporation)2.1 Introduction2.2 Requirements for a Pet-Type Robot2.3 Designing a Pet-Type Robot2.4 Implementation2.5 Reconfigurable Robot Platform2.6 Robots for Kids2.7 Conclusion2.8 ReferencesKid's View - Thomas's Robot ReviewThomas Plaisant SchwennChapter 3 - PETS: A Personal Electronic Teller of StoriesJ. Montemayor, A. Druin, J. Hendler (UMD)A StoryWho, or What, Is PETS?Why Build and Emotional Robot to Tell StoriesOur Intergenerational Design TeamWhat's Different about Our Lab?Cooperative InquiryReflectionsAcknowledgmentsReferencesKid's View - Making a RobotRebecca WagnerChapter 4 - Bolts from the Blue: How Large Dreams Can Become Real ProductsR. Maddocks (RJM Toys)4.1 How It All Began4.2 lessons Learned4.3 Turning a Large Dream into a Real Product: How Do Robotic Models Become Manufacturable Toy Products?4.4 The Hardest Part of the Process4.5 The Most Difficult Dreams to Make Real4.6 Favorite Project4.7 The Drama of Toy Design and the Mundane4.8 Product Development and the Toy Industry: What Do You Need to Learn?4.9 The Next Five YearsSection II. Innovative Approaches to Using Robots for EducationThe New Robotics: The Educator's ChallengeA. Druin (UMD)Chapter 5 - Teaching Diverse Learners Using RoboticsG. Miller, R. Church, M. Trexler (Kennedy Krieger School)5.1 Introduction5.2 Problems Faced by Students with Learning Difficulties5.3 Robotics and Content Acquisition: A Rationale5.4 Factors Contributing to the Successful Use of Robotics with Diverse Learners5.5 Using Robotics to Address Social Barriers5.6 Incorporating Robotics into Workforce Preparation5.7 Robotics in the Classroom: Case Studies5.8 Conclusion5.9 ReferencesKid's View: My RobotAlex KruskalChapter 6 - Technological Prayers: Parents and Children Exploring Robotics and ValuesM. Umaschi Bers & C. Urrea (MIT Media Lab)6.1 Introduction6.2 Pilot Experience6.3 Site6.4 Motivation6.5 Methodology and Evaluation6.6 Technology: Hardware and Software6.7 Process: THe Con-Science Workshop Day by Day6.8 Projects6.9 Technology and Values6.10 Learning Families6.11 Conclusions6.12 Acknowledgments6.13 ReferencesKid's View - Robot RecipeHanne OlsenChapter 7 - "So That'S what Pi is for!" and Other Epiphanies from Hands-on RoboticsD. Miller & C. Stein (KISS Institute for Practical Robotics)7.1 Who Will Build the Machines? (Modern Toys are Too Modern)7.2 KIPR in Brief - Who We Are, What We Do, and how It All Started7.3 KISS Institute Education Programs7.4 Finishing Up7.5 AcknowledgementsKid's View - The Robot We MadeLauren SumidaChapter 8 - Eat, Sleep, RoboticsM. Yim & M. Chow (Xerox Palo Alto Research Center)8.1 Introduction8.2 What is FIRST?8.3 The Competition8.4 Xerox PARC and GRT8.5 Other Venues of Competition8.6 GRT Is Different from High School8.7 Students Do Everything - Almost8.8 How GRT Affects Students8.9 Corporate Involvement with Schools8.10 Ingredients for Success8.11 Academic Motivation8.12 No LosersKid's View - Trapped with RobotsKate MurpheyChapter 9 - RoboCamp: One Hands-On Week of Exploring Science Through RoboticsR. Murphy (University of South Florida) & M. Rosenblatt (Carnegie Mellon University)9.1 Overview9.2 Target Audience and Instructors9.3 Organization and Syllabus9.4 Activities and Equipment9.5 Discussion9.6 Summary9.7 AcknowledgmentsSection III. Future VisionsKid's View - Hobatu: Punisher Droid, A Day in the "Life"Bob MilsteinChapter 10 - The Landscape of Robots for KidsRay Hammond

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: March 29, 2000
  • Language: English

About the authors

AD

Allison Druin

Allison Druin is assistant professor at the University of Maryland, both in the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies and the College of Education in the Department of Human Development. Her recent work has focused on developing-with children as her design partners-new robotic storytelling technologies. Druin is the editor of The Design of Children's Technology and coauthor of Designing Multimedia Environments for Children (John Wiley & Sons, 1996).

Affiliations and expertise
University of Maryland, USA

JH

James Hendler

Jim Hendler is the Tetherless World Senior Constellation Chair at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and has authored over 200 technical papers in the areas of artificial intelligence, Semantic Web, agent-based computing, and web science. One of the early developers of the Semantic Web, he is the Editor-in-Chief emeritus of IEEE Intelligent Systems and is the first computer scientist to serve on the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science. In 2010, he was chosen as one of the 20 most innovative professors in America by Playboy magazine, Hendler currently serves as an "Internet Web Expert" for the U.S. government, providing guidance to the Data.gov project.
Affiliations and expertise
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute