Reading with Robots: Engaging children to read aloud to robots

Introduction Seymour Papert in Mindstorms highlights the powerful potential technology, especially computers, has in education. He envisions a future where the computer's role goes beyond just " computer-aided instruction, " and instead it becomes an instrument that helps people think and learn creatively. Rather than for computers to " program the child, " the child should take on an active role and " program the computer " [1]. We present a technology called the Huggable, an embodied computer, that can encourage children to read aloud (see Figure 5). The Huggable is an autonomous robotic teddy bear capable of fun and dynamic interactions with its reader. As a child reads a story out-loud, the Huggable follows along and listens and occasionally looks and nods at the reader and at the pictures in the book. The Huggable can also understand the content of the story and emotionally reacts to the different events and scenes in the book. Through these rich and meaningful interactions, we hope to keep a child engaged as he/she reads the book aloud. By Reading with Robots, we hope to make reading a fun and positive experience for all kids. And by associating reading as a fun interactive activity, children will genuinely want to comeback and read again to the Huggable. And by practicing their oral fluency, children can improve their reading comprehension and other literacy skills [7]. Robots are already having a positive impact in classroom settings. Robots like LEGO Mindstorms are helping children effectively learn about science, technology, and mathematics [16]. They even encourage children to work together in teams, helping them develop social skills in the process. Robots also foster creative imagination and innovation through the making of robot designs and computer algorithms. Classrooms in Japan have introduced an interactive robot tutor called Robovie that speaks English to the Japanese children. In just 2 weeks, researchers found that the classroom's English skills had significantly improved [15]. Robots have a power potential in education. And as we step into this new frontier of robots and education, we consider principles from new learning sciences, principles of human-robot-interaction, designs of previous similar works, and the latest advancements in research technology to drive and shape our design of Reading with Robots, a fun activity where children can read aloud to robots that listen and keep the reader engaged throughout the book.