Robot Facilitation as Dynamic Support for Collaborative Learning

Automated as well as remotely controlled robots have high potential to expand our research and practice in collaborative learning environments. The area of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is one in which advanced technologies have been used effectively to automatically monitor and dynamically structure group discussions for learning. Traditional desktop environments for collaborative learning have included interactions between groups and computer agents with conversational abilities. Robots can take the collaboration out of the computer and into the three dimensional, real world environments of students. This symposium raises the important question of how advanced technologies, such as robotics, may enable us to take the same insights from the area of scripted collaboration and use them to support groups of learners in these environments. Other topic areas include design choices in robotic features that may influence scripted interactions, social behavior, meaningful engagement, and conditions that dynamically support situational factors and generate collaborative learning among students.