Tema 2: The NAO robot as a Persuasive Educational and Entertainment Robot (PEER) – a case study on children’s articulation, categorization and interaction with a social robot for learning

Abstract

The application of social robots as motivational tools and companions in education is increasingly being explored from a theoretical and practical point of view. In this paper, we examine the social robot NAO as a Persuasive Educational and Entertainment Robot (PEER) and present findings from a case study on the use of NAO to support learning environments in Danish primary schools.In the case study we focus on the children’s practice of articulation and embodied interaction with NAO and investigate the role of NAO as a ‘tool’, ‘social actor’ or ‘simulating medium’ in the learning designs. We examine whether this categorization is static or dynamic, i. e. develops and changes over the course of the interaction and explore how this relates to and affects the student’s motivation to engage in the NAO-supported learning activities.