A Robot in Kindergarten

摘要

These thought are the result of work in progress, started in 1999, within the scope of the Trás-os-Montes Digital/SCETAD, project (sub-project: ICEI - Computers in Early Childhood Education Contexts). The work took place in Portuguese kindergarten rooms, with children aged 3, 4, 5 and 6. The ICEI sub-project aims to promote the use of ICT in a playful but pedagogical way, be it free or directed. This use is intended to occur within the scope of activities developed for the micro-spaces of the kindergarten activity room. Their main aims being: increased awareness of ICT among children; contributing for making children and teachers feel at ease with ICT; contribute for the identification of computer-usage and network-usage methodologies as teaching/learning tools. We believe that ICT can help promote the use of basic skills for the child's global development. Within the several available ICT, we will just present here the work developed with the "Roamer" robot (Amethyst Consultancy Ltd., 2003).