Pepper Robot As a Host Tool for Guests to Learn about ACTC Career Pathways

Bryan Batcher is an AP Computer Science Instructor and Esports Coach at Anderson Districts 1 & 2 Career and Technology Center (ACTC) His current project is for guests to be able to learn about all of the career pathways offered at ACTC via the touchscreen from Pepper robot! In teams, his students take Pepper to other career instructors classrooms and they demonstrate the robot to teachers and students to find out ways that robots are used in their field. 

This is his story!

Feature a Teacher: NAO robot as a great enhancement to Exploratory Robotics programs

Kelly Schuster-Paredes is a Computer Science and Technology Specialist from Pine Crest School. As part of the School’s strategic plan, the Educational Design team and computer science program had already been working with Pepper in the classroom. As the program expanded, the Educational Design team researched more robots and discovered NAO. Pine Crest purchased two NAO robots to integrate into their computer science program.

Photograph provided by Kelly Schuster

Feature a Teacher: Using Cubelets to run STEM and Robotics After-School Workshops

Kasey Herzberg is the Executive Director of the Challenger Learning Center of Minnesota, a nonprofit working to bring a unique and powerful STEM education center to the state. Her mission is to build confidence in students in the areas of science, technology, and engineering, and to create a lifelong passion for these topics.

VR Expeditions 2.0 as the Best Alternative for VR in the Classroom

Becky Csizmesia is a VILS Instructional Technology Coach at Henry Lord Community School - Fall River Public Schools. She has been using the VR Expeditions 2.0 kit with her students since the beginning of the school year! This is her story. 

Feature a Teacher: Pepper Robot as a helper to People with Dementia

Xiaopeng Zhao is a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville working in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering. Zhao and his students conduct research and develop projects focused on how Pepper Robot, along with AI and other information and communication technologies, can assist diagnosis, care, and rehab of people with dementia.

This is his amazing story! 

Feature a Teacher: NAO Robot as a great RoboCup Participant.

Peter Stone is a Computer Science professor at the University of Texas at Austin and he has used his NAO robots for different projects and classes, such as the RoboCup competition. This is his story. 

Hotel Potrero De Los Funes is the first hotel in Argentina to incorporate BellaBot as part of their restaurant staff!

Leonardo Agnesi, CEO of the Hotel Potrero de Los Funes in Argentina, has hired BellaBot, a robot for food delivery at the restaurant of the hotel. This makes it the first hotel in Argentina and Latin America to incorporate this type of technology. Here’s the story. 

¡El Hotel Potrero De Los Funes es el primer hotel en Argentina en incorporar a BellaBot como parte de su personal de restaurante!

Leonardo Agnesi, CEO del Hotel Potrero de Los Funes en Argentina, ha contratado a BellaBot, un robot para la entrega de alimentos en el restaurante del hotel. Esto lo convierte en el primer hotel de Argentina y Latinoamérica en incorporar este tipo de tecnología. Aquí está la historia.

Feature a Teacher: Dash Robots as Coding tools in Nigeria

Olutade Ojelabi is a technologist that proposed the creation of the JT robotics club (currently in progress with registration with the cooperate affairs body in Nigeria). The purpose of the club is to partner with code learners and different schools in Nigeria to  teach coding with Dash Robots. This is his story! 

Pepper Robot as a Teaching Tool for Libraries.

Bob Kuntz  Director of Operations and Innovation and Jennifer Bishop Online Services and Emerging Technologies Supervisor at Carroll County Public Library (CCPL) are using Pepper Robot as a teaching tool. Through Pepper Robot, they are introducing the community to practical applications for robots as well as showing them an engaging way to teach coding to youth and adults. Bob and Jennifer shared with RobotLAB the positive experience of having Pepper in the library. These are their thoughts. 

Feature a Teacher: Virtual Reality as the Perfect Educational Guide traveler

Lori Thompson is a District Media Specialist at Street Boro City Schools, She has been using the RobotLAB VR Kit   with her students since 2018. This is her story! 

Feature a Teacher: NAO as a motivation and awareness on AI

Anthony Noriega is an Adjunct Professor at New Jersey City University, He has been using the NAO robot since 2016 and this is his story. 

Feature a Teacher: NAO and its Versatility in the Classroom

Clifton Bossong is the Assesment/S.T.E.A.M coordinator at the Carnegie Science Center  and he has been using the NAO Robot for the past 8 years with his students. This is his story. 

Feature a Teacher: NAO as the perfect game-pal

Joanne Bechta Dugan is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Director of the Computer Engineering Programs at the University of Virginia She has being using the NAO Robot with her students and this is her story. 

Prof. Joanne realized that the NAO Robot is the best tool for her when she saw the robot dancing "Gangnam Style" at the 2014 ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) conference  and she watched the crowds gather around. 

Feature a Teacher: NAO as a perfect STEAM ambassador to capture the interest of young students.

 Maureen Miller is the Director of Technology of the Winnetka Public Schools and she works this a NAO robot with her students. This is her story.

For Maureen, the first time she realized that NAO robot was the tool for her students was in May of 2016, her students were participating in a Tech and Learning Live conference in Chicago. The purpose of their visit was to demonstrate their robotics and coding progression for K-8 Maker-spaces.  “Next to us, the RobotLAB team had a NAO robot performing the "Thriller" dance. We knew then that NAO would be the perfect STEAM ambassador to capture the interest of our youngest students and the "reach" platform for our most advanced students” Miller said.

Feature a Teacher: NAO is the perfect recruiter for our engineering program.

Michael Martin is a teacher from Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, CA in the Engineering program. Two years ago, when the school was getting ready to start competing in the SkillsUSA Championships was the first-time he realized that NAO robot was the tool for his students. They saw that Humanoid Robotics was a contest, and they decided to get involved. 

Feature a Teacher: Using NAO as a tool for learning and as an adventure program simulator.

Bob Barboza is an educator, STEM journalists, composer and founder of the Barboza Space Center STEM & STEAM fellowship Program and Kids Talk Radio Science. http://www.barbozaspacecenter.com/  He trains Jr. astronauts, engineers, and scientists for the "Occupy Mars Learning Adventures." His students and interns are learning robot and satellite design, building, and repair.  

Feature a Teacher: NAO as an interactive tool to develop new Artificial Intelligence methodologies

Sam Thangiah is a Professor/ Director, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Lab at Slippery Rock University – Computer Science Department and he has been using the NAO Robot to read stories for K-1 students, interact with autistic children and develop implementation of AI methods in the robo. Due to the sensors and the capability of the robot to program with the API provided, Mr. Thangiah realized that NAO robot is the best tool for him.

Feature a Teacher: NAO as an emotional robot for students

Mauro Colucci a Mechatronics teacher, and Maila Biaggi a English language teacher at Vocational School’G. Marcelli’- http://www.scuolafoiano.gov.it/ they have been using the NAO Robot for two years when the school was looking for an emotional robot completely programmable that could have a strong impact on the students. they met NAO Robot and since then, they realized it was the perfect tool for them.

Feature a Teacher: NAO as a tool for fun and engaging project based-learning activities.

Tobe Roberts is an Educational Technologist at Bergen County Technical Schools, he has been using the NAO Robot to introduce a lesson, deliver exit ticket questions, create simulations with role play for the students utilizing the robot. Mr. Roberts created Pony Express simulation, Star Trek StarFleet Academy simulation for the topic of forms of Energy and NASA Space Flight simulation.

Feature a Teacher: NAO as a dancing tool to understand human-robot interaction. 

Amy LaViers is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and director of the RAD Lab a website of Robotics Automation and Dance (RAD). During her PhD Thesis she realized that Nao robot is the tool for her engaging for the public and researches alike.  

Feature a Teacher:  NAO as a Programming Tool for Robotics Course

Nicholas Kosloski is a Technology Innovation Design and Engineering Teacher at Somers High School in Connecticut.  He has been using the Nao robot as a tool throughout the Programming Unit of a Robotics course.  There are many other tools he uses including VEX robotics.  This serves as the Humanoid section of the unit.

Feature a Teacher: Using NAO in Behavior Analysis

Thus far, NAO and other humanoid robots are commonly used successfully to help teach children STEM subjects, as well as help children with autism learn social skills. But there is one education program using NAO in a completely different way - and with some very promising results.

Dr. Ellie Kazemi is a behavior analyst who is using NAO in a very unique way. She is currently a Professor of Psychology and the Academic Director of the Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis Program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN.) For her research, she and her students are using NAO to simulate a child with problem behavior in order to find helpful strategies in training caregivers (staff, teachers, etc.) how to deal with problem behavior.

Dr. Kazemi has been able to secure some research and training funds to purchase three NAOs, warranties, and licenses to engage research assistants in science and technology. The funds were provided through the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the National Institute of Health-Build Poder.

Programming NAO to display undesirable behavior (i.e., to be “bad”) and then running simulations helps the students learn in hands-on labs. The team has the robot throw tantrums, hit himself, and more - even programming in variations so he looks and acts a little different in each simulation. This gives them a lot of control in the types of behavior the person they are training gets to see.

Feature a Teacher: NAO Assisting Students Across a Broad Spectrum

Benjamin Durham is a science teacher at Lane Technical High School in Chicago who has been using NAO in Robotics 2 and Adaptive Robotics. In Robotics 2, an intermediate-level robotics class, students use both Choregraphe and Python to program NAO. Many of these students have aspirations of going into medical or social work, and wanted hands-on experience of what robots might be able to do in these fields.

Feature a Teacher: NAO as an Athlete!