Okay, so kids think robots are cool. But it appears robots are now able to help kids be more creative. This is according to Latitude, an international research firm. They asked kids around the world to write and illustrate a story that answers the question “What if robots were a part of your everyday life in and out of school”?
The goal of the study was to help educators and others see the relationship between learning and play among children. It covers both high tech and low tech solutions. The study had about 350 kid innovators between the ages of 8-12.
Kids blur the line between technology and human learning, whereas adults tend to see technology as separate. But here’s what I find fascinating. Robots, in the kid’s eyes, would support and encourage them without judging them. Interesting.
So, does this mean an end to the human teacher as we know it? After all, robots can teach for hours and hours without getting tired or having to take a break. Robots don’t need a lunch hour. And, I would bet they don’t make anywhere close to a teacher’s salary. And they never call in sick.
Kids also said that the robot teachers inspired them to be more creative and to take more risks. It makes sense. After all, a big part of taking risks is the knowledge that you won’t be judged. This is a great lesson for every human teacher that wants to inspire their students to become more creative and innovative in everything they do.
Teachers can inspire creativity in their students by allowing them to play and experiment. Play is how kids learn to be creative. They learn by trial and error, curiosity, working with others, and by letting them make their own mistakes without judgement.
Come to think of it, that’s exactly how adults can be inspired to be more creative too.