Social Robots in Collaborative Learning: Consequences of the Design on Students' Perception

Abstract

: The interest in using social robots in education is growing as it appears that they could add a social dimension that enhances learning. However, there is little use of robotics in collaborative learning contexts. This shows a lack of knowledge about students’ perception of social robots and their use for education purposes. This paper aims to fill this gap by analyzing, with experimental methods: (1) the influence of specific ways of interaction (facial expressions, voice and text) on the students’ perception of the robot and, (2) students’ acceptability criteria for using robots in a classroom. The target objective is to help the design of future learning situations. The study shows that the ways used to interact produce significant differences in the perception of the animation, the likeability, the attractiveness, the safety and the usability of the robot. The study also shows that major improvements must be made on the design of the hedonic characteristics of the interactions, especially identification and stimulation, to favor the student’s acceptance of this kind of learning support tools.