Automation of Kahoot! by the humanoid robot Pepper – Comparing results from classes – Robot vs. lecturers

Abstract

Digitization is taking place unchallenged in all areas of life. The accompanying automation is an integral part of this development. This development does not stop in the "classroom" either. Be it that the use of mobile devices is increasingly becoming part of the interaction with students, be it that online offers such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) are increasingly used in the context of education or video conferencing systems for teaching such as Adobe Connect. In the future, it would also be conceivable for robots to take over parts of the interaction in the classroom. To check the students' knowledge level or for repetition purposes, there is the possibility to conduct quizzes via Moodle or other platforms. These quizzes are rather traditional and not particularly stimulating, so that there is no great incentive for students to take them unless learning points or similar are awarded. Not everywhere are these types of quizzes used in the classroom. Game-based learning platforms like Kahoot! are finding more and more use in teaching. The quizzes that can be conducted via the Kahoot! web service are more exciting and entertaining for students than those that are possible via Moodle, for example. By conducting quizzes via the web service Kahoot!, they can be made more exciting and entertaining for the students, since, for example, the results after each question are visible to everyone, thus adding a competitive and playful aspect. Nevertheless, if game-based learning platforms such as Kahoot! are used, the quiz progress is generally not commented, but rather "worked through". We have implemented a service that enables the humanoid robot Pepper to do a Kahoot! quiz in class. The service enables Pepper to conduct quizzes independently and with commentary possibilities. Unlike a simple PC, Pepper can use gestures and interactions such as eye contact and changing colors to make the interaction more "human" and emotional. The inclusion of Pepper as the moderator of the quiz might increase its appeal to students and an additional innovative aspect will be added to the quiz. By using the robot, lecturers can be relieved and quizzes that have already been prepared can be conducted without much effort even by people who are not familiar with the subject or inexperienced. The robot is able to keep track of the complete course of the quiz at any time and to comment on it (e.g. now on the first place is…). The execution by "Pepper" would generally have five special aspects: 1. students are given an outlook into the future social interaction of robots and humans. 2. the course of the quiz can be commented by a robot. 3. the quiz can be conducted independently of lecturers. 4. students can experience social interaction with robots themselves and use this experience for the future. We have done several quizzes in different classes with 89 students that experiences Pepper as a moderator and 317 students that experienced lecturers as a moderator. In both settings the students got the same preparation tasks and the same questions within Kahoot! As an outlook it can be seen that the results in both settings a similar in the range of correct answers, time the students need to answer the questions and average of final results.