Elementary school children responded favourably to the robotic teachers, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said, citing a survey by educational researchers.<\/p>\n
English-teaching robots were sent to three provincial schools for eight weeks starting in late December.<\/p>\n
And programmable electronic devices resembling robots, which teach maths, science and art, were used in 10 Seoul schools for five weeks from November.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the English-teaching robots helped raise interest in the language and boosted the confidence of students.<\/p>\n
“Tele-presence” robots are controlled remotely by an English teacher and are equipped with a microphone and video camera.<\/p>\n
Autonomous units use voice-recognition software to interact with children.<\/p>\n
The government has expressed interest in robots to give rural school children more learning opportunities.<\/p>\n
“The machines spurred creativity and had a positive influence on the attitude of students,” a ministry official told Yonhap news agency.<\/p>\n
Officials in charge of the project are working to improve the quality of robot teaching and iron out glitches before any decision to expand their use.<\/p>\n