telepresence robots in classrooms
The document is a workshop handout presented at the 4th Scientix International Conference (Nov 2022) by Fatma Güneri and Meltem Unal Deligny from Université Catholique de Lille. Its purpose is to gather participants’ insights on the use of telepresence robots in classrooms, both as teachers/assistants and as substitutes for absent students. The workshop is structured around four guiding questions that explore the advantages and disadvantages of robots in these two roles. The handout defines telepresence robots as avatar‑based immersive systems that combine VR/AR and AI to enable personalized learning, real‑time assessment, and interaction through speech and facial‑expression recognition. Results from prior workshops are visualised with mermaid graphs, presenting arguments for and against robots replacing teachers and students. Positive arguments highlight increased effectiveness, future‑oriented classrooms, reduced teacher pressure, and enhanced attendance and active learning for absent students. Negative arguments stress limited understanding, loss of human interaction, communication breakdowns, and insufficient skill development. The document concludes with a short bibliography of recent articles on robot teachers.
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Workshop Objective and Four Guiding Questions
The workshop aims to capture participants’ perspectives on telepresence robots in classrooms, focusing on advantages and disadvantages for robots acting as teachers/assistants and as replacements for absent students.