ROBOT TEACHERS
http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s17948.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/234713.stm
VOCABULARY IN THE TEXT
1. To diagnose = to examine a patient to find out what problem or
illness they have.
2. A patient = a sick person being treated by a doctor.
3. Environment = Where you work or live
4. A robot = a machine controlled by a computer, used to do jobs
automatically
5. Touch = the ability to know what something is like by feeling it with
the fingers
6. Sensors = something which is used to record or measure something
or changes in something, e.g. heat or light sensors.
7. Virtual reality = a set of pictures and sounds produced by a
computer, which show a place or situation that someone can
experience or be part of.
8. A simulation = a situation or problem created by computer software
which students can interact with
9. Metallic = made of metal [e.g. iron, steel, copper]
10. To interact with = to communicate with and respond to someone
or something
Adele...
teacher of the
future?
In the U.S. they are developing robot teachers to assist in the training of doctors
and naval seamen. However, instead of the science fiction image of slow-moving
metallic figures, this new generation of robots only exists in virtual reality
software.
Several American companies and university centers are creating software that
might one day be used to replace human teachers. At the Center for Advanced
Research in Technology for Education (CARTE), part of the Information Sciences
Institute at the University of Southern California, researchers have developed two
‘software agents’ that can act as teachers.
The lead character, an agent named Adele (Agent for Distance Learning
Environments), interacts with students and tracks their learning as they work
through course materials and simulation exercises. Adele consists of a teaching
agent and a 2D animated persona, which is implemented as a web-based Java applet.
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Adele adapts the presentation of the material as needed, provides hints and
rationales to guide student actions, and evaluates student performance.
The program shows Adele as a doctor, and she is used in two medical education
systems: case-based diagnosis and trauma care. Adele's first
assignment is to help the faculty of USC's Department of
Family Medicine deliver Continuing Medical Education (CME)
courses on the Web. Simulations created for the course in
diagnostic skill development present the student-doctor with
exercises based on real patients, including patient history,
results of exams, lab tests, x-rays, CT scans and other
diagnostic imaging methods. By questioning and examining the
"virtual patient" and studying clinical data, the student is able
to practice diagnostic skills. Adele provides feedback and a
review of the student's progress, referencing diagnostic best-practice and costanalysis criteria.
If students make a mistake, Adele appears on-screen to give them a correct
alternative. The interface for the case-based diagnosis system was created in Java.
The second character is Steve (Soar Training Expert for Virtual Environments), a
3D teaching agent for team training in virtual environments. This teaching robot,
which the university says never gets tired and never make mistakes, is part of a
project providing for the training needs of the United States Navy. For example,
Steve can show a group of users how to perform tasks in an engine room, showing
what should be done and then giving instructions and answering questions from his
students as they attempt to copy the robot figure.
To meet Steve electronically, one first must don a headmounted display - a helmet containing tiny computer screens
in front of each eye - and a pair of data gloves with built-in
position and touch sensors. These
allow students to ‘pick up, move and
hold’ items in the virtual
environment. With this technology
one is able to enter the apparently
three-dimensional environment of the virtual engine room
Steve inhabits. One's view of this virtual environment will change by turning one's
head or by moving through the virtual room. It is possible to watch from multiple
angles as Steve demonstrates a task and explains it verbally using digital sound
files.
Lewis Johnson says that "Teachers are most effective when they work on a one-to2
one basis with students, but human teachers can't work in this way with everyone in
the class at once. Software agents can, and they can be available all the time." He
also says: "Agents give teachers more freedom to focus on important problems,
because the agents can handle routine tasks like the grading of tests. They can
emphasize course areas that often pose difficulties for students, and they can
identify individual students who are having problems. "Johnson believes that
software agents like Adele will enrich distance learning, making it both more
interactive and engaging. Live lectures can be boring, and watching a boring lecture
on a monitor is worse," he says. "Here, students are actively solving problems in an
interesting environment and getting individual help."
1. Student doctors no longer need to diagnose real, living patients in
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2. Adele helps students while they are diagnosing patients as well as
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3. Software agents are metallic robots controlled by a computer.
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4. Students use a special helmet and gloves to interact with Adele.
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5. Steve can answer students’ questions.
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6. Students can see, hear and touch things in Steve’s virtual environment. T
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7. The main advantage of software agents is that they can deal with each T
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8. Lewis Johnson says that software agents will replace teachers.
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9. Software agents can develop online courses based on individual
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10.
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hospitals.
giving feedback on how well they made the diagnosis.
student’s individual problems at the same time.
student’s problems.
There are three ways the student can change his view of the
virtual engine room.
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