In the digital education of the future there is the vision of seamless virtual and physical access for every home and between each home and the school, as well as its inhabitants such as educators, students and parents. Among the increasing number of available teleteaching tools, the use of telepresence robots (TR) has particular potential. TR can compensate the lack of mobility of students for various reasons (i.e. distant residency, bad weather conditions, disabilities or illness, force majeure conditions such as epidemics) and enables them to study in a social environment, where they can take an active part in the class on a peer-to-peer basis. The technology also enables distant educators from remote areas or other countries to be present in class. Compared to common teleteaching methods such as video conferencing solutions, the advantages lie in the possibility to actively control the robots and thus also to occupy the physical space. Telepresence robots thus not only enhance the feeling of social presence, but also enable interactions with the environment, that are otherwise impossible. The project is concerned with the use of telepresence robots in educational institutions at the upper secondary and higher education levels, such as in classrooms and other (e-)learning settings. Throughout the course of TRinE three intellectual outputs will be published: O1 will produce decision support materials, O2 will provide guidelines for the implementation of TR in the context of education, a set of innovative teaching scenarios, as well as a DIY buying-, building- as well as an operating guide. O3 will create an interactive toolkit, where the results of all intellectual outputs will be published and evaluated using a technology acceptance model. A better understanding of TR and their application in educational settings can be gained from the very few educational institutions in which TR is already a part of everyday life. Amongst them are two Islandic institutions, the University of Akureyri, which implemented TR for teachers and students in 2016, and the upper secondary school Menntaskólinn á Tröllaskaga, where the technology is used in secondary education. The project “TRinE - Telepresence Robots in Education” combines these institutions’ rare practical expertise with TR in education with the respective expertise of Danube University Krems / DUK (media pedagogy), University of Macedonia / UOM (elearning methodologies), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / KIT (virtual presence), University of Akureyri / UoA (teleteaching methods). This composition of the consortium makes it possible to address the challenges and potentials of TR in education, to develop new innovative didactical methods and approaches and make this knowledge accessible to educators, students, parents and other stakeholders. The overall goal is to prepare these target groups for the broad adaptation of TR-based teleteaching practices in secondary education. As knowledge harbour and innovation leader Menntaskólinn á Tröllaskaga can impart their expertise to Nyströmska Skolan, Sweden and SMC Verdala, Malta. The projects’ results will be disseminated during 4 multiplier events held in Iceland, Germany, Austria as well as Greece. The learning teaching training event will take place at the telepresence innovation hub Iceland with all partners attending including teachers from the participating schools. It is envisioned that the widespread adoption of TRinE will raise awareness of the importance of media literacy and social competences in the context of distance education. The impact of the project in terms of goals reached will be measured using the qualitative as well as quantitative indicators. An internal evaluation will be carried out both within the partnership (among participating organisations) as well as with target groups and stakeholders involved in the project.
The TRinE project successfully tested and promoted the use of telepresence robots (TRs) in educational institutions. Telepresence robots are being used in various contexts to enable remote communication and interaction, thereby enabling people to participate in activities and events that would otherwise be inaccessible. However, the use of telepresence robots in an educational context has been less widespread than in other fields such as healthcare, hospitality, and elderly care. The TRinE project developed a toolkit to help educational institutions implement TRs in their classrooms and other e-learning settings. The project involved reviewing existing TRs applications in educational contexts, learning from best practices, and providing guidelines to support TRs implementation in educational contexts. The TRinE project had three different intellectual outputs that were aimed at supporting the decision-making process, providing guidelines for TR implementation in educational contexts, and including all this information in an interactive toolkit. The project thus aimed to improve access to education and enhance communication and interaction between students and teachers in different educational settings.
The TRinE project was initiated to explore and address the potential of telepresence robots (TR) in education. The project aims to develop innovative didactical methods and approaches and make this knowledge accessible to educators, students, parents, and other stakeholders. The use of TR in education can compensate for the lack of mobility of students well as enable distant educators from remote areas or other countries to be present in class. Compared to common teleteaching methods such as video conferencing solutions, the advantages lie in the possibility to control the robots actively and thus occupying a physical space. The TRinE project aims were to prepare target groups for the broad adaptation of TR-based teleteaching practices in secondary and higher education by addressing the challenges and potentials of TR in education and developing new innovative didactical methods and approaches. The project consortium included institutions with rare practical expertise in TR in education, such as the University of Akureyri and Menntaskólinn á Tröllaskaga in Iceland, as well as Danube University Krems, University of Macedonia, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Nyströmska Skolan in Sweden, and SMC Verdala in Malta.