Enhancing learning processes by integrating social robots with learning management systems

Social robots are specialized for social interaction with humans. The promising future and long-term potential of such robots can only be guessed at on the basis of today's pilot applications in many areas. In the field of higher education, only a few attempts have been made to integrate social robots sustainably into educational processes. This research paper presents an approach to integrate the robot model Pepper into educational processes via a learning management system. The goal is to explore and evaluate the perceived benefits and potential of a robot-based learning environment with adaptive educational content from the learning management system (e.g., course content, quiz, survey). An evaluation based on interviews with preservice teachers in business education forms the basis for identifying design implications and for further development. The results of the explorative interview study indicate the relevance of an integration of social robots with learning processes. However, the perceived adaptiveness and educational functionality of the robot within the presented learning environment were limited compared to its positively perceived hedonistic purpose. These findings suggest that technically and pedagogically integrated social robots can be beneficial in facilitating learning, but that their adaptiveness and social capabilities need to be further developed in order to make them effective in this context.