Building Everyday and Basic Learning Skills through Play: Educational Robots as a Tool for the Improvement of the Learning of Students with Special Educational Needs

Educational robotics is used worldwide as a learning tool in education, but surprisingly
rarely in special education. Education in the perspective of new technologies has opened new
directions and orientations in the instructive-educational process.
Educational robotic tools, which can also be referred to as "robotic partners", are designed with the
ability to adapt to different contexts depending on the circumstances. This is an important factor that
makes robotic tools effective mediators for the inclusion of children with special educational needs
(SEN) in educational programmes. Another important factor that supports this claim is the fact that
educational robotics can promote learning through collaborative play with peers.
In this paper we will present part of our educational robot prototype and our expectations for its use
in working with SEN students, also we will see the opinion of teachers for implementing robotics in
their classes. The research for the teachers’ opinion is done in Latvia, in one of our partner schools
of the project.
This work is part of the research activities within the Robotics and Inclusion Erasmus + project.