Supervisors info:
Επιβλέπων Καθηγητής: Κόλλιας Αναστάσιος Διδάκτωρ ΕΚΠΑ
Συν-Επιβλέπων Καθηγητης: Σκορδούλης Κωνσταντίνος Καθηγητής, Πρόεδρος ΠΤΔΕ ΕΚΠΑ
Συν-Επιβλέπων Καθηγητης: Κατσιαμπούρα Ιωάννα Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
This research aims to study the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to maximize children's enthusiasm for the educational process at the kindergarten level. It examines the effectiveness of the interaction during the use of such tools with children aged 5-6 and presents the results derived from the use of AI-based tools that function in combination with machine learning (ML) processes at the preschool level. This initiative was prompted by an effort of the Ministry of Education to introduce an educational tool using a microcontroller (microbit) in public kindergartens during the 2023-2024 academic year. This research falls within the field of educational technology and focuses on the utilization of this tool in alternative ways, providing guidelines and ideas for educators. The goal is to create an atmosphere of excitement and increase children's interest in the educational process through machine learning models. The subject of the first intervention involved training a simple plush or handmade paper animal. The children, in the role of the trainer, attempt to make the toy smarter by teaching it to speak, recognize faces, geometric shapes, and ultimately engage in activities aimed at developing skills such as spatial orientation and learning basic shapes. As indicated by the data analysis, by introducing children to the world of technology through interactive storytelling and play, they discover the potential of artificial intelligence and begin to form beliefs and impressions about the use and application of machine learning, despite the absence of prior technological knowledge, which was observed due to a lack of access to materials and educator expertise. Moreover, from the way the students engaged in the teaching experiment, it appears that they developed creative problem-solving skills, which enabled them to think about and describe additional possible applications of machine learning. By the end of the study, students seemed to enjoy the process, laying the groundwork for technological literacy, while educators are provided with a free tool that they can integrate into the kindergarten curriculum, achieving learning objectives with greater ease, interest, and focus from their students. Although this is a small-scale study due to the sample size, it can lay the foundation for further exploration of tools and methods for utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence in preschool education to achieve specific learning outcomes. A notable example is that in the first case, the students not only enjoyed the functionalities of the toy, but also achieved the learning goal of recognizing and drawing shapes by assuming the role of the trainer for the plush toy. The second case to be analyzed involves students creating their own animals from recyclable materials, which, with the help of machine learning, were given a voice. The children recorded specific movements that, upon each repetition, prompted the toy to respond with a sound. The children actively participated in the process and recorded the sounds each toy would make themselves. For this particular case, a project was created that was distinguished in the nationwide open technologies competition in education (ELLAK). The sample for the entire study comprised students from two different preschool settings (5 to 6 years old). In the first case, they attended a private kindergarten, and in the second case, they attended an educational robotics center. The research results were derived from photographs, videos, and transcriptions.
Keywords:
AI in early childhood education, Artificial Intelligence, preschool age, Machine Learning, artificial intelligence tools, Kindergarten, Interactive storytelling, STEAM education, 5E’s project method.
