Leveraging Programmable Educational Drones, Robots and AI for Learning STEM, Computational Thinking and Higher Order Thinking in Schools in Rural Villages

Abstract

TechViwoEDU Project is addressing the hypothesis that school age children in rural villages, throughout the world, can use advanced low-cost technologies, such as programmable drones, coding robots, and physical & digital manipulative tools for learning and knowledge acquisition. Specifically, they can use these low-cost tools, sometimes partly made from local materials, to acquire developmental skills such as higher-order thinking (problem-solving thinking, critical thinking, rule-based thinking, creative thinking), computational thinking, algorithms, digital and automation technologies, and STEM-based technologies, for future of work and future of jobs. Drones provide a gateway for engaging learners with mathematical topics such as geometric, spatial, topological structures; order structures, temporal structures; and algebraic structures. Drones are also a part of the toolset that enables the students and their coaches to collaborate in active learning involving exploration, discovery, creativity, ingenuity, innovation, competition, and cooperation. A challenge provides effective user interfaces for the comprehension of the huge amount of information that learners must assimilate and accommodate. The project has been launched for the rural community schools of Tsrukpe in the North Dayi District of the Volta Region of Ghana, West Africa, with a student population of about 600, and pilot program for about 60 students.

1. Introduction

TechViwoEDU is an ongoing project, targeted at middle school, secondary school and high school age children in rural communities initially in West Africa, but subsequently to be scaled up to the rest of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The aim of the project is to find and test ways of educating rural children in the context of fast-moving technological trends such as digital technology, automation, digital transformation, robotics, drones, artificial intelligence, cognitive digital assistants and intelligent chatbots.

The guiding vision of the project is that despite the reality of the existence of a digital divide between poor rural communities and urban communities (more realistically considered as digital gap, or even digital chasm), rural children must not be left behind, and do not have to be left behind. Our premise is that there are viable ways to provide for the rural children’s active engagement and active learning despite the acknowledged digital gulf between children from resource-limited and those from resource-rich populations and communities.

The chapter is organized as follows: Section 2 discusses the issues and concerns of education in rural village communities; Section 3 focuses on learning by rural village children; Section 4 addresses the educational technology tools and platforms being used in the project; and finally, Section 5 discusses the details of the project under development and implementation.

2. Challenges of STEM education in rural village communities

Rural village communities have the primary characteristic that they are low-resourced, resource-poor communities or very resource challenged. Examples of these scarce resources pertain to modern technologies and include power, energy, Internet, Web, smartphones, and digital platforms. Educational projects can be started in the rural villages, typically using donations and largess of others, although reliance on donations from outside the local community, including members of their own diaspora, will be sporadic and therefore not sustainable.

3. Rural village children

Rural children live in poverty which unfortunately and unavoidably, impacts their preparedness for academic performance. The only minimal assumptions to be made in the development and execution of the project is that (a) they are kids by age; (b) they are growing up in low-resourced or limited-resource environments; (c) their learning deficits and deficiencies can be addressed using digital assistants, digital exoskeletons and learning prostheses, and digital intelligence amplifiers. In a nutshell, these children are deprived of amenities and resources that can help them to be educated about the changing world around them. Our mission is to provide Hope, Future and Promise to the kids through this project, starting with children in three rural schools in Tsrukpe in the North Dayi District of Volta Region in Ghana, West Africa.

4. Educational technology and resources for kids in rural village communities

Educational technology resources currently being incorporated into the TechViwoEDU project include field programmable educational drones, field programmable educational robots, wearables and fitness trackers, physical STEM kits, digital STEM kits, physical manipulatives, digital manipulatives, virtual drones, virtual robots using customization of Chatbot-LLM-Generative AI platforms, and the digital twins of drones and robots (LLM: Large Language Models).

5. The TechViwoEDU project

5.1 Governing principles, hypothesis, assumptions, theoretical foundations

Several theoretical principles underscore the project. The aim is to ensure that identified project goals are achieved. The project should be functionally effective - it is an educational technology in which curriculum and lesson sequences truly support rural village children in achieving their learning objectives and outcomes. A key issue that is being addressed by the project is how to use the educational technology resources effectively to accomplish learning goals and learning objectives. This usage must be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-limited (SMART). Finally, the project should be ultra-low cost and sustainable over its operational life. The major underlying principles are briefly described as follows.

1. Make child learning habit forming: Build the educational resources and platforms, including curricular development and lesson plan designs to make learning habit forming for children. Here are examples under this principle: Use the MATI-ABI-ORIC framework of the Hook model [1] and the Persuasive technology model [2]. (MATI-ABI-ORIC: Motivation-Ability-Trigger-*-Action-Behavior-Investment-*-Outcome-Result-Reward-Investment-Continuation). For the Motivation (M) and Trigger (T) components, we will use questions and problems as quests for knowledge acquisition. The Project expects to derive a lot of the quest problems from the ties of drone applications and robot applications to STEM topics, especially in the subject areas of mathematics. Figures 1 and 2 indicate concrete areas of applications of flying robots (drones) and robotics, which in general can serve as sources of inspiration for student learner questions, problems, projects and quests for learning STEM.

2. Technology tools and platforms are safe and secure for children: Ensure that in the learning environment, the technology tools and platforms are safe and secure for children learners. One of the mottoes in the project is, “Everything that we try to do should always be in the best interest of the children.” One way the project has chosen to institutionalize this motto is to specify and build multi-layer encapsulations surrounding the two major avenues by which children learners can access digitally available human knowledge, namely: (a) Internet/Online/Web/Social Media; and (b) Chatbots/LLM/ANN/ML/AI. (ANN: artificial neural-networks; ML: machine learning; AI: artificial intelligence).

   The safety and security model is shown in Figure 3. The encapsulations are nested gateways, gatekeepers, firewalls, filters and guards. Some of the gateways will serve in roles of prompt engineering and domain specific self-tuning.

   It is also intended that the children themselves play active roles in determining and specifying the requirements and characteristics of hygiene, sanitation, and immune system qualities of interfacing the gateway that is used to access and use the knowledge, information, data and intelligence storehouses.

3. Construction-based approaches: Learning should occur via construction-based approaches including:

   • Creativity for learning;

   • Construction-driven learning, building, making, producing, programming, manipulating things;

   • Exploration, touring, inspection touring, navigation, space and world traversals and navigation;

   • Some learning is executed as epic heroic journeys and adventures, searching through problem spaces, problem-solving spaces (strategies and tactics), and solution spaces.

4. Augmented, mixed, hybrid reality: Use augmented, mixed, hybrid reality, superimposing and integrating, blending and mixing physical Edtech resources with digital virtual ones. The project embraces both physical educational drones and robots, as well as AI-based and AI-assisted virtual drones and digital drones, as well as digital twins.

5. Cognitive, emotional, motivational, and conation aspects: The Edtech platforms adopted should play the role of being learning exoskeletons, prosthesis, and intelligence amplifying devices for children’s learning efforts, including the cognitive, emotional, motivational, and conation and volition aspects.

6. Active learning: Ensure that student learners are continuously and persistently immersed and engaged in active learning, instead of just being mere passive consumers of the educational technology. The platform is to be structured and used so that the student learners are active participants throughout the life cycle of the Edtech platform - from initial functional and non-functional (iLities) specifications and requirements through all phases of evolution and adaptation.

7. Transition/transformation from novice-master-expert: Adopt the pedagogical strategy and tactics of regarding students as undergoing a multi-level transition or transformation from novice-master-expert knowledge acquisition, during their learning processes, journeys and engagements. The Games People play model of Child-Parent-Adult framework in [3] supports this strategy, as does the adopting models of learning as evolutionary computation, as well as the concept assimilation and accommodation model in [4] (Figure 4).

8. Rewards: In the rewards component of the Learning to Habit model, the learning performance assessment is to be based on categories of rewards for self, the hunt and tribe (social group), described in Ref. [1]. This is also related to categorizations of power [5]: physical-coercive-condign-force; financial-monetary-pecuniary, seductive-charismatic-persuasion-influence. Furthermore, some of the project effort is geared towards creating and producing learning materials and processes that can readily generate the DOSE neuro-chemicals in the learners, (DOSE: dopamine + oxytocin + serotonin + endorphins).

9. Implementation: Appendix A provides a drill down of more implementation strategies that are being incorporated and integrated into the project.

Figure 1.

Application areas of flying robots, drones. [T: Technology → E: Engineering → S (PCB): Science (physics → chemistry, materials → biology) → M: Mathematics].

Figure 2.

Application areas of robots, robotics.

Figure 3.

Multi-layer security and safety filters strategically situated to guard children learners’ access of human knowledge storehouses.

Figure 4.

Learning as novice → master → expert transition life cycle spiral. [L/UI: Learning User Interface; L/UX: Learning User eXperience; Concrete: Focus on sensory-motor + emotion-driven actions, process, manipulations; Abstract: Focus on mental, intellectual, conceptual, theoretical + emotional symbolic processes and manipulations].

5.2 Details of implementation and status

The project is currently in the initial launch-and-takeoff phase. All the relevant forces, resources, capital and stakeholders have been identified. All the requisite groundwork has been made regarding stakeholder awareness, buy-in/ownership, recruitment, persuasion, engagement, involvement, participation, contributions and investments of time, attention and effort.

Our stakeholders include, (a) the children learners or students (the ultimate target customers); (b) the schools, school administration, education staff and faculty; (c) the potential coaching pool, from the local community; (d) the parents, guardians, caretakers and caregivers; (e) rural village community and public including traditional social and modern political leadership, organizations and social groups; (f) government at the national, regional, municipal and local rural village levels; (g) benefactors and friends of the children; and (h) corporate social responsibility actors and directorates.

Identified technology resources are being procured and acquired including: Internet and ICT infrastructure; power and energy from the public utility; educational technology (Edtech) equipment, tools, machines, and devices, including, smartphones, educational drones, educational robots, fitness and health trackers as educational IOT (Internet of Things) devices, STEM kits and manipulatives, origami for education, and access to AI (for education) platforms. Further details are provided in Appendix B.

Students in the initial cohort from three middle schools are learning to use the Scratch programming language [6], to get familiarized with computational thinking, programming, coding, and personal use of digital technology for learning and knowledge acquisition. Scratch is a good choice for a starter computational and programming language, since it is the foundation for many coding and end-user programming languages that are available for physical educational drones and educational robots. The programming platform is also being experimented with to implement some of the computer-based approaches to children’s learning that is advocated in [7]. The project sections are also being encouraged to use Origami for Education practices in preparation and anticipation of the drone and robot resources. Extensive work is being done on the development of suitable curricula and activity plans and protocols that can support the learning engagements, using the educational technology tools, vehicles and platforms.

5.3 Discussion

The project implementers are gaining experience, mastery and expertise on how the project can be successfully implemented to meet its vision, mission, and goals. An important consideration which is being addressed from project inception is identifying the strategy that can be used to ensure sustainability of the project. So far, there has been a pleasant surprise, that the project can be potentially fashioned to become a drive or an engine for innovation, in the development and customization of local content for rural villages, that can be commercialized. This will render our project learning centers (PLC) to become sustainable, because they will become profit centers, instead of remaining cost or loss centers.

5.4 Future effort

A planned scaling of the project is to extend the technical, STEM, computational thinking, and higher order thinking project mission to primary school age learners (K-6/5–9 year olds). The near term future plans for the project also include expansion of coverage to high school (secondary school) age learners, as well as to other regions in Ghana. At the strategic level, the focus will be on continuity, durability, scale, expansion, evolution and continuous improvement. As part of the long term future plans, senior high school (SHS) students in participating schools and clubs will be given the opportunity to become peer mentors to help assemble engineered Edtech resources such as drones and robots, for use by middle school or junior high school (JHS) and primary school (K-3) students. The new generation of Edtech devices can include low-cost local materials such as bamboo, fabrics, and weaving. The high school students will be intimately involved with how the modern AI platforms are customized and specialized in STEM education and learning in rural village communities.

6. Conclusions

The TechViwoEDU initiative is an ongoing project to use educational drones and educational robots, both physical and virtual digital, to act as learning intelligent amplification, augmentation and assistants (IA*), that can support children in rural villages and towns to learn STEM + STEAM + Computational Thinking + Higher Order Thinking (Critical thinking, Problem Solving, Creative Thinking, Rule-guided thinking, + Intuitive thinking + Emotional Intelligence + Social Intelligence).

Acknowledgments

TechViwoEDU Project gratefully acknowledges the acceptance and enthusiastic participation of the headmasters, principals and the ICT specialists at the Tsrukpe secondary and elementary schools: Asiedu Jacob Komla, Aggor Francis, Master Raymond, Bansa Coura, and Bediaku Wisdom. The Project is also grateful for the faculty and staff of the schools, who are willing to get trained to become educational coaches for the Project. Furthermore, the Project is making rapid progress because of contributions of ideas, guidance and discussions of several people: Aseye Gadagoe, Gabriel Dedu, Bernice Heloo, Christine Gbeckor-Kove, Yao Ababio, and Michael Afenya. To all of them, Ayeekoo! (Thank You!)

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

A. Appendix

Some other learning approaches that the Project is incorporating into the curriculum design and activity planning include the following ideas, especially for learning action and behavior investment (ABI) components.

1. Use the W*H* (Who, Whom, What, Which, Why, When, Where, How, How soon, How much, How often, etc.), as well as the 5 Whys model (ask why five times in sequence about a topic), and the Thematic-semantic case model + Separation of Concerns, Challenges, Aspects and Roles (SOCAR).

2. Use game-like quest, models focusing on problems and questions for exploration, touring, inspection, problem solving, creativity (Create-Read-Update-Delete (CRUD), social cooperation and collaboration, competition, contests, epic heroic journeys in game-like models in [8, 9], as well as elaborated by [10].

3. Also, use the Bloom educational tasks taxonomy model [11].

4. Further, use the PDCA cycle and (CPI, Agile, Kaizen, Toyota Way) approach to learning [12].

5. Use Entity-Relationship-Attribute-Value-Domain (ER model, ERAVD model) [13], which provides and foundational compositional framework for the construction-based learning approaches of [4, 14, 15, 16, 17], as well as for concept map, schema, frame based and case based reasoning models for learning and knowledge acquisition. It also provides a suitable medium for using the Algebra approach to learning: Algebra = Collections, (data) Structures+ Manipulations, Operations+Rules-Laws-Axioms-Identities. Examples of such algebras are abstract data types (ADTs) in CS.

6. Use Heuristic Problem-solving model in [18], the Decode-Encode-Solve-Check (DESC) model, and the continuation models described in [19, 20, 21].

7. Incorporate modern heuristic techniques inspired by AI and machine learning. These are techniques currently grouped under natural computing and soft computing, including, evolutionary computing (Generation-Of-Diversity (G.O.D)-Evaluation-Selection), Darwinism and also as in [3]; search, tabu search, rule-based (logical-crisp and fuzzy) techniques, probabilistic-statistical techniques.

B. Appendix

Initial resource items include, (new, used and refurbished versions of):

Educational drones

Educational robots

Coding drones, Coding robots

Coding toys

Fitness trackers & Health trackers

Batteries (AA and AAA)

Charging adaptors

Power strips

Smartphones

Tablets

MiFi cellular signal booster devices

Internet access equipment

Internet access subscriptions

Access to Chatbots/LLM, including Claude/Anthropic, ChatGPT/OpenAI, Bard/Google

Access to Scratch App for Programming and Coding

Initial sequence of engagement, by educ resource types:

Stage-1: Origami in the Classroom, Origami clubs, Origami camps.

Stage-2: Educational blocks, educational kits, manipulatives, construction kits, Montessori kits, play kits, User eXperience (UX) card decks for storytelling, narrative and story creation. Problem-solving via student creation of Ananse stories and storytelling whose themes are problem-solving quests, and concept learning using Oware and Mancala game boards.

Stage-3: Coding toys, STEM kits, STEAM kits.

Stage-4: Coding, programmable educational drones and robots.