Kaibot, the small New Zealand AI-enabled learning robot designed to help five-15-year-old children learn to code, will launch this week at the Future Education Technology Conference (FETC) in New Orleans.
The Kiwi-designed robot and its online platform Kaibot in Kainundrum has already won acclaim, taking out the Learn-to-Code category in the Smart Toys Competition in Dubai 2023, and being named as a finalist in the DA top EdTech product of the year award for 2023.
Over the next three months, Kaibot will be put through its paces in front of thousands of teachers throughout the US.
Such is the level of interest in Kaibot that influential tech educators will be participating in workshops and professional development seminars featuring Kaibot at FETC and other educational events throughout the US this year.
Founder Bruce Jackson says that he’s excited to get Kaibot in front of the education community for real hands-on demonstration.
“Kaibot is designed to make learning to code, fun, intuitive and challenging, and to hold the attention of the youngest school children through to more capable teenage coders.
“I'm a firm believer that coding is an essential skill, just like reading and math. Even if you don’t want to get into a computer science role in the future, a basic understanding of code will be useful even in traditional fields, even if you're going to be a doctor or a lawyer,” Jackson says.
Kaibot is unique in the way it blends coding, learning, and 3D visualization to create a fun and engaging learning experience that can be scaled up in complexity as the child learns.
The innovative palm-sized black and blue robot is coded using a deck of cards with commands printed on them - Kaibot scans the sequence of cards and then plays back what’s been scanned, allowing it to participate in races and challenges.
The robot can be operated entirely without using a computer screen if desired, or with the addition of its online platform, Kaibot in Kainundrum, its exploits can be viewed in an interactive 3D environment on a computer or iPad, allowing the use of block-based coding and the ability to develop their own games using lasers, gates and mirrors.
The beauty of Kaibot is that this allows the educator to choose the amount of technology that is brought into play, depending on the age and stage of the participant, using a blend of the physical and the digital worlds.
A unique feature is the ability to use braille-imprinted coding cards meaning that blind, or hard-of-sight students are also able to participate in coding education and fun challenges.
“We wanted an inclusive product, no matter what difficulties the child may be facing. No matter what gender, or if they’re visually impaired, or hearing-impaired, we want to improve education equity,” Jackson says.
Leading educators are already impressed by Kaibot and Konundrum and are developing comprehensive learning plans featuring the robot. Some will be presenting these plans at workshops and professional development seminars at FETC and other shows throughout the US.
One leading academic in this field, Rudy Neufeld, CEO, President and Senior Author at Neufeld Learning Systems Inc. has published a 260-page resource; “First Steps in Coding through Mathematical Thinking and Game-Based Learning” - which presents lesson plans and suggested activities utilising Kaibot for beginners to advanced learners in coding from concrete to the abstract.
“Robots engage the minds of students in rich, exploratory, open-ended enquiries, thereby creating, ‘Communities of Innovation’, as students work together and share their explorations and findings,” says Neufeld.
“The processes of understanding how to code takes the learner through a rich field of mathematical concepts. When you create code, you are speaking mathematics. In coding, one teaches a robot which then gives feedback, to reflect the thinking by giving a visual, concrete result,” he says.
Jackson’s passion for robotics and coding began 5 years ago, when he took his son along to a school open-day that promised an introduction to coding. He discovered that there weren’t actually the kind of interactive learning devices available on the market to make it easy to teach coding to youngsters – so, he set out to create his own.
His first product ‘Kai’s Clan’ broke new ground, creating a STEAM toolbox for students 8+ years old, also winning International Product Awards. Kai’s Clan is a great ‘next-step’ resource for educators and kids who’ve done a little bit of scratch/blockly in the classroom. When Covid hit, Jackson and his team took the time to expand – KaiBot was conceived.
Ronel Schodt, Kai's Education, Sales and Marketing Manager says that with computer science and digital technologies now becoming a compulsory part of the curriculum right around the world, that means the potential for KaiBot is enormous.
“We are very excited to be attending FETC and finally revealing Kaibot to the world,” she says.
“FETC attracts the most dynamic and innovative education leaders and professionals from around the world and is known as the best place to engage with the thought leaders who are leading the charge in classrooms.
“The level of support we’ve received is incredible and we can’t wait to meet everyone and let Kaibot show what it can do,” she says.
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For more information, contact:
PR Representative, Paul Blomfield, paul@paulblomfield.com PH: 021 970 871
Ronel Schodt, Kai's Education, Sales and Marketing Manager, ronel@kaisclan.ai PH: +64 21 746 871
Kai’s Education website: Kai's Education Home - Kai's Education (kaiseducation.com)
