TRinE Guide: The various fields of application of Telepresence Robots (TR) in education

In this guide you will find an overview of the various fields of application of TR in education. These were collected on the basis of the literature research as well as the interviews and focus groups conducted in the project. This guide should inspire you and can also be used as a basis for the decision to purchase a TR in your educational institution.

Examples: Situations where students could use a TR

• A student who is homebound due to a disability or quarantine measures can use a TR to participate in school life, attend class and socialize with their fellow classmates.
• A student lives further away from school. Bad weather conditions or other circumstances make it difficult to get to school. A TR can enable social participation in school life.
• A student-to-be gets a campus tour with a TR to get an impression of the place of study.
• A student is using a TR to get experiences to be in an educational institution abroad and exchange with foreign students and/or teachers.
• A TR can help a student settle in if they are afraid to go to the school building.
• A student can use a TR for career orientation by visiting companies and workshops (job shadowing).

Examples: Situations where teachers could us a TR (in schools or universities)

• A teacher moves to another country, but the school still wants to keep them involved in teaching. So the teacher is visiting the class with a TR.
• To teach language skills in everyday conversations, a native speaker from abroad is visiting the school with a TR on a regular basis.
• A university is planning a conference and invites speakers to socialize with the use of a TR to save travel costs and contribute to environmental protection.
• A teacher who works remotely, regularly visits colleagues in the school building to socialize and to engage in everyday conversation.
• Teachers with unique skills from all over the world can visit a school using a TR

It’s all about social presence!

Using a TR is all about enhancing social presence from the remote user. If you just need to see or hear a person speak (i.e. while giving a lecture in front of the class), using video call tools might be sufficient. The examples show that there are many situations where TR can enhance the “feeling of being there” and thus the technology can be beneficial for all parties involved.

You want to learn more? Browse through our TRinE Teaching Scenarios and TRinE Stories and get more ideas on how a TR can be used in specific situations.