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It’s hard to miss when you walk to class with a state-of-the-art personal robot by your side.
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The use of Temi robots by students in the Community Integration through Cooperative Education (CICE) program at St. Clair College gives them a much richer college experience.
The seven-year CICE program offers students with developmental disabilities or significant learning challenges the opportunity to acquire life skills and pursue a post-secondary education.
On a large and sprawling campus, CICE students can feel isolated and overwhelmed, abandoned by seeing university life from the outside.
“Having Temi is breaking down some of the social and educational barriers these students face and is strengthening their confidence and even allowing them to be leaders in the classroom,” said Stephanie DeFranceschi, CICE instructor in preparation for field placement and former co – coordinator.
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The use of Temi robots actually came about by chance last year when instructor Michael Spadotto’s business class was working with Telus and Temi Canada and “trying to find a way to introduce personal robots into the classroom as a teaching tool.”
Spadotto had a couple of CICE students in his class and, from that humble beginning, extensive collaboration has blossomed between his ENACTUS students and CICE students.
ENACTUS students focus on business and social enterprises with a view to greater community good. ENACTUS students helped CICE students learn about financial education, banking, doing mock job interviews, and how to write a resume.
“The compromise factor between the two was one of the best experiences,” Spadotto said. “Now there is a whole group of students working with the CICE program and creating modules for them.”
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The CICE students showed others in their program how the Temi robot could take notes, upload instructional videos, or plot its route to and from class.
“They were teaching their fellow students and they were able to show what they knew about Temi,” Spadotto said. “Peer one-on-one was an incredible experience. They felt empowered and in charge of Temi. “
Spadotto watched CICE student Evan Fairlie go from being a quiet student sitting near the back of the class to being a leader.
For his part, the 19-year-old Windsor resident said he is still learning about what Temi can do to make college life easier.
“I haven’t used it to take notes yet,” Fairlie said. “But if I got lost and didn’t know where my class was, he would follow me.”
His CICE fellow student Kyle Schauer hopes the university will get more than the initial batch of four robots.
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“I really like it,” said the 19-year-old Schauer. “Take notes and can go to all your classes. You can call people. It is very useful. I would love more of them. “
DeFranceschi said the university would also like to expand the program in the future. “Robots are expensive, so we are just getting started.”
Before the CICE program, he pointed out that there was no path for those students after high school.
“This is giving students the opportunity to experience post-secondary life,” he said. “The idea is to offer the basic CICE courses but also integrate them into other classes based on their own interests.”
Temi robots, which are artificial intelligence personal assistant machines, can help with integration. Robotics students at the university are helping to develop applications and graphic design students are working on a logo for the collaborative project between ENACTUS and CICE students.
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“Our students engage and socialize with peers without disabilities,” DeFranceschi said. “Now we even have a CICE student on the ENACTUS team. The project brings together several programs and this technology is breaking down barriers. “
And the benefits go both ways, according to ENACTUS President Trevor Ramieri.
“The conversations we shared together last year proved to be very beneficial during our virtual semester,” Ramieri said. “ We are more than excited to now explore this dynamic in person, along with additional group skill building activities in areas such as mock interviews and resume development. This peer mentoring is very valuable because it involves the personal development of all parties involved. “
Reference-windsorstar.com