This article describes a teaching unit that used Lego Robotics to address state science standards for teaching basic principles of evolution in two middle school life science classes. All but two of 29 students in these classes were native Spanish speakers from Mexico. Both classes were taught using Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol…

Anthropomorphism describes the tendency to imbue the real or imagined behavior of nonhuman agents with humanlike characteristics, motivations, intentions, or emotions. Although surprisingly common, anthropomorphism is not invariant. This article describes a theory to explain when people are likely to anthropomorphize and when they are not, focused…

While analyzing humor is difficult, Henri Bergson's concept of comedy (a person acting like a machine) outlined in the classic essay, "Le Rire," in 1900, is probably too narrow a definition. Science fiction film, a genre which has evolved since the publication of Bergson's essay, has also speculated about man and society, often to…

A humorous account is given of an encounter with a talking computer in the form of a superintelligent robot. Several mathematical problems are posed. (MP)

The introduction of robots into the organization requires that (1) employees be informed of and educated about the action; (2) problems of displaced workers be addressed; and (3) line support be obtained. Responsible management can lessen the fears associated with automating facilities. (JOW)

Describes automated storage and retrieval (AS/R) techniques and discusses benefits, conservation considerations, and costs of the AS/R approach to the storage of library books. Thirteen annotated references are listed. (MES)

Questions and answers from the book "Guidelines for Robotics Program Development" are presented, addressing some of the major issues confronted by the person setting the direction for a robotics training program. (CT)

"Why Teach Robotics?" (Waddell) suggests that the United States lags behind Europe and Japan in use of robotics in industry and teaching. "Creating a Course in Mobile Robotics" (Doty) outlines course elements of the Intelligent Machines Design Lab. (SK)

Describes a unit on robotics that includes problem solving, working together, and constructing and programming a robot. Provides students with an opportunity for critical thinking. (JOW)

Inventors design new products because there is a strong need for them. Understanding this and discussing it in the classroom will show students how technology, math and science are used to improve everyone's standard of living and strengthen the economy. There are numerous connections to history, social studies and literacy--making the study of…

The grounding of symbols in computational models of linguistic abilities is one of the fundamental properties of psychologically plausible cognitive models. In this article, we present an embodied model for the grounding of language in action based on epigenetic robots. Epigenetic robotics is one of the new cognitive modeling approaches to…

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a multinational, not-for-profit organization that aspires to transform culture-making science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today. FIRST has an exciting new program in the works--the VEX Challenge, which the author describes in this article.…

This year's E-Learn conference has numerous exciting presentations and keynotes. Many speakers will be discussing how education is changing in the forthcoming years. Among them are Dale Stephens who works with the social movement "Uncollege" that empower students to create their own education, Saul Carliner who talks about Massive Online…

Robots provide teachers with opportunities to teach multidimensional thinking and critical thinking skills. In this article, the author presents a classroom activity wherein students are required to design a firefighting robot. This activity aims to demonstrate the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of the robotics technology.

Enrollment in undergraduate computer-science programs has dipped all over the country, and among women it has almost vanished, dropping 70 percent between 2000 and 2005. Observers cite different reasons for the drop, including the dot-com bust a few years ago is one, but universities are beginning to agree on one cause that is within their…