In the city of Kumamoto, Japan, a rather different approach to education is being tested. Thanks to technology, students find themselves in the classroom through telepresence robots. These devices, controlled remotely, offer a practical and advanced solution to address the growing problem of school absenteeism.
The city of Kumamoto, located in the southwestern part of Japan, is facing a problem that has seen a worrying increase in recent years: school absenteeism. According to the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi, the number of absent students has grown significantly. It more than doubled, to be exact, going from 1.283 in 2018 to 2.760 in 2022. Faced with this challenge, school authorities have sought unconventional solutions.
The technological response to school absenteeism
Initially, the district proposed more traditional solutions, such as online classes. These “virtual classes” have had some success, with many students reporting reduced communication anxiety and improved self-esteem.
However, the school decided to go further, introducing an element that seems straight out of a science fiction novel: telepresence robots. An experiment also started by other institutes around the world, to be honest, but only for the benefit of students forced to be absent for months due to physical problems.
How do they work?
These robots, nicknamed “Classroomba,” are essentially tablets mounted on a wheeled base. Students can control the robot's movements from home, communicating with classmates and teachers through video chat. But it's not just a simple video conference. These robots allow students to "move" freely in the classroom space, actively participating in lessons and interacting with others as if they were physically present.
I know this will seem absurd to you. It seems absurd to me. The introduction of these robots, however, is not just a response to school absenteeism, but represents an attempt to create a bridge between online and traditional education. The hope is that, through the use of these robots, students can gradually overcome their anxieties and fears, preparing to attend in-person classes, particularly in high school.
The use of a remote interface to stimulate the "nostalgia" of physicality. It might work?
Towards the future of education
If this experiment in Kumamoto works (results are expected in March 2024), it could open the door to new ways of learning and teaching in Japan, and confirm how the boundaries between the real and the virtual are becoming increasingly blurred.
Who knows, maybe one day we'll see telepresence robots in classrooms around the world. It's not a prospect that makes me happy, I'll be honest: this time technology doesn't have a salvific role, but an almost condescending one in a context, the Japanese one, in which loneliness has become a way of life, even an economic engine.
