Lucio Negrini
L. Negrini - Ricerca e nuove tecnologie: un compito di responsabilità
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Lucio Negrini is a full professor of Educational Technology and Head of the Laboratory media and MINT (MEM). He has been working in educational robotics for many years and, more recently, in artificial intelligence applied to learning and teaching. From a subject mainly confined to secondary schools, educational robotics has made great strides in the last ten years. Today, MEM offers courses starting from nursery school, with more accessible and versatile tools that allow students to develop different skills such as computational thinking, creativity and collaboration, linking different disciplines.
Lucio, what educational robotics projects have you and your team carried out over the last decade?
Over the years, we have gradually developed this area, starting from a key question: how can we integrate educational robotics into schools and support teaching staff? From the PReSO feasibility study, which led to the first educational courses also published in the Quaderni didattici (editor's note: a series of publications edited by DFA/ASP), we moved on to developing structured training with CAS in educational robotics. We then sought to raise awareness among society and families in particular through the Agorà project, which involved parents in educational robotics activities alongside their children. With the Roteco project, we then took our work to a national level, creating a national community of around 2,000 teachers interested in educational robotics, with the aim of exchanging best practices and advice, which also led to the creation of two robotics camps. During the pandemic, we developed methodologies for offering educational robotics activities online, which was no easy task given the highly workshop-based nature of educational robotics. Thanks to our collaboration with the Competence Centre for School, Social and Educational Needs of the DFA/ASP, we finally experimented with inclusive educational robotics applications.
In addition to ‘in-house’ collaborations, have there also been national or international partnerships?
Yes, our projects almost always originate online: within SUPSI, we often collaborate with the Department of Innovative Technologies. At the national level, we have developed a strong collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and their LEARN centre group. Thanks to the Roteco project, we have also created a solid network with almost all the teacher training colleges in Switzerland and with several other partners who offer robotics activities outside the school environment. These networks have allowed us to stay up to date with what is happening in Switzerland and to create very positive synergies. At the international level, we have also managed to develop several fruitful collaborations in Italy, thanks in part to doctoral students who have spent their visiting period with us at the MEM Laboratory.
Do you recall any interesting episodes that characterised the development of these projects?
I remember several, but I would like to mention one in particular. As Laboratorio MEM, we were invited to a primary school plenary session with the aim of presenting the project and trying to involve the teaching staff. After the theoretical introduction, we turned on some Thymio robots for a demonstration. The robots began to move between the chairs. The teachers, however, were petrified, almost frightened by these devices. With children in the same situation, curiosity and playfulness immediately arise. It was a decisive moment: we realised that there was still a long way to go to integrate robotics into schools and that, in addition to technology and teaching, we also had to work on the confidence and perceptions of the teaching staff.
When discussing educational robotics, it is natural to think of artificial intelligence. What influence has it had and continues to have on research in general?
Technology can greatly facilitate the work of researchers, for example by providing rapid access to data, research and scientific articles, and enabling real-time collaboration with colleagues around the world. Consider AI, which allows us to analyse enormous amounts of data and find patterns in data that would otherwise be difficult to identify, or the various tools that allow us to summarise countless articles in a short time. This can certainly help research and also speed up certain processes. On the other hand, however, it also poses several challenges regarding the integrity and reliability of what AI generates or finds. The use of new technologies also raises important ethical questions. Researchers are called upon to ask themselves not only “what can we do”, but also “what is the right thing to do”. In our field, now more than ever, doing research means not only producing knowledge, but also helping to shape the future in an informed and responsible manner.