The Republic of Korea donated 275 robots and 350 teaching aids to Uzbekistan preschools. The handover ceremony for the Albert and Genibot smart robots, designed to teach children robotics and programming skills, took place on February 9, the Ministry of Preschool Education (MPE) said.
The event was held online with the participation of representatives of the MPE, the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, the Korean Teachers Association, as well as FRG Korea, Dazzle Edu, Genie Robot and SK Telecom.
“When we talk about programming skills in kindergarten, we don't mean writing code. We are talking about the development of algorithmic thinking, which is the key to success in modern realities. Robots in a playful way help develop creativity, logic, the ability to recognize patterns and find optimal solutions,” said Oyatillo Rakhmatillaev, director of the Innovation Center for Information and Pedagogical Technologies (ICIPT) at MPE.
Albert and Genibot robots are intended for pupils from 6 years old. With the help of ready-made coding cards, the child will be able to make the toy move, blink and speak. This is how he understands how blocks of code work, explained the MPE. Older children will be able to create their own commands and algorithms by connecting the robot to a smartphone.
The robots will be distributed in 53 kindergartens throughout Uzbekistan. On-site training of teachers and monitoring the results of the pilot project will be carried out by the Innovation Center at the MPE.
If the project is successfully completed, the MPE intends to provide more kindergartens with smart robots and supplement their functionality with a program for children with disabilities.
The robot-based training program has shown good results in South Korea, said the MPE. With government support, 140 classrooms were opened there, reaching over 1,000 students across the country. Schools and kindergartens in France, Spain, Costa Rica and Peru have launched similar pilot programs.
