Are you Kitting me?!

by perducoeducation

Are you Kitting me?!

Let’s be clear. I’m the proud father of a four-year-old daughter, who will be jumping into kindergarten very soon. When I mean soon, I mean like next year soon.

And I couldn’t be more excited . . . and nervous and scared and all those emotions parents have when their child goes to school for the first time. I’ve already admitted I will shed some tears on her first day.

  • Perhaps I’m nervous because it’s just something new for both of us and out of my comfort zone.
  • Perhaps I’m nervous because of all the new friends and people she will meet.
  • And, maybe, just maybe, I’m most nervous because of the seemingly constant change we see in everything around us and how that will affect her future.

By the time she’s grown, her world is going to be so much different than it is now. New technology, new ways of doing things, new jobs. Everything is, well, just going to be different.

And, knowing this, as a parent, wouldn’t I prepare her, to the best of my ability, for this world we can’t see?

One way I can prepare her for the future is to get her acquainted with things that she’ll get to know more and more of, I’m sure: robots, for example. For little children, robots can seem mean and scary and something they don’t even want to be around. However, with the right interactions and experience, little children can learn to love robots. I am confident of that.

Teachers can help with this as well!

Something Unique

Here at Pitsco, along with our partner TTS, we have recently introduced an early-learning companion robot called Kitt. Kitt the Learning Companion is a multipurpose robot that supports educators in delivering content and assessing student progress while encouraging children to own their learning and have fun doing so.

Simply stated, Kitt is a nonmoving robot that acts as a flash drive. You can connect Kitt to a computer either by USB or through the docking station that comes with each robot.

After connecting Kitt, teachers are able to drag and drop audio, video, and image files to the robot.

This is unique because it enables teachers to incorporate personal and individualized content to each student. If each student needs something a little different, Kitt allows for this to happen rather seamlessly! Whether teachers need to send out homework assignments or anything else, they can do that as well. Kitt also encourages parent engagement at home in a fun way.

A New Acquaintance

Remember when I said that with the right interactions and experiences, kids can learn to love robots? Well, just because Kitt can help teachers individualize and customize a student’s learning doesn’t mean that Kitt also can’t have many cool features that can help children become more acquainted with robots in a positive way.

Some of these features include:

  • Kitt wakes up, but also gets sleepy after working for a while.
  • Kitt responds to being touched and cuddled.
  • Kitt enjoys interaction – its face changes when spoken to.
  • Kitt knows when it is bright outside.
  • Kitt knows when it has been lifted up and responds to this.

These are just a few of the cool features Kitt possesses. For more information on Kitt the Learning Companion, visit Pitsco.com/Kitt-the-Learning-Companion.

Back to Us Parents

So, again, let’s be clear. I’m the proud father of a soon-to-be kindergarten student. And I couldn’t be more excited and nervous and scared. But:

  • Perhaps I don’t have to be nervous because there are many new things available to her so she can get acquainted to a world we can’t imagine.
  • Perhaps I don’t have to be nervous because of all the exciting ways she’ll learn something new.
  • And, perhaps I don’t have to be nervous because there are tools that we as parents and teachers can take advantage of to get kids comfortable in a world of seemingly constant change.

By the time she is grown, her world is going to be so much different than it is now. New technology, new ways of doing things, new jobs. Everything is, well, just going to be different.

And, knowing this, as a parent, wouldn’t I prepare her, to the best of my ability, for this world we can’t see?

YOU BET I WOULD! Parents, you’re doing great, and it’s our responsibility to prepare our kids for a world we don’t completely know yet.

Hang in there and stay strong. ? Stay safe.

 

Related Posts

Leave a Comment