Stimulating Voices towards Computational Legitimacy: Robotics Education in an Underserved Community

• In Event: Alternative Pedagogies at the Crux of Interdisciplinarity: Promises and Pitfalls of “Innovating” Education - III

Abstract

The digital divide in underserved communities is a new kind of social exclusion. Marginalized children have fewer opportunities to practice and to engage in digital technologies. The Brazilian Social Assistance System (SUAS) prevents and minimizes effects of drug traffic, sexual exploitation, and exclusion. In a SUAS space located in an underprivileged community (aka favela), we stimulate computational legitimacy of marginalized children (N=14). They have voices silenced in society, perpetuating exclusions based on social origins.

As a concept, computational legitimacy is the process of students expressing their ideas with its voices. Robotics is a way to practice computational legitimacy on education. Our research conjectures that insufficient access to formal literacy of the spoken language is an additional problem to generate alternative pathways through computation and robotics as meta-communication.

We expound how to tackle the digital divide using participatory design, open hardware, free software, and e-waste. Our results show the evolution of the group after 20 weeks from almost no expression to a possible expression of voices through computation, robotics, and design. Our findings showcase STS practices in disadvantaged communities; also they present the potential of expanding STS-based education to the Social Assistance in Brazil.

The expected impact is a change in public policy regarding current SUAS actions towards more inclusive, participative, and open education. STS practices have the potential to create an environment where technology is a mean of expression and support to interrupt a process of exclusion and silencing of marginalized children.

Authors

• Rodrigo Barbosa e Silva, Stanford University

• David Plank, Stanford University

• Anderson Szeuczuk, Colegio Estadual Ana Vanda Bassara

• Taciana Wilke, Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste - Unicentro