Using Robotics to Teach Creativity

[24 October 2006 - Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute] The CMU Robotics Institute has released a new paper titled, "Teaching technical creativity through Robotics: A case study in Ghana."The problem faced by the CMU researchers was how to teach creative use of technology to students in developing regions who tended to think of technology in very narrow terms (for example thinking of computer software only in terms of databases or business applications). They presented the students with robotic challenges that required students to use local resources and develop a broad understanding of technology. The result was that students left the class with a better understanding of how technology could be improvised and applied in their everyday lives. They also learned the importance of testing when improvising with technology. More