Effects of Resting Actions Using Smart Toys During Break Times on Concentration in E-learning

Abstract

This study conducted experiments to investigate the effects of resting actions of e-learners during break times on keeping and improving the concentrations of learners in e-learning.Two smart toys (a dog-type robot "aibo" and a toy drone) were used for the resting actions.Two types of experiments were conducted to examine the effects: one is a work type experiment (simple mathematical calculation) and the other is a memorizing type experiment (learning of English words). In those experiments, the learners played with one of the smart toys during the resting times between the learning sessions and performed certain actions accordingly. The experimental results were combined with the previous study using a humanoid robot "RoBoHoN." A questionnaire was also employed to investigate the feeling of the learners. The experiments showed that the "playing with aibo" action refreshed the learners effectively in the mathematical experiment, while the "playing with RoBoHoN" action was effective in the learning experiment.