Programming Education YouthSpark: Programming for All · Summer Workshop: “Let’s Try Out Pepper! Let’s Make It Move!” Reprinted from the PEG page, a programming education project promoted by CANVAS.
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On August 9, we teamed up with members of the certified NPO “Sodateage Net,” which is dedicated to supporting children and young people, to try our hand at programming the humanoid robot Pepper, developed by SoftBank Robotics!
Participants ranged from first-year to third-year middle school students. What kind of programming would we need to do with Pepper so it could have natural conversations—
based on the
everyday conversations and gestures we take for granted? Using conditional branching, we’ll create conversations with Pepper in various locations around town.
If I were to create a station guide, what kind of guide could I make? Let’s come up with a conversation for a robot that can have fun chatting at
a barbershop
! It would be great if there were a robot at the pool to give directions or teach people how to swim… If there were a Pepper robot at school
, I’d have it tell me the daily menu!
Adults and children worked together,
and this led to the creation of many future scenarios featuring Pepper.
We plan to hold another event during winter break!
Once again, we’ll all come together to imagine the future of technology.
* We held a workshop as part of the Microsoft × CANVAS “YouthSpark: Programming for All” project, utilizing SoftBank Group Corp.’s Pepper Social Contribution Program.
Professor, Keio University; Ph.D. (Policy and Media)
Director, B Lab
Chairperson, Learning of Tomorrow (General Incorporated Association)
Chairperson, CANVAS
After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, he served as a visiting researcher at the MIT Media Lab before founding the NPO CANVAS and the Learning of Tomorrow Association, a General Incorporated Association, and assuming the role of representative. He serves as an outside director for Matsuya Co., Ltd., Fuji Media Holdings, Inc., and Digital Garage, Inc.
He has served on various government committees, including the Information and Communications Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as well as the NHK Central Broadcasting Program Council. He also serves as a director of the Digital Signage Consortium, among other roles. He holds a Ph.D. in Policy and Media.
His publications include *Turning On Children’s Creativity!*, *What Are Smart Kids Doing on Their Smartphones?*, *The Forefront of Online Education in Japan: Considering Learning in the Post-COVID Era*,“What Is Programming Education? 45 Questions Parents Want to Know,” and “Declaration on Digital Education.” He has also provided supervision for numerous works, including “Ah, I See! Programming Education for Parents and Children Through Manga.”
