Magnus

It wasn't strange, but it wasn't normal either. It was actually quite fun to be a robot," says Magnus.

We are at Harestua school in Lunner municipality. Children's voices fill the room and the lesson has begun in class 4A. Magnus is sitting at one of the desks. Physically. But over a period of two years, he has hardly been to school. Since his sister fell ill, Magnus has spent a lot of time at home for infection control reasons. The robot AV1 has been his "avatar".

Magnus is now back at school on a regular basis. And he feels he never really left.

"The robot has enabled me to take part in teaching even if I'm not in the classroom," says Magnus.

Three to four rooms away is principal Arild Sandvik's office. He is proudly showing off a drawing he has taped next to his desk.

"I got this picture last week when a 10th grader drew me during a test she had," says Arild with a smile.

The students always say hello and call me Arild. They know that the headmaster's office isn't dangerous or scary. I get attached to the pupils, even when they've finished school. I wonder how they got on, where they went and so on.

Arild seems to live and breathe the school environment. For Arild, it's important to ensure that all pupils have the best possible conditions, including those who are not at school.

Some children may be too ill to attend school. "For example, we've had some eating problems, especially during the pandemic. In such cases, they need to be accommodated and we need to give them what they're entitled to," says Arild.

And when Magnus's sister fell ill, the school received a tip from the hospital.

Then I said it might be a good idea to buy an AV1 robot so that she could go on trips and make up for the socialisation she's missing out on," says Arild.

School refusal has increased after the pandemic. Students have been away for so long that it's difficult to return. A robot like this could be a gentle transition to start coming back to school.

                                                          - Andreas Mamen, teacher at Harestua primary school

Curious students

Since sitting in a classroom was completely new to her, Arild and the school found other ways to socialise with the class. 4th grader Magnus, on the other hand, benefited greatly from the robot.

You have to remember that these are vulnerable children. Going to school is not just training. You have to be socialised into a community, into a society. I don't think the robot can fully replace that, but at least it's an attempt," says Arild.

"It's been fun to walk into the classroom and see this robot sitting in the middle of the classroom environment and actually working. The teacher even tells it to be quiet," says the principal with a laugh.

Now that AV1 has been in use for a while, the greatest enthusiasm for robots seems to have subsided among the pupils. In the beginning, Arild received regular visits from curious pupils.

In the days leading up to the robot's arrival, students stopped by many times to ask "has it arrived today, has it arrived today?". They were so curious about what it looked like. And they might have wished the robot was really big," says Arild.

Andreas Mamen is the contact teacher for Magnus' class. He shares the view that the pupils have now normalised their everyday lives where they have a robot standing on a desk in the classroom.

But the first thing the pupils did when they entered the classroom was to walk over to the robot to say hello to Magnus. "It's nice," says Andreas, adding that AV1 has simply been called "the robot".

In a computer, students would just walk past. In the robot, you have movement and it's about as close as you can get to a student in class.

In the wake of the pandemic

"AV1 and Magnus have not been locked in the classroom," says Andreas. Both pupils and teacher have regularly taken Magnus under their wing so that he can participate in recess and outings. And in cases where practicalities get in the way - such as dance or music lessons - Magnus has been given an alternative task. Andreas says that things have largely remained the same with Magnus and the robot.

I don't think any of us think that he hasn't been here when he's been in the robot.

Otherwise, Magnus has been the same as before: He's good at raising his hand, makes a lot of suggestions, and he likes to participate in the lessons. He's the same in the robot," says Andreas, who explains that Magnus can also chatter and forget himself.

And in the classroom we hear everything that happens on his side, like if he drinks cocoa and slurps loudly, says Andreas and laughs.

The classroom is now filled again after the pandemic. Admittedly, the long break from classrooms has had some consequences.

School refusal has increased to a greater extent since the pandemic. Pupils have been away for so long that it is difficult to come back again. A robot like that could be a gentle transition to start coming back to school, says Andreas.

In addition, it simplifies my work. The robot will never replace, but I think it's a great tool to keep children from falling out. I would love to have a couple more robots, me!

When Magnus himself looks back, he concludes with a score of 9 out of 10 and that he enjoyed "being a robot". And that AV1 outperformed his mum.

When I was at home at the start, we didn't have the robot. Then my mother would try to teach me, but it didn't work! says Magnus and adds:

I think it is good that other children can use such a robot.

Principal Arild agrees with Magnus. He believes the school is constantly developing digitally.

The school has changed a lot since the pandemic. We are far more digital and more daring in using digital tools. And it's not something we're done with, says principal Arild.

The robot has been a good aid for us and has made the work easier. And one AV1 advantage the principal particularly appreciates.

For the socialization, AV1 has been worth its weight in gold. Pupils can see and hear what is happening in class, chat with classmates. They get to be part of the class community during a period of their lives when they are quite vulnerable.