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In child–robot interaction (cHRI) research, many studies pursue the goal to develop interactive systems that can be applied in everyday settings. For early education, increasingly, the setting of a kindergarten is targeted. However, when cHRI and research are brought into a kindergarten, a range of ethical and related procedural aspects have to be considered and dealt with. While ethical models elaborated within other human–robot interaction settings, e.g., assisted living contexts, can provide some important indicators for relevant issues, we argue that it is important to start developing a systematic approach to identify and tackle those ethical issues which rise with cHRI in kindergarten settings on a more global level and address the impact of the technology from a macroperspective beyond the effects on the individual. Based on our experience in conducting studies with children in general and pedagogical considerations on the role of the institution of kindergarten in specific, in this paper, we enfold some relevant aspects that have barely been addressed in an explicit way in current cHRI research. Four areas are analyzed and key ethical issues are identified in each area: (1) the institutional setting of a kindergarten, (2) children as a vulnerable group, (3) the caregivers’ role, and (4) pedagogical concepts. With our considerations, we aim at (i) broadening the methodology of the current studies within the area of cHRI, (ii) revalidate it based on our comprehensive empirical experience with research in kindergarten settings, both laboratory and real-world contexts, and (iii) provide a framework for the development of a more systematic approach to address the ethical issues in cHRI research within kindergarten settings.
Educational institutions have increasing needs for professional digital communication. When selecting suitable communication tools, there is a need for appropriate information as a basis for decision-making. Messenger communication in particular is strongly integrated into people's private everyday lives. While needs for extensive data-secure communication in educational contexts are increasing, there is a lack of concepts for data-protected and privacy-preserving support of educational processes through software (Karaboga et al 2014; Digitalcourage e.V. n.d.) , as well as for mandatory training for professionals (Zorn, Tillmann, and Kaminski 2014; Imort and Niesyto 2014), and reliable information for viable software alternatives. This paper outlines the specific requirements of educational institutions when selecting suitable software, using messenger communication as an example. From these requirements, criteria for needed information are presented as a basis for software selection decisions in three categories: data protection/privacy, accessibility/low-barrier, practicability. Since no criteria and good practice suggestions were available so far, a study was conducted to elicit the characteristics of potentially suitable messenger software. To this end, the necessary criteria for the three categories mentioned were first defined and then German and well-known international messengers were tested for data protection criteria. Based on the results for conformity with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as an inclusion criterion, the messengers in question were subjected to a practical test. In the process, additional practicality criteria were developed, in part iteratively.
In addition to institution-internal messengers, six services were identified among the freely available provider-dependent messengers that can be used in a GDPR-compliant manner, at least for users over the age of 16. At the time of publication, this leaves only five: Threema, Wire, SID, Ginlo, Chiffry. Furthermore, provider-independent messenger systems that adhere to the international standard protocol for the exchange of chat messages (XMPP) appear to be a viable option for educational institutions. In-house or commissioned server hosting would then be possible and a corresponding agreement for commissioned data processing can be concluded with an IT service provider.
The decisions to use "Wire" and "Threema Work" in the IDiT project context are explained and justified. The context was vocational training for prospective office management clerks at vocational schools and vocational training centers. Although the underlying considerations are tailored to the project context (application in the Berufsförderungswerk Köln), they can be generalized.