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As a RoboKind Administrator, we seek to provide you with the tools that are needed to successfully implement RoboKind websites, robots and avatars, applications, and learning practices into your organization.
Existing RoboKind Legacy Customers:
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This guide is intended to help customers update to the latest version of robots4autism®, which includes support for our newest features.
Table of Contents
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3.3 Release Information
We are pleased to launch the 3.3 release of our robots4autism® software which includes many new features over older versions of this application.
New support for using an avatar in cases where an R25 robot is not readily available at the location of the student
New support for remote situations where a teacher/facilitator may not be in the same location as the student
New one time pairing process between student and facilitator tablets - no more QR Code scanning!
New friendly aliases can be assigned to robots to make easier to identify robots for a lesson, and again, no QR code scanning!
New Student Quick reports providing at a glance analysis of student progress (Available on our website at https://central.robokind.com)
New Web Companion support, which can be used in place of an iPad where 2 devices are not available.
Group Lesson mode, where multiple students can be selected for any lesson in the robots4autism curriculum.
Itinerancy support, where teachers who routinely travel can be configured to run lessons on robots at different locations.
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Note that to conduct lessons remotely, it is expected that there would be a video conference of some fashion in progress (Zoom, Chime, WebEx, etc.) to monitor the students progress. |
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Legacy platform customers: If you are currently using our legacy platform (at portal.robokind.us), then |
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necessary to follow the migration check list here: RK Central 3. |
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To ensure a continued ability to teach lessons, Robokind legacy customers presently on the portal.robokind.us site must not update their robots and companion software outside of the process defined in the RK Central 3.0 Platform - Pre migration check list. |
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Formal support for our legacy platform will end at the end of the 2020/2021 school year as we seek to have all schools be able to take advantage of our latest features. |
RoboKind Central 3.0 Background Information:
RoboKind has a hierarchical security model which allows organizations to be designed and secured in a fashion similar to their real world presentation. For example if a school district has 5 unique schools, each with its own students and teachers, we allow for creating organizational units for each of the five schools.
RoboKind uses e-mail address as a unique identifier for user accounts, so a user with a single e-mail address cannot be duplicated across multiple organizations or roles.
RoboKind Central 3.0 introduced support for importing rosters in the 1.1 format to reduce the need for manual data entry.
RoboKind’s user account system sends e-mails to users after account creation so that they can set their password and activate their account. Organization administrators can now see which facilitators have activated their accounts, and click on a “Send welcome e-mails” button to encourage their teachers & facilitators to activate their accounts. Users can also request their own password reset from the central.robokind.com/login screen using the Forgot your password? link.
3.2 Release Background Information:
The 3.2 release of our website, companion apps, and robot clients is intended to untether teachers and facilitators from the need for teachers and facilitators be present together in order to conduct lessons. This need was caused in part by the fact that facilitators had to log into student tablets for the first time, and that student and facilitator tablets needed to be on the same network with a robot.
Additionally this release introduces our Avatar based milo robot, to be used in situations where a student is at home and cannot be physically present with the Milo robot. This update allows for a facilitator to select an Avatar of Milo to be used in lieu of a robot in these situations. Note that use of this feature remotely would usually also require a video chat session of some type to be established between student & facilitator so that the facilitator can monitor the students progress.
New pairing processes for robots & tablets: In version 3.0, it was necessary to use the tablets to scan QR codes of the robot and then of the tablets in order to establish each lesson. This process was not feasible for remote settings, so we have replaced it with new and more permanent pairing processes:
Robots registered to an organization will automatically appear in the list of available robots, with no manual pairing being required. Teachers & administrators will need to be familiar with the Serial numbers and assigned alias for robots so that they can select the correct robot when starting their lessons.
The RoboKind Companion Application 3.0 when run in student mode will no longer require a facilitator login to update modules and QR code scanning to start each lesson. Instead there is now a one time process:
On the student tablet, select student mode. The student tablet will request a 6 digit code to pair the tablet.
The facilitator/teacher will use an Add New Tablet button which will assign an alias for the tablet, and then create a 6 digit code which the facilitator can enter on the student tablet, or provide the code over the phone for pairing.
Preparing for a trouble free implementation:
It is recommended that the primary account contact submit requests to their local IT help desk to implement the following:
Any and all e-mail filtering software to allow e-mails from support@robokind.com
For any customers using robots, the requirements are found in RoboKind Quick Network Setup Guide
Use the Utilities - Update Software button on each robot so that they will download the new 3.2 compatible connector.
Conducting lessons currently the use of two iPad’s - one for use by the facilitator or teacher, and one for use by the student during the lesson. These tablets are not supplied through RoboKind. While we support most iPad’s manufactured in the last 5 years (software version 9.0 or later), there is a requirement that iPad’s have 3GB of space available, and that those conducting the lessons have Apple accounts by which they can login to the iPad, connect to the organizations WiFi, and access the Apple app store.
RoboKind R25 robots do not currently support 5G WiFi networks by default. This is generally not an issue because 2.4G functions on a similar distance range and has sufficient bandwidth for the robot needs, however if your organization does not support 2.4G wireless, please contact us to request a quote for an external 5G adapter which can be made to work.
In RoboKind Central, organizations can be structured as flat (with all students, teachers, and classrooms at the top level of the organization), or hierarchical. See the RoboKind Central for Administrators guide for more details.
Documentation
RoboKind Central for Administrators
RoboKind Central for Teachers & Aide Account Roles
Upload Roster - Bulk Data Load into RoboKind Central 3.0
Coming soon:
Customers who update to our latest software versions will also soon be able to benefit from additional features including:
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Video Chat built into the RoboKind Companion App
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Additional reporting in the RK Central web portal
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Updating RK Central, Tablets and Robots to 3.3
An organizational admin should check the list of Robots that appears under their account under central.robokind.com and the Organization List screen and compare to the organization's active robots. How-to Find a robot's serial number
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Teacher accounts do not have access to view the list of robots in RK Central, this step must be performed by a user with administrative access. |
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If the list of robots is incorrect or if the Robots & Avatars section is missing from the Organization list, please submit a robot registration request at https://robokind.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5/group/23/create/80. Please include the exact serial number(s) of robots to be added or removed. How-to Find a robot's serial number |
2. In the RoboKind Central portal at https://central.robokind.com, we recommend using the … button (3 dots) to the right of each robot to assign a friendly Alias. As an example, if a robot is dedicated to a specific classroom, the name of that classroom might be a good alias. An itinerant robot that travels between schools might be assigned an alias of the teacher/facilitator who is using that robot.
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3. On each robot, choose Utilities - Update Software and ensure that it completes successfully. See How-to Update the Robot for details and troubleshooting. Note that the update process usually takes 30-60 minutes.
4. After all robots are updated successfully, update the RoboKind Companion App on each iPad. RoboKind Companion App Installation and Update Guide (iPads)
Facilitator Tablet First Time Setup
Open the newly installed RoboKind 3.3 application.
Choose yes to allow camera access if prompted.
Select Facilitator mode.
Login to the tablet with the same facilitator credentials used to log in at https://central.robokind.com.
If necessary, you can visit https://central.robokind.com and reset your password.
If prompted, create a 4 digit pin for your account.
Use the Add New Tablet button
*Pairing codes expire within 10 minutes, so pause at this point if the student device is not already updated and ready.
Assign a Nickname or alias for the student device, and click Generate Code.
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We recommend a Nickname or alias that describes the scope of the students that might be sharing that tablet, for example “Classroom A”. |
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Tablet aliases cannot be re-used, so you can use a “-1” or such if needing to re-use a similar name. |
Characters including comma’s, parenthesis, and quotation marks are not allowed in Device names.
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We recommend labeling a tablet according to the nickname that has been assigned to it. |
The 6 digit code that is provided after tapping Generate Code will be needed during the Student device setup.
After the pairing code has been written down, click the Back button.
Student Device First Time Setup
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Note that a student device can be paired just once and then shared among multiple students. |
On the student device, open the newly updated or installed Web Companion 3.
Choose yes to allow camera access if prompted
Select Student mode. No login is required.
If prompted for camera access, choose Allow. (This is used in certain lessons of the emotional modules)
Enter the 6 digit numeric code generated during the Facilitator setup and click Connect.
You are now ready to run lessons in 3.3!
See instructions at How to start a Robots4Autism 3.3 lesson
Documentation
RoboKind Central for Administrators and Managers
RoboKind Central for Teachers & Aides
RoboKind Companion App Installation and Update Guide (iPads)