Grace Chow’s ACTIVBOT Vision explores the groundbreaking integration of AI and robotics in kindergarten education. Through an insightful interview, Grace shares her innovative approach to enhancing early childhood learning and bridging educational gaps. Therefore, read more to discover how ACTIVBOT is transforming the future of education in Asia.
Highlights
Meet Grace Chow: The Innovator Bringing AI to Classrooms
Grace Chow is the founder of ACTIVBOT, an innovative education-technology startup in Malaysia. Initially, she began her career running Tadika Aktif, a pioneering kindergarten integrating STEM education and AI solutions. Grace’s passion for early childhood education subsequently led her to create ACTIVBOT. Her aim is to enhance learning experiences for young children and special needs students. Additionally, she is a recognized conference speaker and has received accolades for her contributions to educational technology, including the Emerging Technology Award for Special Needs at the EduTech conference in Singapore.
Through this interview, Grace shares her journey, challenges, and insights on AI and robotics in kindergarten. She also offers a glimpse into the future of early childhood education and her vision for bridging the digital divide.
Interview with Grace Chow, Founder of ACTIVBOT
Q: What was the “aha” moment that led to your startup idea?
Grace Chow: I was running my kindergarten after a happy successful career as I wanted to contribute to the community. After a decade, it was stressful for my teachers as the demands to prepare them for Primary 1 were high. I did not want my students to end up in lots of boring tuition classes. I cared for them beyond kindergarten. Plus, I wanted to enjoy running my kindergarten, so there must be a better way. This led to my innovative startup idea in early childhood education and the drive to integrate AI and robotics in kindergarten.
Q: How did a personal pain point or experience spark your idea?
Grace Chow: My teacher lent me a book, ‘Reading in the Brain – The New Science of How We Read’ by Stanislas Dehaene. I heard that the brain is like plastic and can sponge up to three languages. Moreover, Dr. Kuhl from the I-Lab emphasized ‘Strive by Five.’ Humanly, it is not possible for us to implement this because we are having a shortage of kindergarten teachers and not all teachers know all three languages. Therefore, I decided that we need robots and AI to fix this. Later, this experience sparked the idea of integrating AI and robotics in kindergarten to address these challenges.
Q: Were there any serendipitous encounters or events that inspired your idea?
Grace Chow: I submitted this idea as my conference speaking for EduTech Spore and they accepted me to speak. At that point in time, there was no robot at all. In fact, I wrote to our Prime Minister to start our robot manufacturing. Meanwhile, I tried working with neuroscience professors who were interested, but their Dean did not approve. I went ahead to find my own solution in China. At first, it was just very basic as I had to work around it. Today, it is fully AI and is running very well. During one of my trips to China, I found a cute AI Pen that teaches Mandarin and English well. So, I added this to my collection. This journey highlights the serendipitous encounters that inspired my idea to integrate AI and robotics in kindergarten.
Q: Can you describe the process of refining and clarifying your initial idea?
Grace Chow: I really can see what I manifest do come true and I was very grateful. Next, I decided to take the robots and AI Pen to the special needs schools and tested them. One of my student’s mums is a teacher and she mentioned that they are not interested in reading. To my surprise, when I was there, they showed great interest. The next day, they even asked their teachers for reading. I submitted this to EduTech Spore and I received an Emergent Technology award. Then came the Covid pandemic, my kindergarten was well equipped as every child has their own AI Pen sets for Mandarin.
For the robots, I had to rotate and loan them as for young children, online classes alone are not effective. Moreover, Jolly Phonics is rather technical, and parents too need to learn. I quickly recorded all my lessons and incorporated them into the robot. This process involved refining and clarifying my initial idea and adapting to the challenges of teaching multiple languages in preschool, ensuring we could effectively integrate AI and robotics in kindergarten.
Q: How does your startup idea align with your passions and values?
Grace Chow: World Education Congress awarded me as Global Edutech Leadership award. I built a professional LMS platform to support training called DIPES. After Covid, I donated our robots to orphanages. Normal teachers found it very challenging to teach as they could not focus. But with our solutions, it was awesome; every child loves it. Our vision is that every child can read. Education is very crucial for the poor and I hope to narrow the digital divide between the rich and the poor. Now with ACTIVBOT packed with just the right amount of Jolly Readers and microphones, learning to read is so interactive. It is very affordable too as it enables everyone to teach and learn without paying for expensive rentals.
Then came the biggest problem with children given the handphones. I am determined to put an end to this by introducing ACTIVBABY and educating our community to instead learn about the power children have to sponge languages and master them without the use of handphones and tablets. We care for the wellness and health of every child! Thus, we have a full 10-year journey to guide them to being good readers. I cover this in my presentation with World Education Congress on the new paradigm in education.
Finally, I am single and do not have children of my own. I share my best practices and innovations with every child as I really believe we must narrow the digital divide between the rich and the poor. AI is just at the beginning and I have already seen such good results. As a futuristic educator, I will continue to guide our new generation towards the safe and proper adoption of AI technology and use it well to benefit mankind. Children, parents, and teachers should all be happy about teaching and learning. Currently, there is too much pedagogy. Balance it with innovative solutions that enable children to want to learn more. The old style relies on teachers. I found the new way and I am very happy that you have invited me to share it on your platform.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Education
In conclusion, Grace Chow’s journey with ACTIVBOT offers valuable lessons for the future of education:
- Follow Your Passion: Pursue what drives you, as Grace did with early childhood education.
- Embrace Innovation: Integrate new technologies, like AI and robotics, to enhance traditional methods.
- Champion Inclusivity: Ensure your solutions are accessible to all, including those with special needs.
- Adapt and Overcome: Test and refine your ideas, adapting to challenges along the way.
- Vision for Equity: Work towards bridging educational gaps and providing equal access to quality education.
A big thank you to Grace Chow for sharing her incredible journey and insights with us. Her dedication and innovative approach are truly inspiring.
Grace and ACTIVBOT are open to collaboration opportunities. You may find the startup contact info here: Grace@activbot.com.my
