Word: leachim
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...Leachim was created for Teacher Gail Freeman by her husband Michael after she complained repeatedly about the time she had to spend with her students on drill and review. A doctoral candidate and professor of management sciences at Bernard Baruch College, Michael spent 18 months and $ 1,000 to design, build and program Leachim (Michael spelled backward, more or less), a 5-ft. 5-in., 200-lb. humanoid with black plastic arms and legs. Although his legs are motorized, he is chained and bolted to a table for security. The robot's brain is a computer, made partly from...
...Leachim's brain is packed with a fund of information that includes the contents of Compton's Encyclopaedia, Webster's New World Dictionary, a Ginn science book, a thesaurus and a Macmillan reading series. He has also been programmed with biographical information on the 29 students, including their reading levels, math scores and hobbies. As he works with the students, Leachim keeps track of their progress and changing scores, sometimes asking extra questions of the faster learners and drilling slower ones on older material. After about six months, he will have to be reprogrammed to keep...
Last week Leachim addressed Lisa Ilario, 9, as she sat down in front of him and put on her earphones. "My name is Leachim," said the robot. "You are doing Segment 10. Try to follow my directions carefully. If a classmate drops a pin on the floor, what would you pick it up with? Answer A: a screwdriver. Answer B: pliers. Answer C: a wrench. " Lisa punched button B on Leachim's chest. "You are correct," said the robot. "Pliers will help you lift and squeeze things." "He's very polite," says Lisa. "He says 'thank...
Ultimate Gesture. After Sports Fan Warner Brown, 10, correctly selected from a list that lit up on Leachim's visual panel the word barometer as the one associated with weather forecasting, the robot rewarded him with brief observations about New York basketball and football teams. "You did very well," Leachim added. "I hope you enjoyed working with me. I like Joe Namath. I'm sure you do too." But if pupils take too long to answer, Warner explains, "Leachim says. 'You are not listening. Choose an answer now.' If you still...
...Both Leachim's humor and his moments of testiness are deliberate. "He is geared to Gail's- understanding of the children's tolerance levels at this age and what should be expected of them," says Michael. The robot's ultimate gesture of impatience is one many teachers would envy: he just turns himself...