Improving Undergraduate Students’ Understanding of Carbon Literacy through the Use of Robot-Assisted Digital Storytelling
George Essien 
& Steven Parbanath
Issue: Vol. 6 No. 11 2025 Article 12 pp. 1214 – 1230
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.202561112 | Published online 28th November, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Understanding climate change, the human activities that contribute to it, and the ability to reduce or eliminate those activities are key aspects of carbon literacy. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere are the main drivers of climate change. Climate change has brought several effects, including drought, hurricanes, rising sea levels, flooding, and high temperatures worldwide. Robot-assisted digital storytelling is a digital storytelling method that uses social robots to tell stories to listeners. It is an efficient instructional delivery method that can be used to teach students in classrooms. This study uses robot-assisted digital storytelling to deliver carbon literacy lessons to selected undergraduate students and improve their understanding of the concept. The study administered a pre-test and a post-test and compared the results to determine whether robot storytelling enhanced students’ understanding of carbon literacy. The study also used a narrated PowerPoint presentation to provide identical instructions on carbon literacy and compared it to robot-assisted digital storytelling. The study found that students’ understanding of carbon literacy was enhanced through a narrated PowerPoint presentation and robot-assisted digital storytelling. However, robot-assisted digital storytelling yielded superior learning effects compared to a narrated PowerPoint presentation. Based on the findings, this study suggests using robot-assisted digital storytelling to teach carbon literacy and raise awareness of climate change in schools.
Keywords: Carbon Literacy, Robot Storytelling, Robot-Assisted Digital Storytelling Model, Robot-Assisted Digital Storytelling, Robot storytelling model.
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George Essien holds a BSc in Computer Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, and a Master of Telecommunications Management from HAN University of Applied Sciences, Arnhem, Netherlands. He has completed his PhD in Information Technology under the supervision of Dr Steven Parbanath at Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Steven Parbanath is a Senior Lecturer at the Information Systems Department of the Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Information Systems and Technology. His areas of research interest include fuzzy logic, fuzzy set theory, and IT in Higher Education.
Essien, George, and Steven Parbanath. “Improving Undergraduate Students’ Understanding of Carbon Literacy through the Use of Robot-Assisted Digital Storytelling.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 6, no. 11 (2025): 1214 – 1230. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.202561112.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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