Make or Shake: An Empirical Study of the Value of Making in Learning about Computing Technology

Learning about computing technology has become an increasingly important part of the school curriculum but it remains unclear how best to teach it to children. Here, we report on an empirical study that investigated how the process of making affects how children of different ages learn about computing technology. In one condition, they had to first make an electronic cube before conducting other activities and in the other they were given a ready made one to use. The results of the study show that for younger children, the making significantly improved their performance in a post-lesson test, whereas the older children performed equally well in both conditions. We discuss possible reasons for this, in terms of differences in creative appropriation. We also saw much spontaneous collaboration between the children that suggests making can encourage a collaborative relationship between children of different ages

SIMPLIFYING SOLUTION SPACE: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY ON 3D PRINTING TOOLKITS

Flexible production technologies like 3D printing give users a large solution space to innovate and design. To harness the full potential of these technologies, it is imperative to provide toolkits, with structured and simplified solution space that meets the needs of users with low involvement. This pa-per explores the manner in which the solution space of 3D printing toolkits is simplified for non-expert users. Toolkit solution space was analysed in 68 toolkits with two perspectives of modularity: 1) Mod-ularity-in-use and 2) Modularity-in-design. First, the solution spaces were categorized in a 2x2 matrix by using the perspective of modularity-in-use, i.e. design questions and design options they offer to users. Second, this categorization and the perspective of modularity-in-design were used to identify mechanisms that simplify toolkit solution spaces. Solution space can be simplified for non-expert users by 1) offering iterative design questions with known design options, 2) using generative algorithms, 3) reusing designs and components from other users and 4) offering ‘meta-toolkits’ for users to create their own toolkits. The meta-toolkits democratize toolkit creation, and simplify solution space for non-expert users, as they design innovative and customizable products, together with expert users, without losing design flexibility

MakerWear: A Tangible Construction Kit for Young Children to Create Interactive Wearables

Wearable construction toolkits have shown promise in broadening participation in computing and empowering users to create personally meaningful computational designs. However, these kits present a high barrier of entry for some users, particularly young children (K-6). In this thesis, we introduce MakerWear, a new wearable construction kit for children that uses a tangible, modular approach to wearable creation. We describe our participatory design process, the iterative development of MakerWear, and results from single- and multi-session workshops with 32 children (ages 5-12; M=8.3 years). Our findings reveal how children engage in wearable design, what they make (and want to make), and what challenges they face. As a secondary analysis, we also explore age-related differences

BugBits: Making tangibles with children

The thesis presents and discusses the processes that lead to the development of a tangible toolkit for supporting design workshops aimed at building tangible interfaces with children. The toolkit, called BugBits, was used to explore and instantiate participatory design workshops with children enabling them to be creative and develop new prototypes. BugBits was tested in three case studies with children of different ages. The first study was conducted in a modern art museum, where children aged between 13 and 15 years old (N=185) built personalised artefacts with the toolkit. The artefacts were then used to perform an augmented visit to some of the exhibition rooms of the museum. The second study (N=31) was conducted in a kindergarten with children between 3 and 6 years old. The toolkit was adopted to perform two educational exercises about colours characteristics. The third study (N=24) explored how the toolkit can be used to instantiate creative processes during participatory design workshops with children between 7 and 11 years old. During the studies, qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed. The outcomes of the analysis show that the toolkit can be used with success to keep the children engaged (study 1, 2, 3) and obtain an active and effective participation (study 3) and allow them to build new and evolving TUI prototypes (study 3). By retrospectively reflecting on the process, the thesis presents the KPW process to guide and instantiate the design of generative tools for TUI design with children. The KPW process poses particular attention to the children roles, and how the technological choices affect the design

Bocetado de interacciones enactivas

El continuo desarrollo de tecnologías interactivas y la mayor comprensión de la participación del cuerpo en los procesos cognitivos ha impulsado al diseño de interacciones en el marco de las investigaciones HCI a la necesidad de resolver la relación del usuario con una multitud de dispositivos que se extienden más allá de los escritorios. Estos ámbitos de diseño abren nuevos desafíos a la hora de disponer de procesos, métodos y herramientas para alcanzar experiencias de uso adecuadas. En la medida que nuevos dispositivos y sistemas involucran los aspectos corporales y sociales del ser humano, se hace más relevante la consideración de paradigmas, teorías y modelos de soporte que excedan la selección de nodos de navegación y organización visual apropiada de widgets y pantallas. El diseño de interacción debe ocuparse no sólo de conseguir que se construya el producto de manera adecuada, sino además que se construya el producto correcto. Esta tesis se constituye en el cruce de tres temas: el diseño de sistemas interactivos que combinan un pie en lo digital y uno en lo físico, las teorías de la cognición corporizada y enactiva y las prácticas creativas soportadas por el bocetado, en particular los procesos de generación, evaluación y comunicación de ideas o propuestas de diseño. Este trabajo incluye contribuciones de diferente carácter. Se realiza un estudio profundo de las teorías sobre cognición corporizada y enactiva, del diseño de interacción con dispositivos digitales y del bocetado como herramienta básica del diseño creativo. Sobre la base de este análisis de la bibliografía existente y con una caracterización de la práctica de bocetado de interacciones enactivas basada en estudios etnometodológicos se plantea un framework para organizar conceptualmente esa práctica y una herramienta de soporte a esa actividad concebida como una composición creativa. Se discuten las contribuciones y se plantean posibles líneas de trabajo futuro.The continuous development of interactive technologies and the greater understanding of body importance in cognitive processes has driven HCI research , specifically on interaction design, to solve the user’s relationship with a multitude of beyond desktop devices. This has opened new challenges for having processes, methods and tools to achieve appropriate user experiences. Insofar as new devices and systems involve the body and social aspects of the human being, the consideration of paradigms, theories and support models that exceed the selection of navigation nodes and the appropriate visual organization of widgets and screens becomes more relevant. The interaction design must take care not only to get the product built properly, but also to build the right product. This thesis is at the crossroads of three themes: the design of interactive systems that combine a foot in the digital and one in the physical, the theories of embodied and enactive cognition and the creative practices supported by sketching, in particular the processes of generation, evaluation and communication of interaction design ideas. This work includes contributions of different character. An in-depth study of the theories on embodied and enactive cognition, the design of interaction with digital devices and the sketching as a basic tool of creative design is carried out. On the basis of this analysis of the existing literature and with a characterization of the enactive practice of enactive interactions based on ethnomethodological studies, a framework is proposed to conceptually organize this practice and a support tool for that activity conceived as a creative composition. The contributions are discussed and possible lines of future work are considered.Facultad de Informátic

Torino: A Tangible Programming Language Inclusive of Children with Visual Disabilities

© 2018, Copyright © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Across the world, policy initiatives are being developed to engage children with computer programming and computational thinking. Diversity and inclusion has been a strong force in this agenda, but children with disabilities have largely been omitted from the conversation. Currently, there are no age appropriate tools for teaching programming concepts and computational thinking to primary school children with visual disabilities. We address this gap through presenting the design and implementation of Torino, a tangible programming language for teaching programming concepts to children age 7–11 regardless of level of vision. In this paper, we: (1) describe the design process done in conjunction with children with visual disabilities; (2) articulate the design decisions made; and (3) report insights generated from an evaluation with 10 children with mixed visual abilities that considers how children are able to trace (read) and create (write) programs with Torino. We discuss key design trade-offs: (1) readability versus extensibility; and (2) size versus liveness. We conclude by reflecting upon how an inclusive design approach shaped the final result

Bridging the In-and-Out of School Divide: Lessons for Supporting Learning in Educational Makerspaces

Makerspaces and the practice known as “making” (creating physical and digital projects through often interdisciplinary, hands-on practices) have sparked interest in the world of educational policy, research, and practice as an opportunity for improving youths’ motivation to engage with: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), social-emotional learning, creativity, equitable learning, and more. The full extent of making’s potential as an education practice is not yet known but continues to be explored both in and out of schools. Through three successive studies, I explore the learning taking place in both in-and-out of school environments and discuss the lessons learned in both settings for understanding and improving educational maker practice across contexts. The first study consists of a gap analysis of prior research literature related to educational making for youth across contexts to inform measurement of learning in schools and research. I identified the gaps between what learning has been measured in research, by what means, for which populations, and categorized learning outcomes based on practices the literature has indicated are critical to the making process. This sparked the need for a deep investigation into relatively unexplored practices that support learning to make and learning through making. The second study expanded upon learning outcomes identified in the gap analysis in an out-of-school setting, a makerspace based on a grant for STEM making in a transitional housing facility for young adults who have left foster care without the support of family, college, and often employment. Through legitimate peripheral participation with a local maker community of practice, the makerspace supported the creative, entrepreneurial, and even therapeutic needs of the youths. The third study captures learning outcomes in a school makerspace. Students in a high school physics class worked as a team to compete locally in a drone-designing challenge and developed documentation practices to share ideas, learn from their mistakes, and get feedback. Taken together, these studies suggest that like youth, practices transform as they inhabit new contexts; a learning practice used in schools offers different affordances to the same practice out of schools. To measure and support learning in educational makerspaces or other learning contexts, one must understand both the educational practice and the larger organizational and cultural context that shapes it

New Opportunities for Interest-Driven Arts Learning in a Digital Age

Traditionally in the United States, schools and after-school programs have played a promi-nent part in teaching young people about the arts. Arts education has been waning in K-12 public schools in recent times, however. This is especially true in low-income communities, where public schools have often cut back on arts instruction so they can devote limited public education dollars to subjects such as writing and math that are the focus of high-stakes standardized tests.When we look outside of school, however, we see a strikingly different landscape, one full of promise for engaging young people in artistic activity. What makes this landscape possible is an eagerness to explore that springs from youths' own creative passions -- what we call "interest-driven arts learning" -- combined with the power of digital technology.This report is a step in trying to understand the new territory. It gives a rundown of scholarship in the areas of arts and out-of-school-hours learning; offers a framework for thinking about interest-driven arts learning in a digital age; examines young people's media consumption; provides a survey of youths' creative endeavors online and elsewhere, along with a look at the proliferation of technologies that young people are using in the arts; and concludes with thoughts about challenges and possibilities for the futur