Designing multiplayer games to facilitate emergent social behaviours online

This paper discusses an exploratory case study of the design of games that facilitate spontaneous social interaction and group behaviours among distributed individuals, based largely on symbolic presence 'state' changes. We present the principles guiding the design of our game environment: presence as a symbolic phenomenon, the importance of good visualization and the potential for spontaneous self-organization among groups of people. Our game environment, comprising a family of multiplayer 'bumper-car' style games, is described, followed by a discussion of lessons learned from observing users of the environment. Finally, we reconsider and extend our design principles in light of our observations

Early Childhood Intervention Curriculum Creation: Using Playful Project-Based Learning

The purpose of this study is to present an early intervention curriculum incorporating Project-Based Learning (PBL) and opportunities for play. The project aims to answer the questions: What does a Project-Based Learning curriculum model look like in high quality early childhood special education? How does PBL curriculum work in conjunction with play? The created curriculum answers these questions based on a review of research and guidance from three theoretical frameworks: a Vygotskian Tools of the Mind approach (Bodrova & Leong, 1996), implementation of PBL in early childhood (Lev et al., 2020) and the early intervention Building Blocks framework (Sandall et al., 2019). Early learning standards and differentiation strategies are embedded throughout the curriculum’s high-quality early learning environment set up, sample daily schedule, lessons for daily routines, lessons for rotational small group play centers, and four-week PBL unit. The proposed curriculum is designed for inclusive early learning settings (ages three to six years old) for peers and students who qualify for preschool special education services under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Human-centred design methods : developing scenarios for robot assisted play informed by user panels and field trials

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThis article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human–robot interactions.Peer reviewe

Preschool Children’s Cooperative Problem Solving during Play in Everyday Classroom Contexts: China and the US

There is value in studying young children’s cooperative problem solving (CPS) during play in different cultures since children in our society will continue to face problems that are not unique to a particular culture, but also relevant to people from other countries. Cognitive development theory and sociocultural theory contend that play contexts can support children in the construction of their knowledge through explorations with different play materials and engagement in social interactions with peers during CPS experiences. However, there is a lack of research studying children’s CPS during play in their everyday preschool classrooms, and particularly, cross-culturally. Therefore, this dissertation, that includes three manuscripts, was designed to investigate (a) preschool children’s different patterns of engagement in play and CPS in Chinese and US preschool classrooms and (b) their teachers’ beliefs about their roles and pedagogical decisions for supporting children’s CPS in particular settings in these two cultures. In the first manuscript, a systematic literature review was conducted framed by PRISR, and it was found that there is a lack of cross-cultural studies that have investigated (a) preschool children’s CPS during play in their everyday classroom contexts and (b) teachers’ roles in children’s development of CPS. These research gaps were addressed in the second and third manuscripts by conducting (a) a 10-month, ethnographic informed observational study in a Chinese kindergarten and a US preschool center that included (b) semi-structured, teacher interviews with the integration of the visual stimulated recall approach. The data and findings are presented, based on over 960 minutes of (a) 16, four- and five-year-old children’s video recordings, (b) six classroom teachers’ interview transcriptions from two early care and education centers, and (c) the researcher’s field notes and journal entries. Findings support that there were cultural and gender differences in children’s engagement in their types of play (constructive play, fantasy play, and rough-and-tumble play) and CPS (debating and mentoring). Further, teachers in both cultures showed similarities and differences, within and across the cultural contexts, in their beliefs and pedagogy regarding their image of the child, their role as teachers, and their arrangements of classroom environments

Designing flexible learning spaces for a positive impact: the cork castles system

La educación de los niños consiste en proporcionarles los conocimientos, las aptitudes y los valores que consideramos que necesitarán cuando crezcan y se conviertan en participantes activos del "mundo real". Esta tesis explora cómo el diseño puede utilizarse para crear un impacto positivo en los entornos de aprendizaje para que la experiencia de aprendizaje de los niños sea agradable y se adapte a las últimas necesidades pedagógicas. En primer lugar, se ha investigado el papel del diseño para generar un impacto positivo y crear espacios de aprendizaje y de diversión. La segunda parte de este Trabajo de Fin de Máster consiste en la propuesta creativa de Castellets de Suro, un sistema modular abierto de bloques de corcho que incita a los niños a crear sus propios espacios de aprendizaje. El resultado de este proyecto demuestra que Castellets de Suro tiene el potencial de facilitar la adaptación de los espacios de aprendizaje actuales a la pedagogía en constante evolución que requiere flexibilidad y contingencia, es una fuente de diversión, imaginación y creatividad para los niños y promueve la colaboración y la empatía. Por lo tanto, esta tesis es un ejemplo de cómo el diseño puede mejorar los entornos de aprendizaje existentes.Educating children is about providing them with the knowledge, skills and values that we consider they will need when they grow up and become active participants of the “real world”. This Thesis explores how design can be used to create a positive impact on learning environments to make the learning experience of children pleasant and adapted to the latest pedagogical needs. First, research on design’s role in creating a positive impact, learning spaces and playfulness has been conducted; followed by the design proposal of Castellets de Suro, a modular open-ended system of cork blocks that invites children to create their own learning spaces. The outcome of this project proves that Castellets de Suro (the cork castle system) has the potential to facilitate the adaptation of current learning spaces to the ever-evolving pedagogy that requires flexibility and contingency, is a source of fun, imagination and creativity for children and promotes collaboration and empathy. Therefore, this Thesis is an example of how design can improve existing learning environments

Utilizando un cuento interactivo para enseñar español en un aula de Educación Infantil en Irlanda

Oral expression is a representative quality of the human being that develops innately, during our first years of life, through imitation of our closest environment. In this work, the different processes of learning a foreign language will be presented, starting from the basis of how the mother tongue is learned and continuing with the bases, benefits, tools, and resources that should be used to teach a foreign language to children in the second cycle of Infant Education. More specifically, a planning sequence on the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language in an Irish junior infant classroom.La comunicación oral es una cualidad representativa del ser humano que se desarrolla de forma innata, durante nuestros primeros años de vida, a través de la imitación nuestro entorno más cercano. En este trabajo se expondrán los diferentes procesos de aprendizaje de la lengua extranjera partiendo de la base de cómo se aprende la lengua materna y continuando con las bases, los beneficios, las herramientas y los recursos que deben utilizarse para enseñar una lengua extranjera a niños y niñas del segundo ciclo de Educación Infantil. Más concretamente, una secuencia de planificación sobre la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera en un aula infantil irlandesa.Grado en Educación Infanti

Music and the general classroom: Literacy in a new key

After a personal description of the traditional role of music education and its relationship to the overall curriculum of an American elementary school, this dissertation asks: What do grade 4/5 students do when their classroom and music teachers integrate music more deliberately into classroom life? Set in a classroom in a small New England town, the dissertation describes how a collaboration between a classroom teacher and a music teacher brought the music curriculum into the daily lives of students in a school where scheduled music class occurred only once per week. Viewing music as a valid means to represent thought and express it, the teachers explored ways to weave aspects of the music curriculum into the general classroom\u27s language arts, science, and social studies units. Their desire was to blur the boundaries between classroom and music room experiences and make music more available to their students for learning and showing what they know. Descriptions of three thematic units show that the children first needed to play with the tools of the new literacy, namely musical instruments and sounds, to gain familiarity with them. As they learned the potentials and limitations of the instruments in a way described as aural scribbling, they came to make informed choices of musical instruments to illustrate events and set moods in stories they had written. A science unit on the physical properties of sound showed that some students chose music as a way to demonstrate what they knew about the topic. A social studies unit on cultural ways of celebrating holidays showed the students choosing music to symbolize certain elements of their celebration. Throughout the semester of the study, students also selected music spontaneously to satisfy various personal and interpersonal purposes such as recreation, problem solving, memory assistance, motivation for writing, and as a means of personal expression. The study shows the importance of music specialists for adding breadth and depth to an integrated curriculum. It also suggests further research into music\u27s relation to print literacy, into alternative evaluation methods, and into methods of including arts in collaborative approaches to instruction

Tangible user interfaces and social interaction in children with autism

Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) offer the potential for new modes of social interaction for children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). Familiar objects that are embedded with digital technology may help children with autism understand the actions of others by providing feedback that is logical and predictable. Objects that move, playback sound or create sound – thus repeating programmed effects – offer an exciting way for children to investigate objects and their effects. This thesis presents three studies of children with autism interacting with objects augmented with digital technology. Study one looked at Topobo, a construction toy augmented with kinetic memory. Children played with Topobo in groups of three of either Typically Developing (TD) or ASC children. The children were given a construction task, and were also allowed to play with the construction sets with no task. Topobo in the task condition showed an overall significant effect for more onlooker, cooperative, parallel, and less solitary behaviour. For ASC children significantly less solitary and more parallel behaviour was recorded than other play states. In study two, an Augmented Knights Castle (AKC) playset was presented to children with ASC. The task condition was extended to allow children to configure the playset with sound. A significant effect in a small sample was found for configuration of the AKC, leading to less solitary behaviour, and more cooperative behaviour. Compared to non-digital play, the AKC showed reduction of solitary behaviour because of augmentation. Qualitative analysis showed further differences in learning phase, user content, behaviour oriented to other children, and system responsiveness. Tangible musical blocks (‘d-touch’) in study three focused on the task. TD and ASC children were presented with a guided/non-guided task in pairs, to isolate effects of augmentation. Significant effects were found for an increase in cooperative symbolic play in the guided condition, and more solitary functional play was found in the unguided condition. Qualitative analysis highlighted differences in understanding blocks and block representation, exploratory and expressive play, understanding of shared space and understanding of the system. These studies suggest that the structure of the task conducted with TUIs may be an important factor for children’s use. When the task is undefined, play tends to lose structure and the benefits of TUIs decline. Tangible technology needs to be used in an appropriately structured manner with close coupling (the distance between digital housing and digital effect), and works best when objects are presented in familiar form

Programmable toys and free play in early childhood classrooms

This paper reports on a study that investigated the ways that young children interact with discrete programmable digital toys in a free play setting. One intention was to see whether this interaction would address some of the requirements of the Digital Technologies subject in the Australian Curriculum. The study was implemented in two phases in consecutive years involving teachers and students from two early childhood classes. Researchers worked with the teachers to provide the children with opportunities to use two types of digital toys - the Sphero and the Beebot. The children were observed as they interacted with these toys and their interactions analysed using a checklist of behaviours. It was found that without some explicit scaffolding the children did not tend to demonstrate any actions that could be associated with an understanding of ‘algorithms’. However, they did demonstrate motivation, engagement, and increased proficiency and recognition with using the hardware and software of these digital systems