Craft has emerged as an important reference point for human-computer interaction (HCI). To avoid a misrepresenting, all-encompassing application of craft to interaction design, this position paper first discerns craft from HCI. It develops material engagement and mediation as differentiating factors to reposition craft in relation to tangible interaction design. The aim is to clarify craft’s relation to interaction design and to open up new opportunities and questions that follow from this repositioning.
In this paper, we describe our approach to designing electronic puppet-building workshops for middle to early high school students. Power Puppet uses traditional puppet building materials - paper and cloth as the main resources, together with simple circuits elements such as LED’s, batteries and magnets. We document our process of designing puppet-building workshops that include STEM education criteria. We collaborated with the Center for Puppetry Arts to design these workshops in such a way that part of the making will include basic electronic input and output components. We aim to open this
We report on an ongoing collaboration that uses puppetry as a shared cultural expression in educational workshop that inform intercultural exchange. Collaborators in Atlanta, USA and Medellín, Colombia work in tandem on the design and implementation of puppet-building workshops. These workshops use narrative framing, craft-based prototyping, and performance-based validation to teach students basic prototyping skills. They specifically encourage them to relate to their local culture and to inform an ongoing dialogue between the two cultural spheres.
Based on preliminary findings from two puppet making and prototyping workshops, an emergent importance of ownership is identified among participants. The workshops center around puppet construction and performance but differed in population and design. We identify key mechanisms of the observed feeling of owernership in the different populations and lay out directed design choices to further support such ownership effects.
The Prototyping Puppets project presents a craft-based prototyping project for STEM education of early middle school level students in informal learning. The project combines crafting and performing of hybrid puppets. It was pilot tested in two expert workshops (n=6 and n=10), which focused on crafting practices and materials and two student workshops (n=8 and n=9), which included performance elements. The resulting data back the main design concept to combine craft and performance in a STEM-focused maker project. They suggest particular focus on key elements of our educational scaffolding
Researchers at Georgia Tech and staff at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta will address the following problem: The growth of computing calls for increased teaching of basic hardware skills, but engaging students beyond those who are already interested in STEM fields is difficult. Emphasizing cultural context through personal expression has shown to attract new audiences such as women and minorities; however, balancing accessibility and educational effectiveness remains problematic. Current educational tools often use "black boxing" to simplify access, to protect the underlying functionality, and/or to stay commercially competitive. Innovations are needed where the basic skills of design and making, along with new educational models, can support students' exploration of everyday electronics and critical thinking. The team will test an after-school model that could be applied in cultural institutions and other venues that would provide students in 4 - 8 grades with multiple computer/electronics-driven puppet design and building workshops. These workshops will provide opportunities for basic hardware and electronics prototyping, personal cultural expression, and performance.
The exploratory research and development method involves three steps: the students develop a story-line (narrative) that will incorporate puppets; they learn and apply basic electronics and mechanical crafts to design, build and test their puppets; and they perform their shows to other participants and their families. Over the course of the project, there will be five workshops: two pilot tests (to test feasibility and design), one mid-project evaluation workshop (to evaluate and re-iterate), and two final workshops conducted by educators, where the research team only observes (to test for transferability). Data collection throughout this development cycle will include video and sound recording, still photography, field notes, pre- and post-questionnaires, and the production of puppet "artifacts" during the workshops. In addition to the data collected in the workshops, the project will produce design documents and educational guidelines, as well as other media (such as instructional video clips), which will be disseminated to educators and researchers.
The project has been successfully concluded. It included additional pilot workshops with puppetry experts and educators in addition to the scheduled development and final evaluation workshops. Overall, the project has led to publications in both educational as well as performance/ game- and interface-related events.
The project also published material on the puppet designs and their possible adaptation to educational settings on the project web site, which also include video documentation. More information is available at: http://dwig.lmc.gatech.edu/projects/prototypingpuppets/
This work analyses how the theme of the creation of thinking machines by man, particularly through artificial intelligence, is dealt with on stage, with reference to three plays addressing different topics and characterised by different types of performance. This analysis reveals the particular effectiveness of plays dealing with scientific topics, when the relationship between theatre and science results in reflections transcending the boundaries of its contents to address man and his essence and gives voice to the ancient question of the sense of the world.
The Addressing Gender Barriers in STEM through Theatre of Social Engagement project responds to the need to educate the public about the careers in computer and information science and engineering (CISE) fields by educating high school students, parents, teachers and counselors about the barriers to participation that confront women and other underrepresented groups. In this Communicating Research to Public Audiences (CRPA) project, a dramatic play is used to communicate the findings from the PI's work which resulted in a theory about gender and IT to explain and predict gender (under)representation in IT fields. The play dramatizes constructs of the theory, particularly the ways in which gender, ethnicity, and class affect identity and career and life decisions. Drawing from life history interviews conducted as a part of the research, the storyline of the dramatic play centers on three young women who are graduating from high school and making decisions about their futures and possible careers in IT. Situated squarely in the realm and literature of "theatre of social engagement," this play, and its staged readings and ancillary website, extend access beyond the scientific community to new scientific research on gender barriers in CISE. Learning goals for the project include: 1. Awareness and knowledge about possible computer and information science and engineering careers; barriers and stereotypes that affect CISE career choice among women; and "significant others" such as partners, family members, mentors and teachers who can make a difference at key inflection points in career decision making. 2. Attitude change about the CISE fields being open to everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, race or class; how one's individual characteristics can be used to resist barriers to inclusion in CISE careers. 3. Intended behavior about learning more about CISE careers and educational opportunities; and responding to negative stereotypes related to CISE. Evaluation of the proposed project will include observations, talk-back sessions (focus groups) after readings of the play, pre-post surveys administered at the showings, and a second post-performance survey to be administered a certain amount of time after the showing. Dissemination will be through readings of the play for audiences in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with partnering informal learning venues, and through an associated website which will allow visitors to download and stage the play themselves. Advertisement for the play and the website will take place through websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and websites that promote diversity in computing. In addition, the PI intends to contribute to the scholarly literature on theatre as an informal learning approach and on the findings of how audiences respond to the play itself.
The Great Lakes Science Center plans to enhance an existing facility by adding the Great Lakes Situation Room. This addition makes innovative use of live theater techniques to provide interactive programming for the visiting audience. The Great Lakes Science Center is a relatively new addition to the Informal Science arena but the visitation has double the expected projections. The programs for the situation room are: Science and Information Technology Show; Great Lakes Data Quest; My Own House Data Quest; and Mathematics All Around Us. These new programs, linked to the Great Lakes Environment and exhibitions throughout the facility will further enable the visitor to actually learn about science, environment, and technology using a unique format and "state of the arts" tools made available by informational technology. This project will impact a large, diverse audience in the Great Lake's area and beyond. It has the potential for replication in other museums and science centers. The goals of this project are to enhance the visitor's experiences and learning while at the science center. The themes for the programs will explore some popular topics among the visiting audience. This is a three-year project that will quintuple the programming capacity of the theater, enhance its role in providing Informal Science Education, provide new active learning experiences and expand the center's capacity for accommodating larger audiences of families and school students. The cost sharing for this award is 66.5% of the projected total budget.