Cristina Sylla

TOK: a tangible interface for storytelling

We present the design of the first prototype of TOK - a tangible interface for children to create their own stories. Based on data collected with two groups of five years old preschoolers we present our findings regarding the interaction design of the system. The picture cards have shown to generate ideas, acting as input for the creation of stories, promoting creativity while proposing a framework that supports and guides the construction of logical structures. This is a first step in an effort to build a toolkit of tangible interfaces allowing children and teachers to build their own digital enhanced learning activities.

A comparative evaluation of touch and pen gestures for adult and child users

In this paper, we present results of two user studies that compared the performance of touch-based and pen-based gesture input on capacitive touchscreens for both adult and 8-11 years old child users. Results showed that inputting gestures with pen was significantly faster and more accurate than touch for adult users. However, no significant effect of input method was observed on performance for child users. Similarly, user experience evaluation showed that a large number of adult users favoured one technique over the other and/or found a technique more comfortable to use than the other, while child users were mostly neutral. This trend, however, was not statistically significant.

t-books : merging traditional storybooks with electronics

In this paper, we describe the design process and a first pilot study of t-books, a toolkit consisting of an electronic platform, a book with slots on it and a set of picture cards that children place on the book to interact and explore the narrative. t-books was motivated by the wish to offer children an environment where they can play with the language elements, while engaging as story authors. In this process children can enlarge their vocabulary, experiment different storylines and learn to create meaningful sequences that evolve to a narrative. At the same time children can build their own story world by choosing among a diversity of different characters, settings and actions according to their needs and preferences, thus generating a simulation environment within the story universe, where alternative scenarios, and what-if questions can be posed and tested. A first insight of childrens interaction with t-books showed that children were highly motivated to create and share their own stories.

A digital manipulative for embodied "stage-narrative" creation

Abstract This paper presents a study of the use of a digital manipulative developed to promote creative narrative construction and storytelling. The study was carried with 27 groups of preschoolers, of five years of age, who interacted with the digital manipulative during free-play time, during a period of six months. The study sought to assess aspects of children’s embodiment of the narratives, and how they shaped the creation of stories. We observed that by using the digital manipulative, children’s narrative construction occurred in two levels, as children shared the stage, (controlling the characters, the location, the props, and the nature elements) and simultaneously performed on this stage. The sharing of the input devices (blocks) gave children equal control of the performance and orchestration of the story, while promoting and supporting peer collaboration. We conclude that the digital manipulative enables the performance of what we call embodied stage-narratives, promoting children’s imagination and creative thinking, as well as fostering early literacy skills and metalinguistic awareness.

Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers: an interface for playful language exploration

In this paper we describe t-words (tangible words) an interface that consists of rectangular blocks in which children can record and then playback audio. The blocks can then be snapped together playing the recorded audio in a sequence, by reordering the blocks in different ways the audio sequence changes according to the order of the blocks. t-words does not need a computer, which makes it flexible for various contexts. The interface was presented during two workshops that took place in Kathmandu - Nepal with two schools. During the workshops children used the interface playfully exploring sounds, words and sentences while engaging in collaborative work.

Designing a tangible interface for collaborative storytelling to access 'embodiment' and meaning making

This paper describes research on designing a tangible system for collaborative storytelling, which addresses preschool children. The first part of the work focused on creating a tangible interface, for children aged four to five years, proposing to create a playful experimental space where children can collaboratively engage in creating their own multimedia narratives. Further research proposes to carry a long term study with a group of 25 five preschoolers interacting with the developed tangible system, trying to investigate how physical interaction and collaboration might influence and shape cognitive and social processes in real classroom settings. We describe the design process, as well as the final system, and report findings from a first preliminary study.

Beyond the binding: exploring the future book

We have reached a special moment in the story of the book: todays youngest generation will experience literature in a vastly different way than the generation preceding. What we call a book has always morphed over time, but digital capabilities and the ubiquity of mobile electronics are changing the landscape at an unprecedented pace. This workshop will be a forum for creative exploration and discussion of the future of the book, motivated by this particular historical moment and a desire to bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds who are working on book-related technologies. We will share and document visions, approaches, and techniques.

Storytelling through drawings: evaluating tangible interfaces for children

This paper presents an ongoing study comparing the potential and the quality of the experiences provided by tangible versus traditional interfaces. The study was carried with two groups of kindergarten children using two interfaces that aim to motivate children to the practice of oral hygiene. Childrens drawings were one of the methods used to assess their experience. We found differences quantitatively and qualitatively between the drawings of the children interacting with the tangible interface and the traditional interface. The drawings suggest that by interacting with the tangible interface children felt more actively involved with the task.

t-words: playing with sounds and creating narratives

We present t-words an interface for children to playful explore sounds, words and sentences while developing pre-literate skills. The interface consists of rectangular blocks in which children can record and then play the recorded audio. Additionally children can personalize the blocks by drawing on their surface. Children can engage in different literacy related activities such as building rhymes, playing with sounds and words as well as trying out different combinations of sentences while engaging in storytelling. Since the interface targets audio skills it may foster the development of phonological awareness and sensitiveness, helping to promote childrens early literacy.

Play Platforms for Children’s Creativity

Children’s imagination and their natural need for exploration and discovery can be stimulated when they are in contact with rich contexts and environments (Van Scoter et al. 2001; Van Scoter 2008); this inherent tendency offers an enormous opportunity for researchers and designers to develop tools that unleash children’s potential, involving them in creating meaningful projects (Papert 1993). Research on this field has highlighted that well-design technological tools for children need to be compelling, support exploration, encourage creativity, develop curiosity and promote interaction and collaboration with peers while being simple and intuitive to use (Plowman et al. 2012; Resnick et al. 2005; Resnick and Silverman 2005).