http www pienetwork org My Workshop MAS 714 Technologies for Creative Learning Prof Mitchel Resnick December 7 2004 Marianthi Liapi SMArchS Candidate in Design and Computation MIT liapi at mit edu Susanne Seitinger MS Candidate in Media Arts and Sciences MIT susannes at mit edu acknowledgements We would like to thank all the people who assisted us with this project especially Professor Mitchel Resnick Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab Stephanie Hunt Research Associate in Emerging Technologies at the MIT Museum and Edith Ackerman Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab Page 2 of 24 the abstract My Workshop proposes a starting rationale for developing future Pico Cricket kits a set of digital manipulatives1 developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group LLK Group at the MIT Media Lab We study the range of non computational materials that can be combined with Crickets and the spatial configurations that can be achieved with the kits in order to introduce the idea of the workshop in children s play activities In this context we define workshop as the sphere of personal space that a child physically occupies during playtime In making our suggestions we draw on two conceptual themes The first theme addresses how tactile intelligence can be encouraged in the activities of children Drawing on the importance of defined spatial configurations in human psychology our second theme examines design guidelines for a Cricket workshop space that fosters bricolage2 and creative tinkering These two themes tactility and bricolage permeate the paper and support our recommendations on how carefully designed spatial configurations and carefully selected materials can enhance the potential of Cricket technology the background Our backgrounds in architecture and planning drove us to observe the Life Long Kindergarten Group s MIT Media Lab Cricket world with a designer s lens to apply our spatial synthetic abilities towards enhancing children s play worlds We hope that our effort will render architecture an enlightening consultant to LLK s current challenge The design process in architecture can be described through a variety of metaphors acting as conceptual points of departure for My Workshop Design can be seen as exploration as problem framing as problem solving as calculating as language or as a game Regardless of their ability to cover the wholeness of the design process all of the aforementioned source domains for the design metaphor have one thing in common they suggest conceptual and physical inventories including tools and materials that challenge the designer s ability to make appropriate selections among them 3 1 Digital manipulatives refer to computationally enhanced manipulative materials that expand the domain of materials available for children to play with their hands See Mitchel Resnick Technologies for Lifelong Kindergarten Educational Technology Research 1998 Vol 46 No 4 2 In this paper we use bricolage to invoke the creative act of recognizing collecting and storing objects and materials for use in creative constructions and explorations 3 The example of Design as Exploration metaphor can be understood as a systematical correspondence a tightly structured mapping according to which entities from the source domain of exploration correspond to entities in the target domain of design George Lakoff 1993 The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor in A Ortony ed Metaphor and Thought Cambridge Cambridge University Press 1993 pp 202 251 Page 3 of 24 Developmental psychologists and educators emphasize the importance of materials for supporting creative play Simply having the objects to play with appears to be an important component of later intellectual development Why Toys and play materials provide the stimulus for children s exploration When these toys are interesting to them you are more likely to see children coming together and united in a common activity 4 In the case of the Cricket workshops the objective is to engage children in deep play and to introduce them to a design process where they can use tools and materials for their own creative explorations My Workshop addresses the concrete challenge of combining Crickets5 with a variety of materials from the world of arts and crafts as well as with found ready made objects to create a repertoire that spans categories as diverse as LEGOS and construction paper Until now Crickets have been used in group activities facilitated by the MIT Media Lab and the MIT Museum in afterschool programs and weekend workshops6 and have yet to be available in kits like their predecessors the programmable LEGO Mindstorms bricks 7 8 Currently the LLK Group is developing a rationale for future Cricket kits similar to the Mindstorms product which has raised many questions about the types of materials the system of organization and the degree of instruction to be included in the finalized kits An initial proposal for a kit developed by LLK as a prototype suggests a series of craft materials used in sample projects developed by the LLK Group and the Playful Invention and Exploration Network PIE Network9 This selection hints at the wide range of materials that might 4 From Play The Crucible of Learning in K Hirsh Pasek and R Golinkoff 2003 Einstein Never Used Flash Cards Rodale Press pp 240 241 5 The MIT Media Lab s Life Long Kindergarten Group introduces Cricket technology with the following basic description The Cricket is a tiny computer powered by a 9 volt battery that can control two motors and receive information from two sensors Crickets are equipped with an infrared communication system that allows them to communicate with each other Crickets are the latest version of the Programmable Brick with the important new dimension of their tiny size Because they are so small Crickets can be used in new and different ways Currently the Crickets come equipped to handle nine possible sensors four of which can be attached at the same time They include a light sensor a reflectance sensor motors a magnetic switch a temperature sensor tough switches lights a digital display and a galvanic skin response sensor Life Long Kindergarten MIT Media Lab http llk media mit edu projects bbb sections crickets html 6 MIT Museum Emerging Technology http web mit edu museum http emergingtech mit edu 7 LEGO Mindstorms http mindstorms lego com eng default asp domainredir www legomindstorms com 8 The following description shows how challenging it can be to