Spookies: combining smart materials and information technology in an interactive toy
Proceedings of the 2005 conference on Interaction design and children
Some reflections on designing construction kits for kids
Proceedings of the 2005 conference on Interaction design and children
Electronic/computational textiles and children's crafts
Proceedings of the 2006 conference on Interaction design and children
Fröbel's forgotten gift: textile construction kits as pathways into play, design and computation
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children
Squishy circuits as a tangible interface
CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
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Computationally enhanced craft items have created a new genre of educational toys and construction kits. Previous work shows that such activities increase interest in STEM particularly among female audiences [11]. However, there are few affordable kits for children, and current projects leave room for improvement. Many kits provide "cookie cutter" projects that call for blind following of instructions. Additionally, they market to girls with stereotyped branding (e.g. using colors like pink or activities like baking) and with preconceived ideas about their interests. We are working to expose these concepts in gender-neutral ways that encourage creativity and resourcefulness. The Invent-abling project, outlined in this paper, addresses gender inequality in STEM learning tools by exploring how aesthetics, materials, applications, and learning styles, impact girls' engagement with educational materials.