One Size Fits All: Designing for Socialization in Physical Computing

ABSTRACT

National and state educational initiatives are increasingly prioritizing computer science and computational thinking as valued sets of skills and practices. However, despite ongoing efforts to broaden participation in computing, the field faces increasing underrepresentation of women and other racial and ethnic groups. In this paper, we argue that physical computing can provide rich, varied entryways into computing practices, and that kits that support social or collaborative use may be more compelling for underrepresented groups. We present the design of a scaled-up physical computing kit, called StegaCircuits, which we created to foster more social, exploratory introductions to computing. We present preliminary data collected during user tests at a Maker Faire that suggest StegaCircuits supports social introductions to physical computing through multi-user interaction. Finally, we highlight promising facets of the design that may positively impact cognitive and emotional responses to computing fields.

References

1. Ayah Bdeir. 2009. Electronics as material: LittleBits. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction, pp. 397--400. ACM.
2. Matthew Berland. 2016. Making, tinkering, and computational literacy. Makeology: Makers as learners 2: 196--205.
3. Paulo Blikstein. 2013. Digital fabrication and 'making' in education: The democratization of invention. FabLabs: Of machines, makers and inventors 4.
4. Paulo Blikstein. 2015. Computationally enhanced toolkits for children: historical review and a framework for future design. Foundations and Trends in Human--Computer Interaction 9, no. 1: 1--68.
5. Paulo Blikstein, and Uri Wilensky. 2007. Bifocal modeling: a framework for combining computer modeling, robotics and real-world sensing. In annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Chicago, USA.
6. Corey Brady, Kai Orton, Weintrop, Gabriella Anton, Sebastian Rodriguez, and Uri Wilensky. 2017. All roads lead to computing: Making, participatory simulations, and social computing as pathways to computer science. IEEE Transactions on Education 60: 59--66.
7. Leah Buechley, Mike Eisenberg, Jaime Catchen, and Ali Crockett. 2008.The LilyPad Arduino: using computational textiles to investigate engagement, aesthetics, and diversity in computer science education. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems, pp. 423--432. ACM, 2008.
8. Leah Buechley, and Hannah Perner-Wilson. 2012. Crafting technology: Reimagining the processes, materials, and cultures of electronics. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) 19, no. 3: 21.
9. Betsy DiSalvo. 2014. Graphical qualities of educational technology: Using drag-and-drop and text-based programs for introductory computer science. IEEE computer graphics and applications34, no. 6: 12--15.
10. Michael Eisenberg. 2003. Mindstuff: Educational technology beyond the computer. Convergence 9, no. 2: 29--53.
11. Shuchi Grover, Stephen Cooper, and Roy Pea. 2014. Assessing computational learning in K-12. In Proceedings of the 2014 conference on Innovation & technology in computer science education, pp. 57--62. ACM, 2014.
12. Yu Guo, Aditi Wagh, Corey Brady, Sharona T. Levy, Michael S. Horn, and Uri Wilensky. 2016. Frogs to Think with: Improving Students' Computational Thinking and Understanding of Evolution in A Code-First Learning Environment. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, pp. 246--254. ACM.
13. Michael S. Horn. 2013. The role of cultural forms in tangible interaction design. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction, pp. 117--124. ACM.
14. Nathan Holbert. 2016. Leveraging cultural values and "ways of knowing" to increase diversity in maker activities. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction 9: 33--39.
15. Yasmin B. Kafai, Eunkyoung Lee, Kristin Searle, Deborah Fields, Eliot Kaplan, and Debora Lui. 2014. A crafts-oriented approach to computing in high school: Introducing computational concepts, practices, and perspectives with electronic textiles. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE) 14, no. 1: 1.
16. Yasmin B. Kafai, and Mitchel Resnick. 1996. eds. Constructionism in practice: Designing, thinking, and learning in a digital world. Routledge.
17. Jane Margolis and Allan Fisher. 2003. Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in computing. MIT Press.
18. NSF. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. 2017. Retrieved January 05, 2018 from https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/nsf17310/static/downloads/nsf17310-digest.pdf
19. Seymour Papert. 1980. Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. Basic Books, Inc.
20. Hannah Perner-Wilson, Leah Buechley, and Mika Satomi. 2011. Handcrafting textile interfaces from a kit-of-no-parts. In Proceedings of the fifth international conference on Tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, pp. 61--68. ACM.
21. Barbara Rogoff, Ruth Paradise, Rebeca Mejia Arauz, Maricela Correa-Chávez, and Cathy Angelillo. 2003. Firsthand learning through intent participation. Annual review of psychology 54, no. 1: 175--203.
22. Shirin Vossoughi, and Bronwyn Bevan. 2014. Making and tinkering: A review of the literature. National Research Council Committee on Out of School Time STEM: 1--55.
23. David Weintrop, and Uri Wilensky. 2015. To block or not to block, that is the question: students' perceptions of blocks-based programming. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children, pp. 199--208. ACM.

Index Terms

• Social and professional topics

  • Professional topics

    • Computing education

      • K-12 education

  • User characteristics

    • Gender

    • Race and ethnicity