# Translating kindergarteners’ creative expressions into engineering specifications to design paper boats.
# Translating kindergarteners’ creative expressions into engineering specifications to design paper boats. (*change title)
## Tables of Contents
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@@ -22,27 +22,31 @@ GUI -> RoCo -> Paper Boat
• What is the research problem and why is it important?
There are a vast amount of educational engineering kits for students in high school and college, these kits expose students to basic design, engineering, and programming concepts. But when the age group is students in primary school, the options are limited and expensive. How can we expose young children to engineering skills with little and inexpensive kits, and make sure the kits are targeted and usable for those in primary school?
There are a vast amount of educational engineering kits for students in high school and college, these kits expose students to basic design, engineering, and programming concepts. But when the age group is students in primary school, the options are limited and expensive. How can we expose young children to engineering skills with inexpensive kits, while making sure they are suitable for those in primary school? (***change kits, because they are not really packages kits sold to users)
A majority of students are initially exposed to STEM during their time in high school, and college. There a large amount of kits, ranging in price and complexity, that introduce students to basic design, engineering, and programming concepts. What if we could expose students to these concepts earlier?
A majority of students are initially exposed to STEM during their time in high school, and college. There are large amount of kits, ranging in price and complexity. These kits introduce students to basic design, engineering, and programming concepts. But we would like to pose the question, what if we could expose students to these concepts earlier?
Our goal to introduce STEM to children at an earlier age brought us to a robotic foldable boat, aka a Paper Boat. Without electrical, mechanical, and software components, only a sheet of paper is required to create a functional paper boat. This one material is widely available throughout the entire world.
Our goal to introduce STEM to children at an earlier age brought us to a robotic foldable boat. At its core, only a sheet of paper, a widely available resources, is required to create a functional paper boat. With added electrical, mechanical, and software components, it is transformed into a robotic foldable boat.
We to create options for children, as young as five years old, to begin dabbling in STEM. Requirements for this project to be a success are: low cost, accessible supplies, usable for all ages, and limitless design ideas.
Our work consists of creating systems and tools for children, as young as five years old, to begin dabbling with engineering. Requirements for this project to be a success are: low cost, accessible supplies, usable for all ages, and limitless design ideas.
• What did you do and why?
I spent the past nine weeks doing research on children's technology design principles. When a software or tech designer wants to make an application or tool for children, they change arbitary things that we believe will make the application/tool more usable to children. But in reality there are actual design principles software and tech designers should be aware of that will allow children to express their creativity and explore their imagination (change). I went throught literature review on children's technology, their input, and specific design principles. After I created an experimental procedure to best observe and interview children when drawing a boat, using computer and table apps and games, and drawing a boat on a computer and tablet application. This was done to best understand and move on to designing a GUI for children to use when designing a foldable paper boat.
• What did you find?
• What do your findings mean?
(Refined abstract)
Our work focuses on making it possible for a 5 year old to modify a paper boat, while allowing for creative expression through a widget. We use a Robot Compiler with an available interface, but the interface some familiarity of computer aided design. For this study, we will collect qualitative data from a 5 year old through: participant observation, interviews, and surveys. With sessions, we will try to carefully extract information from the user to detemine the "best" widget. The "best" widget will be determined by the widget that would allow for the largest amount of creative expression during the design and modification of a paper boat. Future work will include the design, creation, and testing of a graphical user interface for 5 year olds to design their own foldable robotic boat.
We are working to create a graphical user interface (gui) suitable for 5 year olds that will allow them to modify robotic boats as they desire.
To enable this, we must first create a widget that is better to use when changing parameters of the boat, as well as the linear dimensions of the boat, by finding a suitable widget that will allow them to change parameters of the boat as to our specification. After we can determine the widget that is better for 5 year olds to use, or create it if it doesn not yet exist. Second we must observe how they use the widgets to to change the parameters of the boat to their desire. The widgets will be graded on efficiecy and creativity. And lastly we will need to implement the widget into a giu that will result in the final system for 5 year old s to design their own robot boat.
Finally to create an optimized boat with a minimum speed that move the boat through the water.
(*** dont think I need this, or if I do rephrase it, figure out where it belongs (below)) OR MORE!
We use a Robot Compiler with an available interface, but the interface requires some familiarity of computer aided design. For this study, we will collect qualitative data from a 5 year old through: participant observation, interviews, and surveys. With sessions, we will try to carefully extract information from the user to detemine the "best" widget. The "best" widget will be determined by the widget that would allow for the largest amount of creative expression during the design and modification of a paper boat. Future work will include the design, creation, and testing of a graphical user interface for 5 year olds to design their own foldable robotic boat.
## 2. Introduction
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@@ -51,6 +55,8 @@ Our work focuses on making it possible for a 5 year old to modify a paper boat,
points
– Outline your general argument and your paper
Project Goal: Create a Graphical User Interface suitable for 5 year olds that lets them change the *parameters* (ie. length) of a paper boat they they desire.
Software System (Final System)
- Components
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@@ -74,9 +80,11 @@ Goal: We need to implement/utilize a widget that changes the geometry of the boa
– Provides external context for your project
– Justifies your project
(*put this literature review) spent the past nine weeks doing research on children's technology design principles. When a software or tech designer wants to make an application or tool for children, they change arbitary things that we believe will make the application/tool more usable to children. But in reality there are actual design principles software and tech designers should be aware of that will allow children to express their creativity and explore their imagination (change). I went throught literature review on children's technology, their input, and specific design principles. After I created an experimental procedure to best observe and interview children when drawing a boat, using computer and table apps and games, and drawing a boat on a computer and tablet application. This was done to best understand and move on to designing a GUI for children to use when designing a foldable paper boat.
## 4. Equipment and Methodology
– Details method and procdures
– Details method and procedures
– Discusses the reasons for choosing your methods and procedures
Contents
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@@ -90,26 +98,26 @@ Contents
– Descrption of methods and procedures for obtaining data
– Description of methods and procedures of data analysis
### Finding a widget to change parameters
Children and Adults have different uses and expectations of computers (desktop and/or laptop) and tablets. Adults generally user tablets for content-consumption and computers for content creation. But tablets are easier to use among children for content-consumption and content-creation because mice and keyboards are not as intuitive. (https://www.diffen.com/difference/Laptop_vs_Tablet_computer, deisgn principles)
#### Materials
Paper, A computer running Roco, a slider widget, a dial widget
Paper, A computer running Roco/ interface, a slider widget, a dial widget
Collected Data: Participant observation, Interviews, Surveys (one or the other, interview might be better, survey if used for a larger group and small amount of time)
