Computing Education through Storytelling and Maker activities

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C-Accel “Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier” Funded by National Science Foundation (#1839896) Investigators: Dr. Karthik Ramani, Purdue University; Dr. Kylie Peppler, University of California, Irvine; Daron Acemoglu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Conducted user-testing (focus group workshops), planning and creating workshop settings Writing literature reviews to support writing publishable papers Conducted mixed-method research with video, audio transcripts and pre-post test data Data analysis with video data (qualitative) as well as pre-post tests data (quantitative: SPSS)

Project-based making activities with the Internet of Things (IoT) toolkits allow learners to make interactive and tangible products by integrating internet and computing devices embedded in everyday objects. This study presents a workshop experience with a designed curriculum incorporating crafting, coding, and creative writing with IoT toolkits for students to work on interactive IoT-infused storytelling activities. We conducted a qualitative study through a week-long maker workshop in the middle school classroom. We examined students’ learning to understand how they integrated IoT crafting with creative writing. Ultimately, we discuss design implications for improving IoT-crafting workshops with creative writing for children. Additionally, the findings inform the future design of a STEAM workshop to broaden STEM participation and enhance learning.

Han, A., Huang, J., Villanueva, A. M., Peppler, K. A., Liu, Z., Zhu, Z., & Ramani, K. (2022). Coding a MacGuffin: Recommendations for Teaching Narrative-based IoT Design. In Proceedings of the 2022 American Educational Research Association (AERA)