No abstract

In this work we present three case studies, involving classes in primary and secondary schools, in Denmark. The studies, conducted in the past 2 years, show how audio contents can be generated and shared among teachers and learners, how audio materials can be made more interactive to offer fruition similar to that of digital games, and how language learning can benefit from adding a social dimension to audiobooks. All case studies were conducted in a user centered fashion and build on social semiotics, in which interactive audiobooks are seen as providing new ways to receive, interpret and share literary texts. Local primary and secondary schools were involved in ethnographic user studies and qualitative evaluations with semi-functioning prototypes. In the main case study presented, social interaction was chosen as key feature to allow high-school students and teachers to annotate audiobooks, then share and comment on the annotations; the social context in this case is a digitally-augmented English teaching class. To better investigate the potential of sharable audiobook annotations we also created a mockup supporting the workflow of the main case study, using standard YouTube annotations and freely available audiobooks. The findings and technical solutions explored in the three studies are the basis for design guidelines aiming at making audiobooks interactive and better integrated in learning contexts. Keywords: e-learning • multimodal interaction • information presentation • knowledge management 1 Danish primary school site: https://www.folkeskolen.dk/504367/det-skal-vaere-nemmere-for-laerereat-finde-relevante-e-og-lydboeger (last seen on the 23th of March 2017). enabled applications. A fully functional mobile application is currently under development, based on the outcome of the main case study and the experience gained with our mockup.

In this paper we present findings from the current and last year's season of a CT course: we investigated how soft materials enriched learning of CT in relation to embedded systems and creative thinking practices. We also addressed gender biases in the course, as we observed how boys and the few girls in the course responded to the practices related to fabric prototyping and sewing, when moving from LEGO Mindstorms to wearable devices and soft robotics. Data gathering was conducted following a qualitative approach, based on ethnography combining note taking, observations, pictures of the children artifacts and live drawings of the children in action. We observed changes that occurred in creativity, project context, in the hardware and debugging, flexibility and reusability, in addition to the gender balance. We also analyze the play moods observed in the children. The main contribution of the paper is to detail our approach, the methods used in the observations and analysis, and our findings, for the benefit of other institutions and groups striving to design CT curricula.

No abstract

Playful learning has become a common practice in Denmark, across primary and secondary education, however, the phrase playful learning might sound like a paradox, because learning and play suggest opposite values. In playful learning, play is approached as a learning resource, able to foster understanding and critical thinking. In the Occupational Therapy (OT) education, there has been a rich exploration of different forms of digitally mediated role-play, to enable students to prepare beforehand to engage with patients, enacting clinical scenarios with each other. Current studies in OT education focus on the learning impact of digital media and role-play, not investigating how students experience their play, which is an essential pre-condition to learning. Starting from these premises, I conducted a design-oriented research study, involving students and teachers in OT in Denmark, to investigate how students experience their play during mediated role-play activities. Results show that playful learning is a complex sociomaterial practice, framed by power relationships embodied by the provided digital media, the relationships among the participants, and the institutional context. Within this framing, play is continually negotiated among the teachers and the students, who manage to gain room for self-expression through observable changes in play moods and practices.