Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report changes when a classroom-based makerspace moved from face-to-face to an online setting. Design/methodology/approach To better understand changes in teaching maker activities, as they move from face-to-face to online contexts, the authors analyzed video and interview data from six weeks of an introductory computer science high school classroom (38 youth) that was implementing an electronic textiles unit, shifting to asynchronous online teaching and learning during the March 2020 state-wide school closure because of the pandemic. The authors analyzed field notes and videos of face-to-face and online interactions between the teacher and his students in learning to craft and code their electronic textiles projects. Findings The analysis revealed changes in the role of physical and code artifacts, in improvising teaching, and channels for communication between the teacher and students. Research limitations/implications This study discusses the implications for future pedagogical design and research efforts, as the authors continue to engage youth and work toward designing equitable learning opportunities with maker activities online. Originality/value In maker activities such as electronic textiles, youth design, sew and program circuits to make personalized three-dimensional, textile artifacts. However, nearly all research on supporting and teaching making has been conducted in face-to-face settings.

Electronic textiles, which integrate computation with fabrics through a redesigned interface of microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators, have expanded possibilities not only for engineering, fashion, and human-computer interaction but also for computer science education itself. While individual studies involving electronic textiles have shown promise to diversify participation, raise interest, and deepen learning in computing, especially for female students, we recognized a need to synthesize findings across studies to understand the overall contribution of electronic textiles to computing education. In this article, we report our findings from a meta-synthesis of 64 educational electronic textiles studies to answer the following questions in computing: (1) Did electronic textiles broaden access and participation? (2) How did electronic textiles support learners’ interests and sustain participation? (3) What and how did students learn from electronic textile projects? Our meta-synthesis revealed that although electronic textiles successfully broadened access, supported learners’ interests, and introduced basic computational concepts to novice learners, questions around equitable participation and deeper disciplinary engagement persist. We discuss directions for future design and research efforts to explore the full potential of e-textiles in computer science education.

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