Making Learning Visible: Connecting Crafts, Circuitry & Coding in E-Textile Designs
Document Type
Conference Paper
Journal/Book Title/Conference
The Future of Learning: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2012), Volume 1, Full Papers
Editor
J. Aalst, K. Thompson, M.J. Jacobson, & P. Reimann
Publication Date
2012
First Page
188
Last Page
195
Abstract
We examine high school students' designs with the LilyPad Arduino, an electronic textile (e-textile) construction kit used for designing programmable garments. Each kit contains a microcontroller, sensors and LED and other actuators that can be embedded in textiles. We conducted three workshops with 35 high school youth between 14-15 years in a science museum to document, describe and develop a framework for analyzing student learning. The analyses of workshop interactions, students' artifacts and reflections indicate how the fabrication of stitches, circuits and code reveals the underlying structures and processes of craft, engineering and programming in tangible and observable ways and renders visible how technology is designed and built. We discuss how this situated nature of e-textiles artifact production provides a promising context for student learning and generates new instructional designs of workshops and computational construction kits.
Recommended Citation
Kafai, Y. B., Fields, D. A., & Searle, K.A. (2012). Making learning visible: Connecting crafts, circuitry & coding in e-textile designs. In van Aalst, J., Thompson, K., Jacobson, M.J., & Reimann, P. (Eds.), The Future of Learning: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2012), Volume 1, Full Papers. International Society of the Learning Sciences: Sydney, NSW, Australia, 188-195.
