From playpen to playground | CIRCL Educators

By Natalie Harr

(Blog Post #6)

Digital Playgrounds vs. Virtual Playpens
Marina Umaschi Bers and her students in the DevTech Research Group at Tufts University are examining how technologies might be used to help our youngest learners to learn. The research team uses the analogy of “playgrounds vs. playpens” to help us understand how technology can help engage children in imaginative or exploratory play and the kinds of developmentally appropriate and playful learning opportunities that may not be possible without technology.

Playgrounds are places where children go to play and learn. Children can choose to play tag, climb a slide, rest under a tree, or imagine new games. When you think about the physical design of these spaces, playgrounds naturally support a child’s imagination, playful exploration, social interaction, and motor coordination all within a safe structured environment.

Now, think about how a playground compares to a playpen. In a playpen, the walls limit a child’s movement, exploration, socialization, and ultimately their playful curiosity. Bers and her students are developing technologies that allow learners to imagine, explore, and interact together as they would in a playground setting.

Meet KIWI: Kids Invent With Imagination

KIWI Prototype: Courtesy of DevTech Research Group

As an early childhood educator, I am JUMPING UP and DOWN about KIWI (now commercially known as KIBO)! This simple, easy-to-use robotics kit is purposefully designed for young children (4-7 year olds/preschool-grade 2) and can be seamlessly integrated into early learning environments.

With the pressures for more academic rigor in our schools today, the beauty of KIWI is that it engages children in meaningful, cross-curricular projects that support the development and application of fundamental academic skills that are most critical in the early childhood years — at the same time nurturing their developmental needs for creative play and exploration. By programming the KIWI robot, children playfully learn the logic of sequencing (how order matters), mathematical one-to-one correspondence concepts, and a wealth of pre-literacy skills that are at the core foundation of all early learning.

Check out this video to learn what KIWI is and how it can support
digital “playground” learning in early childhood settings.

Video: Courtesy of the DevTech Research Group

In this video, Marina Umaschi Bers explains why she is interested in creating developmentally appropriate technologies for early learners. She also addresses the purposeful design of KIWI (a KIBO prototype) and how it fosters meaningful learning opportunities for our youngest and most impressionable learners.

Video: By Natalie Harr

KIWI: A “Developmentally Appropriate” Learning Technology

“Developmentally appropriate practice, often shortened to DAP, is an approach to teaching grounded in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education. Its framework is designed to promote young children’s optimal learning and development.”

-The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

KIWI consists of intuitive, easy-to-connect construction materials that are developmentally appropriate for early learners. Rather than “writing code” or arranging icons on a computer screen, young children physically connect tangible, wooden blocks that represent different computer commands (e.g., go left, shake, turn). Children “read” or make meaning of the words, icons, and colors located on the programmable bricks to decide what behaviors KIWI should do.

Once the blocks are connected in an appropriate sequence from left to right (just like reading), children use the robot’s scanner (similar to a handheld grocery store scanner) to program each command – sequentially one at a time (one-to-one correspondence) – into the CHERP (Creative Hybrid Environment for Robotic Programming) software.
By pressing KIWI’s start button, the robot comes to life and performs the sequence. Be sure to check out KIWI’s FREE curriculumhere.

Video: By Natalie Harr

Bers explains how computer programming is a natural fit in an early childhood curriculum.
Children learn sequencing skills in the context of making a robot!

Design Feature of KIWI

main body of robot

Robotic pieces

Photo: Courtesy of DevTech Research Group

programmable bricks

Photo: Courtesy of the DevTech Research Group

GREEN: “Begin” or start sequence block
ORANGE: “Sing“ or sound blocks (clap, stomp)
PURPLE: “Shake” or action blocks (shake, spin, turn)
RED: “End” or stop sequence block

How It Fosters “DAP”
Developmentally Appropriate Practice

KIWI’s main body is constructed of natural wood for longevity and durability in early childhood settings. Its “shoebox” size enables children to explore its features within small groups or as a whole class.

The body’s plain design encourages children to personalize it with their own artistic creations. Throughout this creative process, kids are experiencing balance and forces and making engineering design decisions as they balance and anchor their creations onto the mobile robot.

The robot’s underbelly is covered with a clear plastic layer revealing its inner mechanisms – provoking curiosity, conversation and wonderment among children and adults alike.

The robotic pieces (sensors, motors, wheels, interlocking blocks) are made of durable, natural wood for easy manipulation by small hands. Their unique sizes and shapes help students to correctly match them with their corresponding slots and prevent choking hazards.

The simple design of KIWI gives children a sense of choice and ownership of their construction, without feeling frustrated or emotionally overwhelmed by too many options.

The child-friendly pieces of KIWI can be compared to their own body parts to understand their functionality: we see with our eyes (light sensor), we hear sounds with our ears (clap sensor), we read words (just like the scanner “reads” the barcode) on each programmable block.

Just like reading words in a story, students see the importance
of left to right directionality to create a sequence of commands.

KIWI’s scanner reads a barcode just like a scanner at a grocery store. Children can easily understand how it works based on their prior knowledge and experiences.

Programmable blocks are vibrantly color-coded and labeled with recognizable words (using uppercase letters for preschoolers) and corresponding icons (supporting pre-literacy skills) to help children successfully build a programmable sequence of commands.

Children can sort (a mathematics skill) the programmable bricks by color to organize and understand the different robotic functions.

Their interlocking design scaffolds correct sequencing (e.g., the “green” begin block can only be attached at the start of the sequence).

The construction process enables learners to be active and develop their fine and gross motor skills.

The KIWI (prototype) in action in early childhood classrooms.

Video: Courtesy of DevTech Research Group

Meet KIBO

KIBO Robotic Kits are now commercially available. Check out KinderLab Robotics Store for more information.

August 10, 2014Cyberlearning, Written by: Natalie HarrJudi Fusco

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