Transforming STEM Competitions into Collaboratives: Developing eCrafting Collabs for Learning with Electronic Textiles

该项目通过实施设计协作来支持技术流畅性的发展和对STEM概念的理解，该设计协作以eCrafting Collabs为媒介，与中学生、家长和社区合作。来自宾夕法尼亚大学和富兰克林研究所的研究人员结合了学习科学、数字媒体设计、计算机科学和非正式科学教育方面的专业知识，研究了10-16岁的青少年和学校、俱乐部、博物馆和社区团体的家庭如何共同学习如何创建包含嵌入式计算机、传感器和执行器的电子纺织品工艺品。该项目通过参与、个人、结构化团体和跨代社区团体三种模式来研究使用eCrafting实现这些合作的可行性。他们正在设计一个门户，通过这个门户，协作者可以参与批评和分享他们的设计，作为他们努力构建模型过程的一部分，通过这个模型过程，科学和工程产品的设计和分析可以提供给多个受众。该项目通过初中和高中选修课以及由Franklin Institute、Techgirlz、Hacktory和费城学校等不同组织举办的讲习班吸引参与者。参与者可以通过项目建立的个人、集体和社区设计挑战参与制作协作。参与者使用ModKit或基于文本的Arduino学习电子纺织品设计以及电路和编程。设计通过eCrafting协作门户共享，参与者需要提供反馈和批评。研究人员正在收集与STEM和计算、个人和集体参与设计以及学生对电路和编程的理解有关的学习者身份的数据。该项目是一个可扩展干预的例子，旨在吸引学生、家庭和社区参与开发技术灵活性。这个研究和开发项目提供了一种资源，让中学生和高中生参与到技术丰富的协作环境中，这是其他类型的科学展览和机器人竞赛的替代方案。项目期间开发的资源将为如何扩大这种非正式/正式的学生参与组合提供信息，以扩大包括女孩在内的服务不足群体的经验。这项研究正在对全国范围内不断增加的新型学习活动进行调查，并特别关注跨代学习。

This project supports the development of technological fluency and understanding of STEM concepts through the implementation of design collaboratives that use eCrafting Collabs as the medium within which to work with middle and high school students, parents and the community. The researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Franklin Institute combine expertise in learning sciences, digital media design, computer science and informal science education to examine how youth at ages 10-16 and families in schools, clubs, museums and community groups learn together how to create e-textile artifacts that incorporate embedded computers, sensors and actuators. The project investigates the feasibility of implementing these collaboratives using eCrafting via three models of participation, individual, structured group and cross-generational community groups. They are designing a portal through which the collaborative can engage in critique and sharing of their designs as part of their efforts to build a model process by which scientific and engineered product design and analysis can be made available to multiple audiences. The project engages participants through middle and high school elective classes and through the workshops conducted by a number of different organizations including the Franklin Institute, Techgirlz, the Hacktory and schools in Philadelphia. Participants can engage in the eCrafting Collabs through individual, collective and community design challenges that are established by the project. Participants learn about e-textile design and about circuitry and programming using either ModKit or the text-based Arduino. The designs are shared through the eCrafting Collab portal and participants are required to provide feedback and critique. Researchers are collecting data on learner identity in relation to STEM and computing, individual and collective participation in design and student understanding of circuitry and programming. The project is an example of a scalable intervention to engage students, families and communities in developing technological flexibility. This research and development project provides a resource that engages students in middle and high schools in technology rich collaborative environments that are alternatives to other sorts of science fairs and robotic competitions. The resources developed during the project will inform how such an informal/formal blend of student engagement might be scaled to expand the experiences of populations of underserved groups, including girls. The study is conducting an examination of the new types of learning activities that are multiplying across the country with a special focus on cross-generational learning.