Designing for spatial narration in children’s playscapes

Özet

Today, digital technology is very much present in the everyday settings childrenlive, learn, and play in. Focusing on supporting children’s use of body-movementand senses in narrative play, we offer a theoretical framework and guidingdesign principles for digitally-enhanced physical play environments. Probing howchildren construct spatial narrative through interaction with tangible objects, weargue that blended environments which combine digital and physical media maycontribute to the versatility of such spatial activity. With reference to an overviewof related work in human-computer interaction, we discuss the intermediary capacitiesof objects, whether they are designed as toys for child-play or not. Weidentify different forms of interaction that children have with objects, and positionblended environments within this classification. Also offering a repertoire ofroles children take on in play, we outline four design principles for a prototype ofa digitally-enhanced environment that enables children to articulate spatial narrations.