Tinkering with ScratchBit : explorations in blended making

Abstract

In recent years, maker and coding movements have gained significant traction in learning communities around the world. To meet the needs of these movements, various forms of physical and digital construction kits have begun to emerge. Often times these construction kits facilitate creation in only one domain, either in the physical or virtual world, but not both. For my Master's thesis, I propose a new system, called the ScratchBit, that attempts to merge both physical and virtual making into a single cohesive experience. I am coining a new term, blended making, to describe the style of making that this system will enable. Blended making is the process of engaging in construction in both the physical and virtual world -- and with interplay between the two. Some examples could be designing a physical costume that allows the wearer to become an actor in a digital story, or creating a set of custom LEGO handlebars to control a flying bicycle video game on the screen. The ScratchBit is designed to enable young learners to engage in blended making. With an emphasis on composability, the ScratchBit allows almost any material -- such as cardboard, dolls, sneakers, or even swing sets - to be transformed into a physical interface for projects created with the Scratch visual programming language. This thesis presents analyses of projects that children created using the ScratchBit and discusses how these analyses influenced the iterative design of the ScratchBit. In addition to documenting and commenting on the iterative design process, this thesis also presents classifications of the types of ScratchBit projects that children created and guidelines for designing systems that support blended making.