Play Platforms for Children’s Creativity - Creativity in the Digital Age - page 228

and to play around experimenting different audio sequences by just changing the
order of the boxes. They used the boxes to record words, stories and messages but also
songs and a variety of sounds that they improvised with objects they found at hand.
The workshops revealed that simple technology, which does not need a computer or
any developed content, but instead gives users space to play around and explore
with different audio recordings, creating their own content, is a powerful engaging
tool, freeing users and developers of language constraints (Chisik et al. 2014 ).

12.5.2 The TOK Interface

Following the development of TOK, the researchers had the opportunity to carry
two interventions at the preschool. The fi rst intervention involved 24 pairs of 5-year-
old preschoolers who interacted with the interface during free-play time for a period
of 4 months; the second intervention involved 27 pairs of preschoolers who also
interacted with TOK during free-play time for a period of 6 months. The fi rst inter-
vention investigated how children used the system after the novelty aspect had faded
away, as well as the kind of activities in which they involved, the challenges they
faced and how they solved them. The second intervention investigated aspects of
children's embodiment in the creation of narratives (Sylla et al. 2014 ). Both inter-
ventions disclosed that the sharing of the input devices (blocks and microphone)
promoted children's embodiment of the stories they created, fostering their immer-
sion in the story world. The microphone, initially used to capture children's
verbalisations during their interaction with the interface for later analyses, turned
out to be an important feature of the interface. Children immediately appropriated
the device, using it when they were speaking and creating their stories, and the
microphone became a powerful motivating tool for children to verbalise their ideas.
Children used their voice as an expressive tool (Collins 1999 : 82; White 1954 ),
changing the intonation and playing different voices for the various characters, sang
songs or mimicked ambient sounds; they often spoke with the story elements
addressing them with direct speech. Children expressed their feelings of enthusiasm
(e.g. when their favourite characters managed to win against their opponents or
when they successfully used the objects to knock down certain characters) and
anxiety (e.g. when a character was in danger) standing up from their chairs, waving
their arms or jumping joyfully (Fig. 12.11 ).
The tangible blocks, with the different story elements, stimulated children's
imagination, triggering new ideas for the creation and development of narratives.
Children created their own personal narratives, using different strategies to achieve
their goals, such as placing characters to help others when they were fi ghting (e.g.
the fairy to help Zorro fi ght the wolf ) or removing characters from the platform to
help others or to escape danger (e.g. they removed the witch when she was attacking
the princess or removed the little pigs when the wolf was attacking them); children
used objects to knock down characters and lifted the blocks to bring characters
again to life. The collaboration with peers was a strong motivating factor.