Showing papers by "Yasmin B. Kafai published in 1996"

Constructionism in Practice: Designing, Thinking, and Learning in A Digital World

Abstract: Contents: Y.B. Kafai, M. Resnick, Introduction. Part I:Perspectives in Constructionism. S. Papert, A Word for Learning. E. Ackermann, Perspective-Taking and Object Construction: Two Keys to Learning. A.A. Brandes, Elementary School Children's Images of Science. Part II:Learning Through Design. Y.B. Kafai, Learning Design by Making Games: Children's Development of Design Strategies in the Creation of a Complex Computational Artifact. Y.B. Kafai, Electronic Play Worlds: Gender Differences in Children's Constructions of Video Games. G. Gargarian, The Art of Design. R. Sargent, M. Resnick, F. Martin, B. Silverman, Building and Learning with Programmable Bricks. Part III:Learning in Communities. A. Shaw, Social Constructionism and the Inner City: Designing Environments for Social Development and Urban Renewal. A. Bruckman, M. Resnick, The MediaMOO Project: Constructionism and Professional Community. M. Evard, A Community of Designers: Learning Through Exchanging Questions and Answers. P.K. Hooper, "They Have Their Own Thoughts": A Story of Constructionist Learning in an Alternative African-Centered Community School. Part IV:Learning About Systems. M. Resnick, New Paradigms for Computing, New Paradigms for Thinking. U. Wilensky, Making Sense of Probability Through Paradox and Programming: A Case Study in a Connected Mathematics Framework. F.G. Martin, Ideal and Real Systems: A Study of Notions of Control in Undergraduates Who Design Robots.

Interacting with Video

Abstract: Preface, Irving E. Sigel Foreword, John C. Wright PART I. VIOLENCE, GENDER, AND VIDEO Effects of Interactive Entertainment Technologies on Children's Development, Rodney R. Cocking and Patricia M. Greenfield Mediated Messages: Gender, Class, and Cosmos in Home Video Games, Christine Ward Gailey Contextualization Video Game Violence: From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 to Mortal Kombat 2, Marsha Kinder Gender Differences in Children's Constructions of Video Games, Yasmin B. Kafai Impact of Virtual Reality on Young Adults' Physiological Arousal and Aggressive Thoughts: Interaction Versus Observation, Sandra L. Clavert and Siu-Lan Tan PART II. COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES Video Games as Cultural Artifacts, Patricia M. Greenfield Effect of Video Game Practice on Spatial Skills in Girls and Boys, Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Patricia M. Greenfield Effects of Video Game Playing on Measures of Spatial Performance: Gender Effects in Late Adolescence, Lynn Okagaki and Peter A. Frensch Cognitive Socialization by Computer Games in Two Cultures: Inductive Discovery or Mastery of an Iconic Code?, Patricia M. Greenfield, Luigia Camaioni, Paola Ercolani, Laura Weiss, Bennett A. Lauber, and Paola Perucchini Two-Dimensional Representation of Movement Through Three-Dimensional Space: The Role of Video Game Expertise, Patricia M. Greenfield, Craig Brannon, and David Lohr Action Video Games and Informal Education: Effects on Strategies for Dividing Visual Attention, Patricia M. Greenfield, Patricia deWinstanley, Heidi Kilpatrick, and Daniel Kaye Author Index Subject Index

Gender Differences in Children's Constructions of Video Games

Abstract: Playing video games has become a common activity among American children. Many research approaches have focused on explaining why children love playing these games and what effects of video game playing have on children’s social, cognitive and emotional well being. Here I propose to discuss video games from a different perspective—when children are making their own video games instead of playing them. In designing such games, which features of commercially available video games would children choose to include in their own designs? Concerning the gender stereotyping found in many video games, what kind of games would girls choose to design? The results indicate significant gender differences in game character development and game feedback. Similar trends could be observed in the choice of game genre and the design of game worlds. The gender-related choices and the emergence of narrative game forms are discussed in more detail. Conclusions address the potential of game-making environments in light of the study’s results. Children’s culture of the late 20th century—their toys, games and activities—has been marked by the advent of information technologies. Video games more than any other medium have brought interactive technologies into

Software by kids for kids

Abstract: or many children today, their first interaction with technology is at home playing video games. The number of hours spent in front of these screens must be in the order of hundreds of billions. While many researchers, parents, and educators have good reason to be concerned about the quantity of time spent in this manner, they tend to overlook that even so-called educational software often does not function as any more than enhanced page-turning devices displaying information to be learned and monitoring students' progress. There are currently few opportunities for children to go beyond button-pushing and mouse-clicking in their interaction with technology. By asking children to program software for other children, we are turning the tables and placing children in the active role of constructing their own pro-grams—and constructing new relationships with knowledge in the process. The most obvious benefit is that children learn about technology by building things of significance, such as game software. A far more promising aspect is that learning programming and learning about technology is not only good for its own sake but also good because it is supportive of other types of learning. As I will explain in more detail, the very process of programming game software to teach fractions (or any other subject topic, for that matter) to younger users allows children to engage in significant mathematical thinking and learning. But most importantly, through programming , children learn to express themselves in the technological domain. In the world of educational programming, these last two aspects of learning with technology have received far less attention than the traditional benefits of technological knowledge. A software design project starts with a simple instruction: \" Design a computer game that teaches something about fractions to younger students. \" Everything else is left open. A class of students transforms their classroom into a game design studio for six months. During that period, they are: Students meet every day for one hour to write in their notebooks about their ideas, plans, and designs. They also discuss issues related to programming, games, teaching, and fractions. They give presentations to each other and meet once a month with their prospective users. All the students create a fully finished product—a computer game—with its documentation , advertising, and packaging. Since 1991, several software design projects with a focus on various mathematical or science topics have been conducted successfully with students ages 8 to 11 …

Social Aspects of Digital Libraries. Final Report to the National Science Foundation

Abstract: Author(s): Borgman, Christine L.; Bates, Marcia J.; Cloonan, Michele V.; Efthimiadis, Efthimis N.; Gilliland-Swetland, Anne J.; Kafai, Yasmin B.; Leazer, Gregory H.; Maddox, Anthony B. | Abstract: Computer, Information Science, and Engineering Directorate; Division of Information, Robotics, and Intelligent Systems; Information Technology and Organizations Program

Meaningful contexts for mathematical learning: the potential of game making activities

Abstract: There is a need for educational researchers to find connections between formal education and the many other activities and contexts which inhabit the "real world" of children. While there has been some research on the potential of game playing for learning, the benefits of game making activities have not been examined. In this paper we present the analysis of a design session in which four elementary school-students designed computer games to teach fractions to other students. We analyzed the design interactions in a microgenetic fashion to identify the progression of students' mathematical thinking. In addition, we paid close attention to the contribution of students' social interactions to the increasing sophistication of fraction representations in the game context. We argue in this paper that not only is the context of game-making itself relevant to children's "real world," but that it also provides opportunities for children to explore mathematical ideas within many other "real world" scenes and situations as they design their games.

Learning through artifacts: communities of practice in classrooms

Abstract: One of the central issues is how the computer can enter in the learning process. A considerable amount of research has examined how children’s interactions and learning with computational artifacts are situated. A different approach focuses on the learning through computational artifacts: what can and do children learn when making a computational artifact? This paper studies the experience of elementary-school students making computer games to teach fractions to younger students. The analysis addresses how the social interactions and the artifact constructions situated students’ learning experience. The discussion examines the relationships between designing and learning from a situated learning perspective.