Wearable Stories for Children: Embodied Learning Through Pretend and Physical Play

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2020

Publication Title

Interactive Learning Environments

First page number:

1

Last page number:

13

Abstract

This paper introduces the Wearable Story, an interactive storytelling jacket designed for young children to facilitate their story listening experience while learning through play. The wearable medium supports embodied learning by providing experiences through which children are encouraged to use their bodies to learn. With the jacket, children can listen to stories while physically exploring their environment. Activated through touch and motion inputs, the Wearable Story invites children to engage in a series of physical and imaginative play activities such as jumping and pretending to swing over a castle as part of an interactive storyline. Through narrative elements such as setting and characters, children can use their imagination to participate in play activities. Learning through play combines constructivist and contextual learning theories that recognize the dynamic and interrelated interactions between the mind, body, and environment to promote active learning. The Wearable Story was implemented and a pilot study was conducted to explore the use of the jacket as an interface for interactive story listening experiences. The results of the study suggest multiple benefits of using the Wearable Story, including support for parents with facilitating and tracking their children’s interest in and engagement with stories.

Keywords

Wearables; Interactive stories; Embodied learning; Pretend play; Physical activity; Early literacy

Disciplines

Educational Technology | Industrial and Product Design

Language

English

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