Wink is a prototype for an interactive picture book platform. This platform aims to make reading into a mindfull and thought provoking process by using interactive and playful elements, multiple stories within one narrative and sound elements. Especially today where consumerism and low attention span is a rising issue especially amongst young readers, this was an important task to tackle. The thought of Wink emerged to find a more sustainable and creative way of reading for elementary school children.
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Working as a children's literature editor for years, I came to a realisation that picture books were turning into another object that kids read and consume on daily basis. At least this is what I observed in Turkey. Teachers and parents were finding it difficult to find new books constantly or were tired of rereading the same book.
Working as a children's literature editor for years, I came to a realisation that picture books were turning into another object that kids read and consume on daily basis.
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Teachers and parents were finding it difficult to find new books constantly or were tired of rereading the same book.
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@ -30,9 +30,10 @@ Working as a children's literature editor for years, I came to a realisation tha
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As a young person in the publishing sector, I believe there should be more options for children as there is for adults; such as ebooks, audiobooks etc. But moreover a "book" that can be redefined, reread or be interacted with. So I revisited an old story I wrote, translated to English and named it, "Bee Within".
As a young person in the publishing sector, I believe there should be more options for children as there is for adults; such as ebooks, audiobooks etc. But moreover a "book" that can be redefined, reread or be interacted with... So I revisited an old story I wrote, translated to English and called it, "Bee Within".
Bee Within, is a story about grief and it is based on my experiences throughout the years. I erased it, rewrote it, edited it, destroyed it multiple times over the past years, simultaneously with new experiences of loss. In the end, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting which I now think is a great and sweet battle between death and life. I think it is an important subject to touch upon, especially for children dealing with trauma in many parts of the world.
Bee Within, is a story about grief/memory and it is based on my experiences throughout the years.
I erased it, rewrote it, edited it, destroyed it multiple times over the past years; simultaneously with new experiences of loss. In the end, I believe the story turned out to be an ode to remembering or might I say an ode to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting which I now think is a great and sweet battle between death and life. I think it is an important subject to touch upon, especially for children dealing with trauma in many parts of the world.
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@ -50,5 +51,5 @@ Over the past two years, experimenting with storytelling techniques, interactivi
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@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ read, mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read, write
to social environments, the more they widen their sense and ability of expressing themselves. The
language gained as kids comes in many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this development.
The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of reading and writing. Children come
to understand and value feelings through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are offered
to understand and value feelings through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are offered
to read or share stories, they also learn to understand people around them better and gain emotional
literacy.
@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ dence of constructing a world, a character or an adventure. Although this is ess
as we know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are actually becoming writers.
What kind of reward can we expect from active participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can
be generally described in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fictional
world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has effects
world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a world, the narrative has effects
on us such as curiosity, suspense and surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to
keep these three emotions.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/unnamed-1.png">Multiliteracy theory helped me ground my passion of using multimedia for children's literature.</span></sup>
@ -226,13 +226,13 @@ in the text and images.
Another difference is that the visual world in an interactive e-book is less cinematic and has limited
movement. The imagery plays a massive role in a storytelling game where the world created is
offered to the player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready for readers to discover.
offered to the player. In an interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready for readers to discover.
The main difference in my opinion that separates these two methods of storytelling is the reward.
In a game, we expect to be rewarded by a victory, passing a level or unlocking something throughout
the experience. In an interactive e-book, we work with the story and in return we expect a
good experience and there is no reward other than that. But, the whole design of interactivity
involves aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise effects or
involves aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by surprise effects or
elements that come up on the pages. This ignites curiosity but not ambition, which is a good start
@ -288,6 +288,8 @@ day by day increasing interest in play. They can take on roles in imaginative pl
can also share and take turns more, listen and think about rules of a game. They can form friendships
and connections easily.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/hitch.png">This data about school age children was a starting point to choose the age group to have the workshops with.</span></sup>
School age children are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen age group is a little different.
These kids can form more rooted friendships and engage in more complex narratives. They learn to negotiate and compromise around this time as well. This age group is desired for Wink because kids this age are open to creative problem solving, connecting events and comprehending slightly more complex narratives. Moreover, this age group would benefit the most from the interactive stories and the reading process because of the developmental phase they are in.
@ -300,6 +302,8 @@ flipping the page of a book. This is why it is fairly easy to create an interact
kids can navigate themselves and be able to browse through with or without their parents. But for
Wink, I chose to design for older kids because I want to experiment on multi-leveled narratives
and I want to avoid the risk of confusing children.
Limits of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have less modes of
@ -308,8 +312,9 @@ reading and writing for children?
Although there are many upsides of creating digital environments for children due to their advanced
skills in technology from early ages, there are also risks involved in this where the kid can
be overwhelmed and confused due to the autonomy they receive. Reading a story is supposed to
be effortless and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is slightly more
be effortless and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is slightly more
than that and more complicated as an experience.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/elbow.png">This is the elbow of our strings. Elbows are created when an additional twist is added to a loop. In this case, it represents the counter argument in the string.</span></sup>
First of all, with the story at hand, called Bee Within, there are two other stories in one. Although
the main story is about a little girl’s journey, kids get the chance to hear the Queen Bee’s story and
@ -328,9 +333,12 @@ might prefer to just read a book or play a game instead of discovering a new thi
are exposed to daily because they are always in a process of active learning. So one more thing to
learn might come as exhausting. Therefore, in designing, I want to make interactions as clear as
Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids
Interactive reading and writing examples and surveys done with kids.
As an improvisation theater enthusiast myself, I tried to engage the kids with the story through
some exercises and games during the workshops. My aim was to see how involved they want to
be in storytelling. Improvisation has a certain way of storytelling and interaction where there are
@ -341,14 +349,16 @@ characters from the picture book.
My first attempt was to make a survey at the end of workshops with kids to whether they liked it
or not, but when I researched further, surveying with kids has very different methods and complications.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/broken.png">There is a broken knot here because I ended up not doing a survey with children at the workshops.</span></sup>
Most kids either really like or really dislike things. Finding the in between emotions with a survey,
ends up being vague. Most surveys done with kids use emoticons as representation of a good or
bad or average time. Instead, I chose to observe the environment and understand how much empathy
kids can off er in an interactive reading or playing environment.
kids can offer in an interactive reading or playing environment.
Interactivity in reading and writing in history. What changed?
@ -388,20 +400,16 @@ examples to this is music, masks, puppets, props used in storytelling.
Ancient texts with annotations such as The Odyssey, The Mahabharata are maybe the earliest
written interactive experiences in a historical context. They are published with notes and explanations, clarifications which make the text inhabit different opinions and approaches in an engaging way where the reader can choose to hop on and off from the annotation and margin texts.
From the 70s to the present there have been many examples but I will be focusing on a few here.
One of them is, Choose your own adventure books which allowed the reader to participate in
the plot. These still exist as picture books where you are directed to certain pages according to
the choices you make throughout the story. Along with this were also board games and cards that
required interactive inputs. Some examples to this is exploding kittens or cards against humanity
where the player has the autonomy to be creative and fill in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of
computing off ered a wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, hypertext fiction
contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were used as a tool to navigate a text and choose
paths of reading. This inspired me to write this thesis with different modes of reading as well.
After the 80’s, Interactive fiction gained popularity as a genre of interacting with text based input.
Dynabook by Alan Kay was prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device
designed for children.
The 21st century off ers a combination of text and illustrations in augmented reality books that
where the player has the autonomy to be creative and fill in the blanks to win the game. Simultaneously, text-based adventure games such as Zork and Adventure were popular. Early days of computing offered a
wide space for exploring virtual worlds. In the early 80s, hypertext fiction contributed to electronic literature. Hyperlinks were used as a tool to navigate a text and choose paths of reading. This inspired me to write this thesis with different modes of reading as well. After the 80’s, Interactive fiction gained popularity as a genre of interacting with text based input. Dynabook by Alan Kay was prototyped during this time as a promising reading and writing device designed for children.
The 21st century offers a combination of text and illustrations in augmented reality books that
have animations, sound and external interactions. These are followed by digital storytelling platforms
like Wattpad and Storybird and interactive e-book apps such as Pibocco, Bookr and Tiny
Minies. Most of these apps are dedicated to education however and not solely to creativity. Their
@ -413,10 +421,11 @@ the delicacy of a narrative where you can only be a reader and the excitement of
writing and experiencing.
This is because I think the understanding and usage of media changed in the last years. Some
tools that created the awe effect for users faded and left their place to more compact designs.
tools that created the awe effect for users faded and left their place to more compact designs.
Although audio books were very welcome at some point, younger users nowadays prefer book
summary apps or podcasts to them. Of course they are still used and not outdated but there is
certainly a visible change to where media is heading.
Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises of storytelling
@ -429,6 +438,7 @@ which parts of the story the children found exiting and which ones are not so th
It also helped me draw the pictures for the book accordingly and edit the text with their reactions
in mind. Due to a privacy agreement, I couldn’t record or use any data from the workshop but I
made some helpful observations from my time there.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/hitch.png">This loop is all about the observations I made during the workshops and the decisions I made, according to the results.</span></sup>
The first workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up 20 minutes. The first 10
minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the appendix) together in a circle and the last 10 minutes
@ -466,8 +476,8 @@ the bees were buzzing all around. “The kid” usually sat near the tree, on th
performers’ lap or hugged them).
Overall only 2 groups used the option to say a sentence which were,
> “I want to go on an adventure”
> “I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)”
*“I want to go on an adventure”*
*“I don’t wanna leave Gray(the tree)”*
This was a good feedback for me because I realized they are very perceptive of actions and facial
expressions rather than words.
@ -479,7 +489,7 @@ with their mouths as trees.
The next workshop was to discover how improv would work without reading the story first. This
workshop was fruitful because it helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to
offer for children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without confusion.
offer for children in order for them to be comfortable to participate and interact without confusion.
We made a circle and I summarized the story to the kids, acting in the middle of the circle. This
broke the ice completely because I was a part of the workshop and they thought I was funny. For
the next part, I divided the group in three and assigned a character to them. After this, I asked
@ -504,29 +514,30 @@ and put her red jacket on. This made me think about using color to show emotions
was good to see that they weren’t scared or discouraged by negative emotions as well. We ended
the workshop by drawing our characters. It was nice to see them own their imaginary characters
enough to draw them with joy.
<sup><spanclass="margin-note"><imgsrc="../irmak/broken.png">There is a broken knot here because I changed my mind about adding motional elements to the tree character. Kids seemed to see the tree as stationary.</span></sup>
The last workshop was dedicated to discovering the sound aspect. The tree in the story speaks
in verses so I chose one verse and read/performed it in a circle to begin with. Then I gave them
some instruments: a drum, a bell, aluminum folio, a balloon and a bubble wrap. I asked for a few
volunteers and they made sound effects as I read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw
volunteers and they made sound effects as I read the verse very slowly. This went good and I saw
that they like to dramatize the sounds and make them funny or unexpected. They used the bubble
wrap to make sounds for snowing or aluminum folio for the volcano. They had great fun but I
think I made a mistake by making a few kids do foley at the same time because they didn’t know
how to take turns and were hesitant at first. Then quite impressively, they made their own system
where they took turns to make effects for each sentence.
where they took turns to make effects for each sentence.
Then I made four groups of three. 3 kids as actors and 3 kids as foley actors. They buddied up
and made short scenes where one group made sounds effects to the others acting on stage. This
and made short scenes where one group made sounds effects to the others acting on stage. This
was the best part of this workshop because they could lead the actors with the sounds they made
or vice versa. This I think is very important because it shows that they like to be a part of or be
effective to the story itself. They were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning
effective to the story itself. They were very creative in using the objects in the room and turning
them into a tool for sound. They enjoyed to foley the bee and the other characters not so much.
Which showed me that I should focus on the sound of the bee in the prototype.
Overall, the workshops were very helpful for me to understand where to focus on as I develop. I
realized that some of the sound, color and movement animations I planned were too complicated
and I decided to make them more simplistic. I decided to animate the tree with only color because
I was effected by this one participant who took the red jacket to represent the tree was mad.
I was effected by this one participant who took the red jacket to represent the tree was mad.
For the bee I decided to focus on sound more. For the kid I decided to use more visual animations
to make it more interesting.
@ -538,6 +549,8 @@ the tree because it seemed like they needed more stimulation to be interested in
though a ‘reveal the story’ click game could keep them interested. For the bee, knowing they like
the character, I wanted to make it more like a game to give the kids a chance and autonomy to be
After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the thesis. There is room for
more loops and knots in the future to secure this string of thought but for now, we have come to
the dock and rest ashore.
@ -579,13 +593,13 @@ tackle the desire of making something for children.
Now from where I stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of what works and doesn’t
work. Some features that I think would work very well like the choice of writing didn’t go as
planned because multiple narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the effect of
planned because multiple narratives is already too much. I realized I underestimated the effect of
introducing a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it step by step with the interactivity.
Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I wrote and feel is important in my personal history
as a prototype was a breakthrough. I feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of
writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful journey so far. I am
looking forward to making more knots on this long and mysterious string at hand.
writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a beautiful journey so far.
I am looking forward to making more knots on this long and mysterious string at hand.
</section>
@ -593,45 +607,54 @@ looking forward to making more knots on this long and mysterious string at hand.
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Thank you Marloes de Valk, for your enlightening feedbacks and ideas. Thank you Michael Murtaugh, Manetta Berends, Joseph Knierzinger, Leslie Robbins and Steve Rushton for sharing your time and knowledge with me throughout these years.
Thank you XPUB friends for funny, hectic and memorable moments we made together.
Thanks to my family and especially Kemal, my brother, who supported me in my studies and encouraged me to do better, always...
