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<div id="content"><h1 id="title">Title</h1>
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<h3 id="thesis-description">Thesis Description</h3>
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<p>
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<p>I would like to clarify and introduce some terms for you in order to
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read this text in the desired way. For a while, we will stay in the
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bight of this journey as we move into forming loops, theories and ideas
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on how interactive picture books can be used to foster curiosity for
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reading and creativity for children. I am building a web platform called
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Wink that aims to contain a children’s story I wrote and am making into
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an interactive experience, in relation to my research. <br> Through this
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bight of the thesis, I feel the necessity to clarify my intention of
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using knots as a “thinking and writing object” throughout my research
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journey. Although knots are physical objects and technically crucial in
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many fi elds of labor and life, they are also objects of thought and are
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open for wide minds’ appreciation. Throughout history, knots have been
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used to connect, stop, secure, bind, protect, decorate, record data,
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punish, contain, fl y and many other purposes. So if the invention of fl
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ying -which required a wing that was supported using certain types of
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knotswas initiated with the knowledge of how to use strings to make
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things, why wouldn’t a research paper make use of this wonderful art as
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an inspiration for writing and interactive reading? <br> KNOTS AS
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OBJECTS TO THINK WITH There is a delicate complexity of thinking of and
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with knots, which ignites layers of simultaneous connections to one’s
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specifi c experience; where one person may associate the knots with
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struggles they face, another may think of connecting or thriving times.
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In a workshop in Rotterdam, I asked participants to write three words
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that comes to mind when they think of knots. There were some words in
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common like strong, chaotic, confusing and anxious. On the other hand,
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there were variations of connection, binding, bridge and support.
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Keeping these answers in mind or by coming up with your words on knots
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and embodying them in the practice of reading would make a diff erence
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in how you understand the same text. <br> Seeing how these words,
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interpretations of a physical object were so diff erent to each other
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was transcendental. In this thesis, I am excited to share my
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understanding of knots with you. My three words for knots are
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resistance, imagination and infi nity. Keeping these in mind, I
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experimented with certain reading modes as you will see later on. <br>
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Knots are known to be used 15 to 17 thousand years ago for multiple
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purposes. These purposes were often opposing each other. For example, it
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could be used to let something loose or to restrain it; for pleasure or
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pain; for going high above or down below… I believe this diversity of
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uses can also be seen in how people approach knots as an idea or a
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metaphor. One can think it represents chaos where someone else might see
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it as a helpful mark. Essentially, this diversity is what got me
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interested in knots years ago and since then, I have found ways to
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implement this “loop of thought” in my daily life and research methods.
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<br> There are two main reasons to why I chose to write this essay in a
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“knotted” format. One is that I would like to share my process and
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progress of research on this project and this involves “thinking with an
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object”, in this case types of knots. In Evocative Objects, Sherry
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Turkle, who is a sociologist and the founder of MIT initiative of
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technology and self, refers to the object in the exercise of thinking as
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emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain
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relationships and provoke new ideas. I completely agree with this
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statement through personal experience. The second reason is that I see
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this as an opportunity to experiment if I can use knots as an
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interactive (which is not in knots’ nature since they are mainly
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practiced in solo) and playful element in writing. This is also why I
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would like to take a moment to mention what happens to the interplay of
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processes in which we call thought when we think with knots in specific.
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<br> For Turkle and Seymour Papert, who is a mathematician, computer
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scientist and educator that did remarkable research on constructivism,
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being able to make a reading experience tangible, or even physically
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representable makes the process of thought more concrete. Concrete
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thinking in this sense is a way of thinking that I adapted to in the
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past years, where you think with the object and imagine it vividly
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during the process and address meanings to it as you read or write
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along. This way it’s easier to compartmentalize or attribute certain
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parts of a text to an imagined or real physical item which makes the
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mind at ease with complex chains of thought. Imagine you are reading a
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story… What if you think of the string itself as the journey and the
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slip knot (which is a type of stopper knot) as a representation of an
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antagonist because of its specific use in hunting, would this change
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your approach to reading this story? I believe so… <br> What if instead
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of a slip knot a Bowline was on the string, would that represent
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something else in the story because of its usage in practice. A Bowline
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is commonly used to form a fi xed loop at the end of a string; it’s
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strong but easy to tie, untie. Due to these qualities, we can imagine
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the bowline to represent the conclusion in a story. What if we have a
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Square Knot, how would that change the course of a narrative? Square
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knot is used to bundle objects and make the two ends of the same string
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connect. From just this, we can use it to represent the connection
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between the beginning and end of a story. My point is, there are
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limitless implementations on how to use knots in literature because of
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their versatile purposes and the narrative vocabulary they create.
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Topologists are still trying to identify seemingly infi nite numbers of
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combinations which we simply call “knots” and I see this as an
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inspiration to keep writing. <br> One example of the wondrous
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versatility and potential of knots is how they are used to archive and
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encrypt information. Incan people from the Andes region recorded
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information on Quipus, dating back to 700 CE. Quipus are textile devices
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consisting of several rows of cotton and/or camelid string that would be
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knotted in a specifi c way to record, store and transmit information
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ranging from accounting and census data to communicate complex
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mathematical and narrative information (Medrano, Urton, 2018). Another
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example is the Yakima Time Ball, which was used by North-American Yakama
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people to show life events and family aff airs. This is why I humbly
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decided to document my research process with a Quipu of my own. I am
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trying to symbolize the twists, decisions and practices throughout this
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year with knots of my choosing. I was inspired by Nayeli Vega’s
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question, “What can a knot become and what can become a knot?” <br>
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WEAVING INTO THE TEXT This thesis expects participation from its reader.
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You have the option to have a mode of reading, where you will be guided
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by strings to start reading from a certain section according to the type
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of reader you are and read the loops one by one until the end, weaving
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through the text. To determine the string or mode of reading, there are
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some simple questions to answer. The three modes of reading are combine,
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slide, build . After you discover the starting point with the yes or no
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map in the upcoming pages, you will continue the reading journey through
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the strings of diff erent colors that will get you through the text.
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This way, the linear text will become in a way, non-linear by your
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personal experience. Bear in mind that you can choose to read this
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thesis from beginning to end as a single string too if you wish so. <br>
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Combine mode of reading is for readers who are more interested in the
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journey and the connections between process and result. Slide mode of
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reading is for more laid back readers who aren’t looking to connect
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ideas but are more focused on the motivation and purpose of the project.
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Build readers are detail oriented and academic readers who would prefer
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a “traditional” lead to reading. <br> Alongside the different strings to
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follow the text, there will be little drawings in the margins as seen
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above, which will have diff erent representations like in a Quipu.
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Certain knots represent the experiences that raise interesting
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opportunities for research and distinct events I went through while
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making the project and underneath the drawing you can fi nd the relation
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to the knot itself explained. For example if I couldn’t manage to do
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something I planned to do, this will be represented with a broken knot.
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Bend knots which are used to connect two strings, will be representing
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the relation between theories and my ownexperiences/motivations. Hitches
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which are knots that are formed around a solid object, such as a spar,
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post, or ring will be representing the evidence or data I have collected
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on the subject. We move on now with the working end and make some loops!
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<br> This map will reveal your mode of reading. The order of reading
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will be indicated with a loop sign Please hold a string in your hand as
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you read the text and make knots or loops as you weave through the
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reading as an exercise for concrete thinking. See you at the standing
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end! and a number on top of the sign with a color. This is the numeric
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order you can follow to read the thesis.</p>
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<p>Working End</p>
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<p>Why am I doing this? <br> My desire to write a children’s book about
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grief and memory ignited when I was studying in college and doing an
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internship in a publishing house in Ankara. I was struggling to process
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a loss I experienced at the time and to fi nd something to cling to on a
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daily basis. Then one day I started hearing a buzzing sound in my
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bedroom at my family’s house. I searched everywhere but couldn’t fi nd
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the source for this noise. I asked my father and he started searching
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too. A couple of days passed and the buzzing was still there. <br> One
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day I found a bee on the fl oor in my bedroom and realized that the bees
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nested on the roof and were coming inside my room through a gap in the
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lamp. I was terrifi ed because I have an allergy to bees and thought
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they might sting me in my sleep. This moment was when I realized I was
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so determined to fi nd this buzzing sound for some time that I forgot
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about dealing with the loss I was experiencing. This made me feel very
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guilty and I remember thinking I betrayed the person I lost. <br> As
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funny as it may appear, I felt like I was sabotaged by these bees that I
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thought were here to hurt me but in the end they made me understand that
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its ok to let things go and every being does what it has to do to fi nd
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its way of survival. The little habitat that they chose to create in my
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room seemed like a calling or a sign that I can aff ect another living
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being signifi cantly without being aware of it. This goes for
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everything, no matter if some people leave us in this world, they have
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living matter in us that keeps pulsing. So then I started researching
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bees and their ecosystems. I read Alan Watts, Alan Lightman, Emily
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Dickinson, Maurice Sendak, Meghan O’Rourke, Oliver Sacks, Joanna Macy,
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Rilke, Montaigne and theories on order in chaos, correlative vision,
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harmony of contained confl icts and the mortality paradox. I wrote a lot
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and erased a lot and fairly fi gured out the wisdom of not knowing
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things. <br> Years passed and I wrote and deleted and rewrote the story
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that I am working on to make interactive today so many times and was
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waiting on it because it always felt incomplete. In a way it will always
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be incomplete because of the natural ambiguity the topic carries. Years
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later, grief was back in my life with the loss of my grandfather. So
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therefore, the story I wrote and abandoned changed again as I attempted
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to rewrite it as a diff erent version of myself with a diff erent
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understanding of death. And this went on… The story remained hidden and
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I forgot why it ever existed in the fi rst place. <br> Last year when
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two earthquakes hit Syria and Turkey, I was drowned like everyone I
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know, by a collective trauma and grief. Then this horrible feeling fl
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ared up by neglect and desperation. It was and still is impossible to
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mourn so many strangers at the same time. I lost two dear friends, I was
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furious, away from home, mostly alone and remembered vividly my failed
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attempt to understand or place grief in one of the piles in my mind.
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<br> Previous months, I was working on this story (yes, again) but
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didn’t know how to tackle the text because it was so diff erent to what
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I was experiencing now, when compared to the last time I rewrote it. A
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tutor asked me why I wrote this story in the fi rst place and I couldn’t
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remember. I kept tracing back to 2016 and step by step, remembered why,
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as told above. The consciousness that this story is actually a personal
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history of how I went through grief in diff erent stages of my life,
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made me realise that it doesn’t have to be or even can be a perfect
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story. <br> In the end with the experience I had with loss, I believe
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the story turned out to be an ode to remembering or might I say an ode
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to not being able to forget or an ode to the fear of forgetting <br>
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Loop 2 The effect of storytelling knowledge on kids’ development and
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creativity. What can we learn from open ended and multiple ending
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stories? ability to form basic stories or to express their emotions
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through fi ctional characters or events. Children are not born with a
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wide vocabulary of emotions and expressions. They learn how to read,
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mimic and express their feelings over time. The more children read,
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write and are exposed to social environments, the more they widen their
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sense and ability of expressing themselves. The language gained as kids
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comes in many forms and storytelling plays a crucial role in this
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development. The exposure to stories prepares the kids to the era of
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reading and writing. Children come to understand and value feelings
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through conversation (Dettore, 2002). When children are off ered to read
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or share stories, they also learn to understand people around them
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better and gain emotional literacy. <br> Storytelling has been a means
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of communicating with others for many centuries. It is not only a way to
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discuss important events, but also a way to entertain one another
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(Lawrence & Paige, 2013). Stories have been told orally, in writing
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or with drawings for thousands of years and some of these stories are
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still alive. This is because language is a living thing that travels
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through time and still remains brand new. When necessary, it just adapts
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form, evolves and blends in with the changing world. Children comprehend
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the idea that they have a story to tell by hearing other stories and
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this ignites the imagination. We tend to forget many things but almost
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everyone remembers one small story they heard or read when they were a
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kid, this moment we remember is the moment a certain story sparked for
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us. <br> Nowadays storytelling takes many forms. For example, some
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readers’ story might even begin from here although it isn’t the
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beginning. Interactivity is one of the storytelling forms that can
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signifi - cantly improve children’s creativity. This is mainly because
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children as readers or listeners get to contribute and aff ect the
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story. This of course requires and improves creative and active
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thinking. Getting the chance to choose a path for a fi ctional character
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gives the child the freedom and confi dence of constructing a world, a
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character or an adventure. Although this is essentially “writing” as we
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know it, children think of this as a game, yet to discover they are
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actually becoming writers. What kind of reward can we expect from active
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participation in a story? Narrative pleasure can be generally described
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in terms of immersions (spatial, temporal, emotional, epistemic) in a fi
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ctional world (Ryan, 2009). When we are set to create or co-create a
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world, the narrative has eff ects on us such as curiosity, suspense and
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surprise. At this point, we start creatively producing ideas to keep
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these three emotions. <br> Interactive storytelling reminds everyone but
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especially children that there are limitless endings to a story that is
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solely up to the maker’s creation. Learning to think this way instead of
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knowing or assuming an end to a story, I think infl uences the
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children’s decision making abilities and sense of responsibility towards
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their creations. It is basically the same in theatre where if an actor
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chooses to create an imaginary suitcase on stage, they can’t simply
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leave this object they created on stage and exit the scene because the
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audience will wonder why the actor didn’t take the imaginary suitcase as
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they left. In this case, when kids decide to choose a path or item or
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any attribute for a character in a story, they feel responsible and
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curious to see it through to the end or decide what to do with it. This
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interactivity therefore creates a unique bond between the reader/writer
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and the text. <br> There are many theories on how to approach
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interactive literature for children. Multi-literacy theory and digital
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literacies are some of the theories which I fi nd relevant to my aim
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with Wink. Multiliteracy theory in a nutshell is an education oriented
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framework that aims to expand traditional reading and writing skills.
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This theory was developed by the New London Group. They were a
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collective of scholars and educators who addressed the changing nature
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of literacy in an increasingly globalized, digital world. The theory
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explores multiple modes of communication consisting The sense of
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storytelling settles for kids, starting from age three. By this time,
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children have the of multimodal communication, cultural and social
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contexts, critical inquiry, socio-cultural learning theory and
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pedagogical implications. Multimodal communication focuses on the
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variety of communication techniques. This was groundbreaking in the 90s
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because of its acknowledgment of a diverse range of literacies and its
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departure from traditional approaches to literary texts. This theory
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includes new media and communication studies such as visual, digital,
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special and gestural literacies. <br> I kept this theory in mind as I
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chose the interactivity elements to use in the picture book. I think the
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usage of multiple media such as sound, image and games is a good way to
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start and diff erentiate from a regular interactive e-book. The fact
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that this theory has an educational perspective and is taking the
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rapidly changing qualities of literature seriously, made me consider it
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as a guide in designing the prototype. <br> Looking through the
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perspective of multiliteracies, questions come up for me that lead to
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the rest of this thesis: What is an interactive picture book? Is it a
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book? Is it a game? Is it an exercise? What is it defi ned as? How can
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we design an interactive reading environment without confusing children?
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<br> Loop 3 Diff erences and similarities between interactive e-books
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and storytelling games Storytelling games and interactive e-books have
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many things in common. To begin with, they both centralize the narrative
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to engage the audience. While both of these formats are storytelling
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tools, e-books tend to stay more in a linear narrative and format when
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compared to storytelling games where the audience is commonly the main
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character. Reading experiences are also a way to be in the shoes of the
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narrator or the character but in a storytelling game, you embody the
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mission and the experience overrules the story most of the time. In the
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specifi c example of a child, storytelling games are complicated and
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puzzle driven where the player has missions to complete. Whereas in an
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interactive e-book, the missions are solely based on the interactive
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elements implemented in the text and images. Another diff erence is that
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the visual world in an interactive e-book is less cinematic and has
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limited movement. The imagery plays a massive role in a storytelling
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game where the world created is off ered to the player. In an
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interactive e-book, the text itself is designed to be playful and ready
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for readers to discover. The main diff erence in my opinion that
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separates these two methods of storytelling is the reward. In a game, we
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expect to be rewarded by a victory, passing a level or unlocking
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something throughout the experience. In an interactive e-book, we work
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with the story and in return we expect a good experience and there is no
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reward other than that. But, the whole design of interactivity involves
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aspects of a game where the reader –not the player- is captured by
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surprise eff ects or elements that come up on the pages. This ignites
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curiosity but not ambition, which is a good start to foster the love for
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reading. <br> Loop 4 Ways of using interactivity in digital platforms
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CASA theory, also known as the Cognitive-Aff ective-Social Theory of
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Learning and Development, is a framework used in educational psychology
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to understand how learning occurs within the context of cognitive, aff
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ective, and social factors. Research on cognitive learning with keeping
|
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|
in mind the limited attention span and memory factors. For children in
|
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|
specifi c, I think these are very important factors to keep in mind when
|
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|
trying to design an interactive experience. This is because children get
|
|
|
bored very easily and can be disengaged because of failure of
|
|
|
solving/understanding something in a story. This is something I kept in
|
|
|
mind as I wrote for children and chose the interactive elements in the
|
|
|
story. <br> Finding the balance between making the interactive element
|
|
|
surprising and making it easy to interact with is the key to designing
|
|
|
for kids in this scenario. We don’t want to make them struggle and use
|
|
|
the limited attention span in a non-engaging way but we want to keep the
|
|
|
reading interesting enough so they want to continue. Digging deeper into
|
|
|
how to do this, I found Children Computer Interaction (CCI) study very
|
|
|
useful. This study examines how children of diff erent ages and
|
|
|
developmental stages interact with digital devices and how these
|
|
|
interactions can support their growth. This made me think about digital
|
|
|
gestures; how they change through generations and how to use these to
|
|
|
design a platform where children can navigate easily and freely. CCI
|
|
|
suggests that when introducing a new media to children its better to
|
|
|
start easy and clear when they try it. Through this I think the best
|
|
|
easy interaction is the tap or click for children. It is easy to do,
|
|
|
instinctive and common. So I decided to base the interactive elements on
|
|
|
click animations. There are multiple ways to use digital gestures in
|
|
|
storytelling to make the experience more intriguing. These are usually
|
|
|
elements such as sound, animations, voice-overs that are ignited with a
|
|
|
click or tap by the reader. For children younger than 5, its usually
|
|
|
just tapping over the page and experiencing an action-reaction. For
|
|
|
older kids between the ages 6-8, I made some workshops to fi gure out
|
|
|
which types of interactive elements are most useful in engaging them in
|
|
|
the reading process. It is true that sound and animations are very
|
|
|
inclusive and it is engaging for kids to fi nd out which part of a page
|
|
|
is interactive by clicking on images. Another thing I found out is that
|
|
|
kids enjoy being a part of the story. For the prototype of Bee Within
|
|
|
(the story I am using to test interactivity also can be read in the
|
|
|
appendix) I will focus on color, sound and click based animations
|
|
|
according to the results of my research. Loop 5 What is the target age
|
|
|
group for the designated prototype and why? It is tricky when it comes
|
|
|
to choosing the right age spectrum for children’s interactive
|
|
|
literature. Children between the ages 3-5, referred to as preschoolers
|
|
|
have more developed social skills and day by day increasing interest in
|
|
|
play. They can take on roles in imaginative play scenarios. They can
|
|
|
also share and take turns more, listen and think about rules of a game.
|
|
|
They can form friendships and connections easily. School age children
|
|
|
are between the ages 6-12, which is Wink’s chosen age group is a little
|
|
|
diff erent. 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 benefi t the most from the interactive stories and the reading
|
|
|
process because of the developmental phase they are in. The average
|
|
|
amount of time children between these ages use on a daily basis is
|
|
|
depending on their parents and circumstances. But to be fair, it is
|
|
|
often not less than 2 hours. If a child isn’t very interested in
|
|
|
spending these hours reading a book, why not ask them: “Would you like
|
|
|
to be a part of a story?” Today, kids from age 3 can use digital
|
|
|
gestures successfully and experience these as simple as fl ipping the
|
|
|
page of a book. This is why it is fairly easy to create an interactive
|
|
|
picture book which 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. <br> Loop 6 Limits
|
|
|
of interactivity in narratives for children and why do we have less
|
|
|
modes of 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 eff ortless
|
|
|
and a good free time activity but with interactive picture books, it is
|
|
|
slightly more than that and more complicated as an experience. 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 the
|
|
|
tree’s story as well. This is not a must but if they interact with
|
|
|
certain pictures on the page, they will be led to the bee’s perspective
|
|
|
or the trees. This is where the storyline can get a little bit
|
|
|
complicated for younger kids. The child reader at this point should be
|
|
|
able to follow the main storyline after visiting the side quests or
|
|
|
stories presented in the interactive book. To create this balance I
|
|
|
tried to limit the interactive elements I used in the main story. I
|
|
|
tried to keep the picture animations limited and focused more on the
|
|
|
storylines. Another aspect I am concerned about after the workshop I did
|
|
|
with the kids, is the risk of confusion due to an undefi ned and
|
|
|
multimodal design for a “book”. Kids tend to be confused when they can’t
|
|
|
defi ne things or are asked to improvise without knowing the
|
|
|
purpose.They know what a book is and that it is similar to what they
|
|
|
encounter on the screen. But the method of reading and interacting with
|
|
|
Bee Within is diff erent than what they are used to. This concerns me
|
|
|
because they might prefer to just read a book or play a game instead of
|
|
|
discovering a new thing, which they 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 possible for them. Loop 7 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 either too
|
|
|
many options or none. You need to have good empathy and harmony with the
|
|
|
person you are acting with and you are designated to be creative in your
|
|
|
own way. I tried to use several improv games and warmups to involve the
|
|
|
kids in the story more and see how they see certain 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 diff erent methods and
|
|
|
complications. 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. Loop 8 What does the joy of destruction and the awe
|
|
|
eff ect have to do with interactivity? Indeed, why did we ever start
|
|
|
playing games? The most important aspect of a game for me is that it
|
|
|
surprises you and leaves you in awe towards something you weren’t
|
|
|
expecting happened. I feel like every reaction I give when I’m
|
|
|
surprised, is a mirror of what I felt when I was playing freeze and had
|
|
|
to stop moving at any given time or when I found the last friend hiding
|
|
|
somewhere in hide and seek. This feeling of appreciation and
|
|
|
unexpectedness is why most people remember certain games, movies from
|
|
|
their childhoods very vividly. Its an introduction to a feeling we
|
|
|
experience maybe for the fi rst time because we don’t necessarily learn
|
|
|
from books how and when to feel surprised, that is why it’s a surprise;
|
|
|
we live it, experience it and it leaves and impression with us. <br> In
|
|
|
my opinion, what drives everyone as a common denominator is amazement;
|
|
|
because it takes us to our childhoods or distant memories where we fi
|
|
|
rst felt that feeling of awe. This is the main purpose behind any kind
|
|
|
of interactive design and I think books can be an amazing medium to
|
|
|
experiment this with. Specifi cally because this ancient device can take
|
|
|
us to numerous worlds. For me as a millennial, books give me enough
|
|
|
amazement as it is. But as I worked in publishing through the years and
|
|
|
observed, I think kids today need something more to ignite their
|
|
|
interest. There are so many factors in a picture book such as the image,
|
|
|
the text and sound which can be played with to create an experience that
|
|
|
is more surprising. This is the main purpose behind my research and
|
|
|
protoype. Today’s world being visually stimulating and serving very
|
|
|
short attention spans with social media, it is a tough task to insert a
|
|
|
story or reading experience that requires full attention and patience.
|
|
|
There are examples of Tiktok stories, Instagram reels, audio books and
|
|
|
games that try to tell stories worth listening with attention. Wink is
|
|
|
also an attempt to do this and I believe the key is to make an already
|
|
|
engaging story enriched with interactive elements that appear to you
|
|
|
through a click if you choose to. I think this is also the key to
|
|
|
nourishing a new way of storytelling. Loop 9 Interactivity in reading
|
|
|
and writing in history. What changed? Interactivity has always been an
|
|
|
experimental area in literature from inscriptions to narrative games
|
|
|
then to playable stories and artifi cial intelligence. I will expand
|
|
|
some of these examples from the rich history of interactive fi ction.
|
|
|
When I dig a little bit into the media archaeology there are three still
|
|
|
relevant aspects that strike me and change/improve my approach to Wink.
|
|
|
The fi rst is the need to connect that remains untouched through
|
|
|
centuries of human communication, the second is how there were multiple
|
|
|
projects concerning interactive media especially for kids that later
|
|
|
turned into narrative games or remained as prototypes and lastly how the
|
|
|
integration of media and literature has been such a grand topic even
|
|
|
before information and technology era. Some 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, clarifi cations which make the
|
|
|
text inhabit diff erent 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 fi ll 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 fi ction
|
|
|
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 diff erent modes of reading as well. After the 80’s,
|
|
|
Interactive fi ction 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. <br>
|
|
|
The 21st century off ers 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 aim is to use creative elements to
|
|
|
foster education for kids. With Wink, I want to use a mainly educational
|
|
|
tool (a book) to foster creativity and expression. So I believe it is
|
|
|
the opposite purpose as to these examples in certain ways. I am trying
|
|
|
to combine the delicacy of a narrative where you can only be a reader
|
|
|
and the excitement of autonomous 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 eff ect 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. Loop 10
|
|
|
Experimentation of creative exercises to be used in WINK. Exercises of
|
|
|
storytelling with words, images, drawing, sound and gestures. Before I
|
|
|
completed the prototype of Wink, I reached out to an international
|
|
|
school in Rotterdam to make a 20 minute workshop with kids between ages
|
|
|
6-8. The aim here was to grasp the interactive elements in the picture
|
|
|
book to implement in the digital framework. I wanted to see which parts
|
|
|
of the story the children found exiting and which ones are not so
|
|
|
thrilling for them. 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. The fi rst
|
|
|
workshop I planned consisted of two main parts that made up 20 minutes.
|
|
|
The fi rst 10 minutes we read Bee Within (attached in the appendix)
|
|
|
together in a circle and the last 10 minutes we played little
|
|
|
improvisation games, focused on the three main characters in the story
|
|
|
(the bee, the kid and the tree). I made three groups and gave these
|
|
|
groups the three characters. I asked them to embody a character
|
|
|
throughout the workshop and be loyal to it. Each group of three had 1
|
|
|
minute on the stage to silently improvise their characters. They were to
|
|
|
use one sentence if they wanted to speak. During the fi rst part, I
|
|
|
couldn’t observe as I was busy reading but their teacher kindly took
|
|
|
notes during this time, regarding the children’ reactions to parts of
|
|
|
the story. I inserted the bees and trees narrative to the reading by
|
|
|
tossing the paper I had in my hand and picking up a new one as I kept
|
|
|
reading the bees and trees story. This was crucial because I wanted to
|
|
|
see if this multiple stories in one concept would be confusing for kids.
|
|
|
The teacher told me that they were excited about my gesture of juggling
|
|
|
papers as I seemingly read one story. They were intrigued and confused
|
|
|
at fi rst but they did keep up with the storyline and understood all.
|
|
|
Her notes basically said they were very focused and less interested in
|
|
|
the kids journey. They really liked the bee and were a bit confused with
|
|
|
the tree. There were 12 international kids and 3 of them didn’t want to
|
|
|
join the workshop, they wanted to observe. I told them that they could
|
|
|
paint and draw what they see. The drawings they made were of their
|
|
|
classmates acting as trees or bees. They drew their classmate with a
|
|
|
stinger and the other was of a classmate as a tree with his hands wide
|
|
|
open as he was performing. What struck me most on the second part of the
|
|
|
workshop was how these kids used the room so freely and in relation to
|
|
|
their characters. Because we read the story before the improvisation
|
|
|
games, some of their characters were infl uenced by how it is in the
|
|
|
story we read. Next workshop, I am planning to not tell the story but to
|
|
|
talk about it before and give context. This is because I want to see how
|
|
|
their understanding changes without a limitation of a story. <br> Bees
|
|
|
in the classroom that day were all very active and they used chairs,
|
|
|
tables and windows to position themselves in a higher perspective.
|
|
|
Children who played the kid were usually standing closer to the trees
|
|
|
and looked very calm. Trees were all very diff erent. One of the kids
|
|
|
used postits as leaves. Some of them didn’t have leaves because it is
|
|
|
winter. Trees didn’t move at all and the bees were buzzing all around.
|
|
|
“The kid” usually sat near the tree, on the tree (as in the other
|
|
|
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)” This was a good feedback for me because I
|
|
|
realized they are very perceptive of actions and facial expressions
|
|
|
rather than words. The workshop we did in the studio with XPUB 2
|
|
|
students was harder than the session with the kids because everyone felt
|
|
|
so restricted to obligations and were not comfortable to let go of
|
|
|
bodily control. No one actually attempted in using objects from the room
|
|
|
which is a huge diff erence with the kids because they drew on their
|
|
|
faces, used plastic bags as wings for the bee and made sounds with their
|
|
|
mouths as trees. The next workshop was to discover how improv would work
|
|
|
without reading the story fi rst. This workshop was fruitful because it
|
|
|
helped me realize how much information or guidance I have to off er 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 them to decide on an attitude, pop in the
|
|
|
middle and tell or act out their character. I went fi rst and they
|
|
|
followed easily. They were not under the infl uence of the story so the
|
|
|
performances were diff erent but they still got infl uenced by each
|
|
|
other, which in my opinion is inevitable. Some of the kids were
|
|
|
buzzing/running around, the “kids” were walking around, acting like they
|
|
|
are playing which I found very interesting. Some trees were small some
|
|
|
were mighty and old. It was helpful to see the diff erent attributions
|
|
|
they gave to the characters. After the circle session, they separated in
|
|
|
three groups: the kids, the bees and the trees. I asked each group to
|
|
|
come up, walk around randomly, embodying the character they chose. Then
|
|
|
as I rang the bell, I asked them to change the character. I asked them
|
|
|
to be a busy, tired, injured, happy and scared bee one by one. They kept
|
|
|
walking randomly and acted these feelings out. For the “kids”, I asked
|
|
|
them to be angry, sad, scared, and curious. For the trees I asked them
|
|
|
to be wise, mad, funny and happy. The results were amazing. They adapted
|
|
|
very quickly to the changing of emotions which showed me that this age
|
|
|
gap was good to work with. The trees stopped walking as I changed the
|
|
|
emotions and this was an affi rmation to not animate the tree with
|
|
|
movement but more with changing of color and tiny animations. They
|
|
|
mostly used arms and face expressions to show the emotions, some of them
|
|
|
ducked or made sounds. As I said mad, one of the kids ran and put her
|
|
|
red jacket on. This made me think about using color to show emotions for
|
|
|
the tree. It 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. <br> 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 eff
|
|
|
ects 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 fi rst. Then quite impressively, they made
|
|
|
their own system where they took turns to make eff ects 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 eff ects 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 eff ective 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 eff ected 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. <br> One other thing
|
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|
the workshops helped me with is the multiple stories I am planning to
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tell in one narrative. The book I have has two side quest/stories so it
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nice to see that kids weren’t confused with these narratives. I decided
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to make the story of the tree as a click game where the lines appear by
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clicking and the bee’s story through a text based game. I wanted to use
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click game with the tree because it seemed like they needed more
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stimulation to be interested in that story and I though a ‘reveal the
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story’ click game could keep them interested. For the bee, knowing they
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like the character, I wanted to make it more like a game to give the
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kids a chance and autonomy to be a part of the story itself.</p>
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Loop 11 The diff erences of these exercises in WINK than the already
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existing interactive e-book platforms The interactive e-book apps
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existing today, made especially for children, are quite similar in both
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format and purpose. If we take a look at Bookr, Piboco, and Kotobee, we
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can see they seek a new way to tell a story but have one mode of
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reading. The stories are linear and can be read once, without side
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quests. This is the main diff erence with what I am trying to design.
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Wink acts as a tool to play with and choose paths. The story isn’t
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linear in the traditional way where you interact with the pictures and
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fi nish the book but there are side stories to the main story that they
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can discover or choose not to. I think this is a solid diff erence. This
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makes it a playable narrative, diff erent from a book. This prototype is
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a good start to see how far I can get with the interactive elements and
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side stories without confusing or discouraging the children. There are
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many other aspects that can be implemented to this design such as
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writing elements and drawing but for the meantime, also in
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correspondence with the workshops, I choose to test the sound and image
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along with one main and two small narratives. For future prototypes, I
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envision space to draw and write as a contribution to the story and
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maybe turning Wink into a hybrid format with more autonomous features.
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For me, at this point, it’s valuable and essential to see if my
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technique of combining narratives is working or not. Loop 12 Standing
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End After many loops of thought, we are here at the standing end of the
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thesis. There is room for more loops and knots in the future to secure
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this string of thought but for now, we have come to the dock and rest
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ashore. Reading this thesis with a string, using concrete thinking as a
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technique to go through a research and text was a helpful exercise for
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me and helped me mark my thoughts and ideas. The overarching theme of
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knots and experimental approach to modes of reading was valuable for me
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to share and try as an enthusiastic young writer. I like that I asked
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the reader to interact with the thesis and follow paths accordingly. It
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was enlightening to see the results of working with kids and be able to
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see from their point of view and alter everything according to these
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encounters. Using CCI and Multiliteracy theory as a guide to approach
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the design and prototype was helpful in understanding how to approach
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and tackle the desire of making something for children. Now from where I
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stand, I feel more rooted and have a clearer idea of what works and
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doesn’t work. Some features that I think would work very well like the
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choice of writing didn’t go as planned because multiple narratives is
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already too much. I realized I underestimated the eff ect of introducing
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a new media to children. This is why I decided to take it step by step
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with the interactivity. Taking a step to make Wink and using the story I
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wrote and feel is important in my personal history as a prototype was a
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breakthrough. I feel like my interest and desire to discover new ways of
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writing, reading and experiencing literature is ongoing and it was a
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beautiful journey so far. I am looking forward to making more knots on
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this long and mysterious string at hand. <br> Bibliography: Cope, B. and
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Kalantzis, M. (2009) ‘“multiliteracies”: New Literacies, new learning’,
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Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4(3), pp. 164–195.
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doi:10.1080/15544800903076044. Dettore, E. (2002) “Children’s emotional
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GrowthAdults’ role as emotional archaeologists,” Childhood education,
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78(5), pp. 278–281. doi: 10.1080/00094056.2002.10522741. Ingold, T.
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(2015) The life of lines. London, England: Routledge. Lawrence, R. L.
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and Paige, D. S. (2016) “What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning
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through storytelling: What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning
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through storytelling,” New directions for adult and continuing
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education, 2016(149), pp. 63–72. doi: 10.1002/ace.20177. Papert, S. and
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Papert, S. A. (2020) Mindstorms (revised): Children, computers, and
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powerful ideas. London, England: Basic Books. Ryan, M.-L. (2009) “From
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narrative games to playable stories: Toward a poetics of interactive
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narrative,” StoryWorlds A Journal of Narrative Studies, 1(1), pp. 43–59.
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doi: 10.1353/stw.0.0003. Smeets, D. and Bus, A. (2013) “Picture
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Storybooks Go Digital: Pros and Cons,” in Quality Reading Instruction in
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the Age of Common Core Standards. International Reading Association,
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pp. 176–189. Strohecker, C. (ed.) (1978) Why knot? MIT. The Effect of
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Multimodality in Increasing Motivation and Collaboration among 4th CSE
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EFL Students (no date). Turkle, S. (ed.) (2014) Evocative objects:
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Things we think with. MIT Press. Urton, M. M. &. (2018) The khipu
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code: the knotty mystery of the Inkas’ 3D records, aeon. Available at:
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https://
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aeon.co/ideas/the-khipu-code-the-knotty-mystery-of-the-inkas-3d-records.
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Vega, N. (2022) Codes in Knots. Sensing Digital Memories, The Whole
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Life. Available at: https://wholelife.hkw.de/
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codes-in-knots-sensing-digital-memories/. Appendix:
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