Communications of the ACM
Movement Improves Girls' Computational Skills
Researchers say a new software and curriculum combination for blending movement and programming offers a novel strategy for engaging fifth- and sixth-grade girls in computational thinking.
Credit: Clemson University
Clemson University researchers have developed Virtual Environment Interactions (VEnvI), a software and curriculum combination for blending movement and programming. The researchers say VEnvI offers a novel and embodied strategy of engaging fifth- and sixth-grade girls in computational thinking.
"We want to understand how body syntonicity might enable young learners to bootstrap their intuitive knowledge in order to program a three-dimensional character to perform movements," says Clemson professor Alison Leonard.
The researchers conducted user-centered design research for creating choreography and the social context for a virtual character through which girls can be introduced to alternative applications in computing. "We adopt the view that computational thinking is a set of concepts, practices, and perspectives that draw upon the world of computing and are applicable in many [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] fields," says Clemson professor Shaundra Daily.
The researchers found the active presentation of concepts and future scalability of VEnvI will provide emerging technologies geared toward more inclusive strategies to engage girls in computational thinking. They now are designing a control algorithm that links concepts from computational thinking to animation algorithms to ensure the quality of the resulting choreography.
The researchers note VEnvI has the potential to widen the scope of current technologies that aim to cultivate computational thinking for diverse designers, users, and audiences.
From Clemson University (SC)
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