GUNDULAS STORIES
Creating an interactive learning environment for children
Agency
Self-Initiated
Client
Self-Initiated
Role
Concept development, Programming, Product Design, Illustration, Visual-Design
Challenge
Our children grow up in a digitized world in which technology is omnipresent. To catch up these developments schools start to equip their students with tablet computers and they install digital whiteboards in the classrooms. But often the used learning software doesn’t suit the needs of the students or is not easy to implement in the normal teaching practice. Technology driven solutions can disrupt relationships between the students and their teacher and thereby hinder good learning experiences. Therefore, we need to design software, toys and games which are based on the needs of children and which are deeply rooted in the context of their learning situation. Thoughtful created Interaction Design is then able to build a bridge between the children and technology, which offers inspiration, empowers them and promotes their creativity.
Approach
The idea of the interactive learning environment is based on the well established read aloud technique, which is often used in kindergartens and primary schools, where the teacher reads a story for a group of children. By visualizing the story in real-time and enabling the children to interact, Gundula’s stories add another layer to this setup. All the technological elements are hidden within the wooden tortoise to not interrupt the interaction between the children and the teacher. In that way it’s possible to create magic moments and to enrich the whole storytelling experience.
Result
Gundula’s stories is an interactive learning environment which enables children to acquire know- ledge playfully and improve their sensory and motor skills. The learning environment combines classical storytelling with technologies such as gesture control and voice recognition. Designed for the usage in kindergartens and primary schools, it consists of a character made out of wood (Gundula the tortoise) with an integrated Kinect sensor, a beamer projection that brings to life an illustrated story and a tablet application for the teacher to read and control the story flow.
