Lanterns: Configuring a Digital Resource to Inspire Preschool Children’s Free Play Outdoors

Title of the Paper

Lanterns: Configuring a Digital Resource to Inspire Preschool Children’s Free Play Outdoors

Paper Information

• Domain: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and the design of free outdoor play for children
• Keywords: Interaction design, tangible devices, IoT, toolkit, preschool children, free play, outdoor games, embodied play

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Issues or Challenges:

  • Children, especially preschoolers, engage less in outdoor free play.
  • Outdoor free play is crucial for children's health, well-being, and development, yet existing digital technologies mainly focus on older children and rule-based play, leaving preschoolers' free play underexplored.

• Significance:

  • Through free play, preschoolers can explore and understand the world, developing physical, social, cognitive, and emotional skills.
  • Outdoor spaces offer multisensory, movement-oriented interactive experiences that support better development.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Current studies show that digital technologies can promote children's outdoor activities; however, most focus on rule-based games, with limited attention to the design for preschoolers' free play.
  • Preschoolers' play behaviors differ from older children; they tend to engage in spontaneous, self-directed, and unstructured interactions.
  • Exploring open-ended resource designs using IoT embedded technologies holds potential for supporting preschoolers' free outdoor play.

Solution

• Method:

  • The authors propose an interactive design called "Lanterns," utilizing off-the-shelf IoT toolkits (e.g., BBC Micro:bit) to inspire preschoolers' outdoor free play.
  • The physical form and interactive features of Lanterns underwent multiple rounds of prototype iteration, adapting to outdoor settings (e.g., forests and gardens) for use in natural environments.
  • Lanterns can be crafted using everyday materials, with downloadable DIY tutorials available for families.

• Innovations:

  • Lanterns' interaction design emphasizes openness, children's autonomy, and spontaneous play, achieved through embodied technology and integration with environmental features.
  • The design extracts characteristics of children's play and adapts to specific scenarios (e.g., light interaction in dark environments), fostering creativity and social interaction.

• Implementation Steps and Key Technologies:

  • BBC Micro:bit and Kitronik Halo RGB LED were used as core technologies.
  • Two interactive configurations were designed: "Lighting the Way" and "Passing the Green," simulating flame ignition and light movement between multiple lanterns.
  • Scenario-based observation: Testing Lanterns in forests and gardens to examine children's physical activities, social behaviors, and free choices.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Findings:

  • Lanterns facilitated various free play behaviors, such as:
    • Choice: Children independently explored the environment and chose play methods based on device behavior.
    • Improvisation: Interactive design inspired children to express themselves through spontaneous movements.
    • Anticipation: The light effects of the device elicited excitement and anticipation in children.
    • Social Interaction: Lanterns served as shared goals, promoting social connections among preschoolers.

• Advantages:

  • Provided targeted designs suitable for preschoolers, emphasizing free exploration compared to existing rule-based projects.
  • Integrated with outdoor environments, enabling children to respond to spatial features through interaction.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • In forest settings, children demonstrated high autonomy and adventurous behaviors, such as exploring lanterns and utilizing natural terrain.
  • In garden settings, children engaged in collaborative goal achievement through the uncertainty of interaction (e.g., "passing green light").
  • Video analysis revealed the dynamic light effects of the lanterns were appealing, encouraging creative movements.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations: The experiment was small-scale, covering only four observation sessions focused on a single scenario and group.
  • Future Work:
    • Expand experiments to include more communities and age groups.
    • Investigate the differences and social impacts between digital devices and traditional toys.
    • Develop more complex interaction modes to support sustained play behaviors.

Conclusion

Using a Research-through-Design approach, this study designed and evaluated intelligent lanterns suitable for preschoolers' outdoor free play. By emphasizing choice, autonomous movement, and social responses, it provides a novel interactive resource. The proposed three sensitizing concepts (Choosing the Way, Improvising through Movement, Anticipating a Response) offer inspiration and theoretical frameworks for future designs of devices supporting children's play.