Osmo Kaleidoscope: Co-designing and Problem-solving with Children in S.T.E.A.M. App Development

What is it about?

This paper explains the Osmo Kaleidoscope app-building project by focusing on the value of real-world problem-solving within co-design sessions that included young students, teachers, and lead software engineer. Within Bennett Day School’s approach to PBL (project-based learning), students confront real struggles, design hurdles, and learning opportunities that model those often found in one’s work life. Creating this form of tangible UI, in which players are encouraged to bring their own handheld objects to a new touchscreen app, would involve interesting problems in aesthetics, navigation, and functionality. The paper describes how the co-design team met their goals of creating open-ended STEM/STEAM explorations that can be visually compelling, intellectually interesting, and personally fulfilling for young players. Authors thank those at Tangible Play, Inc. for this opportunity to work together in a unique fashion.

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Why is it important?

We agree with the U.S. Department of Education that it is valuable to strive for “joyful STEM classrooms” that are meaningful and relevant. This school-wide project to help design and build Osmo Kaleidoscope directly relates to these goals. Because this app's tangible UI empowers players to investigate complex symmetry by manipulating their own everyday objects, we are embracing the cultural relevance and personal meaning that a child feels when playing with simple personal belongings. The app's software transforms the appearance of a child's handheld seashell, book illustration, toy car, or fabric scrap into beautiful kaleidoscopic patterns, as the child navigates their way through various app tools. Additionally, the inclusion of Bennett's Pre-K and elementary-level students on a multigenerational co-design team offered them a window into the rewards and challenges of real-world tech design. Because much of our design work took place within ongoing problem-solving sessions, the authors organized our paper by outlining several significant problems that occurred along the way.

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