Creative play with information technology | Workshop @ ReMida, Oct. 15 – 19.

One of the main goals of the Our Toys project is to enhance interaction and exchange between arts and science, which can be achieved by guiding young teenagers’ attention to the creative character of computer programming and its relation to real-life objects and events. During the art & technology biennale Meta.Morf 2012, four single-day workshops will be organized at the ReMida Centre in Trondheim, inviting 12 year olds to become creators using open-source software (Arduino, Scratch) on reusable materials. The course is directed to give teenagers, especially young girls, the opportunity to get actively involved and grow enthusiasm for information technology. Each workshop is able to accommodate up to 15 pupils.

The project further extends and applies:

• Established relations between NTNU, ReMida, and TEKS – Trondheim Electronic Arts Centre
• Recent developments in software engineering with application of open source programming tools to enhance creativity and learning
• Previous experience with dissemination of arts and software among young people.

Recent scientific research shows that combining computer programming with real-life artifacts and sensor devices in a workshop setting is effective to increase teenagers’ interest in arts and information technology. Three prerequisites must be fulfilled for such a workshop to be effective: in addition to personal connection, there should be an active engagement in the learning process, and the projects that are created should be of value to a larger community.

The ReMida Centre adheres to the Reggio Emilia philosophy which recognizes children as both sources and creators of their own experiences, inspiring them to take the initiative to create. Thus, the ReMida Centre in Trondheim presents an ideal venue for the workshops.

Our Toys is a collaboration project between the Faculty of Information Technology, Mathematics and Electrical Engineering (IME) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and ReMida Centre, venue for creative reuse in Trondheim.

Letizia Jaccheri, NTNU scientific responsible

Pål Bøyesen, ReMida artistic leader

Audun Eriksen, artist

Roberta Proto, project manager.

We are especially grateful for the contributions of professor Einar Aas.