"Serious" Programming Made Cuddly: A Fully End-User-Programmable Stuffed Toy

Abstract

One of the recurring design issues in creating computational artifacts for children is the question of programmability. On the one hand, there is only a limited range of things that a non-programmable artifact or toy can be "taught" to do. On the other hand, the traditional trappings and cultural associations of full-scale programming (e. g., incorporating a screen within a programmable artifact, or using wire or Bluetooth connections to transmit a program) run counter to the informal, playful aesthetics of children's playthings. This paper describes a "detente" in children's design-integrating the informality and physical structure of a toy with the full expressive range of symbolic programming. As an illustration of this approach, we describe Birdwatcher, a stuffed toy duck that can visually "read" meaningful programs-even hand-written programs. We show a representative scenario using Birdwatcher and explore several key issues for continuing work in making programming accessible to children.