Rosita's Cocina: Fun and Engaging Virtual Cooking and Spanish Education: Fun and Engaging Virtual Cooking and Spanish Education

Abstract

When removed from their home immigrants often find it hard to maintain their culture, one of the ways they often hang on to it is through food. Rosita's Cocina is designed to help kids learn about their family's history, language, and traditional food. Rosita's Cocina is an app designed to teach kids to cook in a digital environment while their parents or grandparents cook the real dish. The digital twins of the ingredients and tools will allow the child to experiment with cooking techniques traditional to Mexican cooking in a safe way, while using familiar Mexican recipes like flan or chiles rellenos in order to teach new words and enforce and master old vocab. As they learn more about their traditional cuisine and the history behind their favorite dishes, they will also practice their Spanish to be better able to communicate with their elders who may have a language barrier. Rosita's Cocina also helps engage children in the process of cooking using tools they are familiar with and excited to use, integrating technology into meaningful cultural experiences. The simple recipe tool allows elders to record the dishes they remember from their childhoods and pass it down to the younger generations in a fun and engaging way for the elder and the child. Rosita's Cocina was designed in AdobeXD as a prototype and visualization for the ultimate goals of the application.