Abstract:

In the Magix series of software learning environments, children can learn about topics in math and science through playful exploration. They experiment with patterns and dynamic systems through a constructive-dialogic style of interaction. In these colorful environments, children make and transform virtual objects and then study effects that emerge through their replication and variability. The learning environments are best situated on a portable computational device. Following a brief discussion of design rationale, this paper describes details of the environments through a series of appendices. Appendix 1 explains the constructive-dialogic style of interaction and its importance to Magix explorations. Appendix 2 describes attributes of the child-sized, portable platform that would be ideal for Magix environments. The bulk of our discussion is in Appendix 3, which is the functional description of one entry in the Magix series, PatternMagix. Appendix 4 explains recommended modifications to PatternMagix based on preliminary observations of its use by a few children. Appendix 5 outlines a second entry, AnimMagix. Appendix 6 describes initial component and object hierarchies for the implementations of the software prototypes.