MindScribe

Abstract

When young children create, they are exploring their emerging skills by engaging with the world. When young children reflect, they are deepening their learning experiences by extracting insights. And when young children share, they are strengthening their community by creating opportunities for collaboration. To support such constructionist learning, we present MindScribe, an affordable interactive robotic object that engages preliterate children in reflective inquiry. As children create artifacts, MindScribe invites them to "tell a story" about their creation---in any language. And through scaffolded questioning, MindScribe elicits children»s insights into their creative discoveries. Together, they spark child-led communication and innovation in early learning communities.