Austin Cory Bart
Senior Thesis Defense
May 9, 2011
First Reader: Dr. Lori Pollock
Second Reader: Dr. Chrystalla Mouza
Third Reader: Dr. Jim Glancey
Question

“How can the power of the XO laptop be used to
encourage children to write creatively”
One-Laptop-Per-Child

XO Laptop

“$100” Laptop

Wireless Antennae
Transflective Display
Low Power
Rugged Casing
Kid-size keyboard
XO Laptop

Sugar

Learning Software for the XO

Creative Writing on the XO

Creative Writing

“Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear
event sequences.”
Common Core State Standards
English Language Arts
Grades 4-8
Phases of the Project

Development
of customized software
Intervention
at the College School
Analysis
of children’s responses
Intrinsic Motivation

“Write this
thesis and
you get a
cookie!”
“I really
want to
write this
thesis!”
“Write this
thesis or
you’ll fail
college!”
“I really
don’t want
to write this
thesis!”
Negative
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Positive
Design Principles for
Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic
Motivation
Perceived
Competence
Simple
Autonomy
Expressive
Interest
Enticing
Write

Enticing
Expressive
Simple
E-Toys and Scratch

Enticing
Expressive
Simple
Story-Builder

Enticing
Expressive
Simple
Additional Design Principles

Inspirational
Don’t make them start from scratch
Organizational
Help authors organize their story
Modal
Distinct modes for “write” and “read”
Supportive
Helpful software agents and tools
Juxtapositional
Fantastical + realistic elements
Collaborative
Naturally work together
Multimedia
Synthesis of audio, text, graphics, etc.
Software Development on the XO

Software Development on the XO

User
Interface
Animation
New Software

New Software

 Collaboration
 PyGTK
 1000 lines
 11 MB
 Libraries
 Glade
New Software : Broadway

 Multimedia
 Pygame
 4500 lines
 6MB
 Libraries




Sugargames
Spyral
PGU
SimpleJSON
Intervention Phase

 College School
 At UD
 1:1 laptops
 Mild school-affective
disorders
College School Demographics

Literacy
Group
Female
Male
Total
1
2
5
7
2
2
3
5
3
7
1
8
4
5
4
9
Total
16
13
29
Intervention Schedule

Day
Session 1
Session 2
1
Literacy Group #1
Literacy Group #2
2
Literacy Group #1
Literacy Group #2
3
Literacy Group #3
Literacy Group #4
4
Literacy Group #3
Literacy Group #4
Protocol

Introduction
Presentation
Broadway
Activity
PostActivity
Survey
Wacky
Writer
Activity
PostActivity
Survey
Day 1
Day 2
Focus
Group
Free-time
with XO
Intervention Instrument

Value
Competence
Effort
Interest
Choice
Intrinsic
Motivation
Inventory
Tension
Post-Activity Survey

IMI
IMI-Reduced
7 Subscales
6 Subscales
24-questions
18-questions
7-point Likert
5-point Likert
Balanced Keying
Reliability of Results

Category
Wacky Writer
Broadway
Entire Instrument
.84
.87
Interest
.74
.88
Value
.87
.87
Perceived Competence
.74
.68
Perceived Choice
.80
.53
Effort
.37
.70
Tension
.39
.26
Results

Agreement Scores Across Subscales of Intrinsic
Motivation in Broadway and Wacky Writer
5
Agreement Score*
4
3
Broadway
Wacky Writer
2
1
Choice
Effort
Interest
Competence
Tension
Subscale of Intrinsic Motivation
Value
Total
* 1: Not True, 5: Very True
Broadway and Gender

Agreement Scores Across Subscales of Intrinsic
Motivation and Gender in Broadway
5
Agreement Score*
4
3
Female
Male
2
1
Choice
Effort
Interest
Competence
Tension
Subscale of Intrinsic Motivation
Value
Total
* 1: Not True, 5: Very True
Wacky Writer and Gender

Agreement Scores Across Subscales of Intrinsic
Motivation and Gender in Wacky Writer
5
Agreement Score*
4
3
Female
Male
2
1
Choice
Effort
Interest
Competence
Tension
Subscale of Intrinsic Motivation
Value
Total
* 1: Not True, 5: Very True
Analysis

 Working Together
 Details in Photos vs. Backdrops
Improvements

 More students
 Longer intervention
 Other Educational Environments
 Pre-Activity Surveys
Future Work

 Integrate student feedback
 Increasing creative writing ability
Questions?

Example Story
