empowering older adult creative groups with maker technology
TRANSCRIPT
Empowering Older Adult Creative Groups with Maker Technology
Olivia Richards1, Samantha Whitman2, Ben Jelen3, and Katie Siek3
1 The Pennsylvania State University, Eberly College of Science, [email protected] 2 Arizona State University, College of Health Solutions, [email protected]
3 Indiana University, Proactive Health Informatics, {bcjelen, ksiek}@indiana.edu
Motivation
Older adults possess a wealth
of skills and life experiences that
make them capable of creating
their own electronic devices.
This can improve the design of
technology to support their
independence.
Objective
Identify crafting activities that
older adults participate in and
tailor maker technology to
their crafts.
Acknowledgments:
Cheryl Engel, Twin Lakes
Recreational Center-Lap Quilting
Group, Discardia, and IU SROC
and ProHealth students who
participated in the beta testing
process
National Science Foundation CNS-
1560276This material is based upon work supported by the National Science
Foundation under Grant No.CNS-1560276. Any opinions, findings, and
conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of
the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the viesw of the National
Science Foundation.
Identifying Crafting Activities Tailor Technology to Crafts
• 8 hours of Observations at Various Quilting and
Textile Groups
• Collected Field Notes and Qualitativly Analyzed
Field Notes using an Affinity Diagram
• Developed Participatory Design Activities
• Mastered Quilting and Scrapbooking Techniques
• Learned Arduino Programming and Circuitry
• Incorporated Small Electronics into Exemplar
Artifacts
Methods
Results
Paper Circuit Activity Observations Crafting Group Observations
• Dialogues should be kept open to learn the most
from participants
• Participants should be given time and space to
learn, discover, and iterate
• Demonstrations and directions must be given at
a comfortable pace for all skill levels
• Crafting groups behold a unique sense of
community in which crafting is a lifestyle
• They create for themselves, loved ones, and as a
service to others
• Researchers should tailor technology to craft
instead of tailoring their craft to electronics
Preparation for Participatory Design Study
We designed paper circuit activities to teach circuitry to older adults using one 3V battery, one LED, copper tape and paper. We ran a beta test to iterate on these activities for the future participatory design study.
Incorporating Electronics into Crafted Exemplar Artifacts
• We created a quilt that tracks and displays
amount of inactivity of the quilt user
• Purpose: Encourage awareness amongst older
adults of their daily rest time
• We designed a scrapbook cover that counts and
displays how many times it has been opened
• Purpose: Develop a sense of generational use of
the memory album
Image Sources:1. "Code" by Chameleon Design derived from
https://thenounproject.com/term/code/542423/, is licensed under
CC BY 3.0 US
2. Customize" by Camille Rochenoire is derived from
https://thenounproject.com/term/customize/73535/, is licensed
under CC BY 3.0 US
3. "Grandparents" by Marie Van den Broeck is derived from
https://thenounproject.com/search/?q=elderly+couple&i=202103, is
licensed under CC BY 3.0 US
4. "Microchip" by Aaron Dodson is derived from
https://thenounproject.com/term/microchip/30229/, is licensed
under CC BY 3.0 US
5. "Needle And Thread" by A.M. Briganti is derived from
https://thenounproject.com/term/needle-and-thread/64538/, is
licensed under CC BY 3.0 US
6. "Productivity" by Gregor Črešnar is derived from
https://thenounproject.com/term/productivity/426102/, is licensed
under CC BY 3.0 US