Today we had the awesome opportunity of working with LittleBits, during  a workshop with Mark Lochrie. At the beginning of the workshop, he gave an introductory lecture about telling stories through technology. I went along in the hopes of gaining more inspiration for my project this semester, and although the overall topic focus wasn’t proceeding along the path I want to go down, it was still very useful.

“LittleBits are easy-to-use electronic building blocks that empower students to both understand and reinvent their world. Along the way, they engage in powerful hands-on learning in STEM/STEAM and gain 21st-century skills and mindsets.” – www.littleBits.com

My focus area is to encourage the use of creativity within technology and I intend to begin my research phase by looking into the STEM education system. STEAM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines – science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.  All aspects of STEAM are vital when influencing imagination and I want to consider every element in detail, in order to provide an enjoyable and educational learning experience, for young children.

Since discovering what particular areas I want to cover/include, I can now begin researching different stages of child development, in order to pin point my chosen audience demographic.  It is important to allow myself a solid understanding of where my idea can be utilised properly and efficiently and therefore, discovering which age group of children to work with, depending on their development progress, needs to be explored thoroughly.

Overall, the workshop today was fantastic! I learnt, I engineered and I used my imagination, all through accessing technology. I am feeling inspired and encouraged to create something influential and effective.