THE DRAW AND PLAY CAR RACING: AN INTERACTIVE LEARNING PROJECT FOR CHILDREN

We explored the potential of integrating natural medium drawing with interactive digital simulation for a children draw, play and learn activity. Groups of primary school children were asked to draw cars on papers. The drawings were then captured by a webcam and digitized into a simulated road environment for digital car races. The environment was governed by conditions like gravity, friction and aerodynamics. Children participating the activity were asked to observe the race result of their first match and redraw a new car to enhance the performance on a subsequent race. The aim of the activity was for children to learn about rudimentary concepts in physics and how it affects car design. 

After the activity, we measured the learnings of the participants through surveys and observation of the race results. We also carried out control experiments like using pre-made car drawings, cutting down the 2nd racing round and teaching the physics and car design concepts through traditional lecture settings to compare the effectiveness of various elements of this interactive learning system.

Finally, from the learnings of these experiments, we evaluated the possibilities and constraints of integrating physical and digital media for children in terms of content creation and active participation in game play, observation and learning, as well as designing through prototyping.