Tea Party 2.0

Tonight is a night for catching up. Along with that is catching up on my blog. Where have I been all this time?!

In addition to some really exciting and interesting work that's kept me busy most hours of the day, I had the great opportunity to attend Fred Forward in Latrobe, PA. I owe you lots of posts and goodies, dear readers. I thought I would kick it off with this fantastic YouTube video that was shared at the conference of two girls playing tea party. What's different/unique about how they're playing?

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Sandbox Summit, Day 2

“Show me the games of your children, and I’ll show you the next hundred years.”

I was surprised at how much anthropology was discussed today. The conversation was brought back to the nature of play and the human need for gaming. Perhaps this is because many of the speakers were academics. Heather Chaplin and Eric Zimmerman spoke. I won’t share their lengthy, impressive resumes here, but you should absolutely look them up! My favorite presenter was Colleen Macklin, a game designer and professor working with PETLab, part of Parsons at The New School, who gave the keynote. Her energy and enthusiasm for play and game creation were contagious. Check her out! Though she is in the business of gaming, she encouraged us to learn from Caine: “less apps, more cardboard.”

Chaplin and Zimmerman also brought up outdoor, real world play. They defined play as “free movement within a rigid system.” Funny…that’s how I would define art as well. So how do we do and support this while creating and selling tech products? Speaking of the business side (sorry, I have no easy answer for the last question...let's talk about it in the comments section!), Disney Publishing shared a presentation. I find that their work is a great example of risk. Fortunately they have the budget to take bold risks and the confidence that their experiment will pay off in some way. I admire that confidence and that business strategy!

A feature of the iBook app The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore.
Though I've had the app for almost a year, I didn't know I could play an
alphabet cereal game, customize, and save as a photo!

But, Christina, WHAT is an accelerometer? I’m glad you asked. I kept hearing this word get thrown around at the conference and finally discovered that it’s the tool that allows you to move or shake a mobile device and have an app respond. This is the absolute basic "kind of close" definition. The Wikipedia page was very scientific and hard to understand. You should not mistake me for an MIT student.

So much learning, so much knowledge. I am exhausted! I’ll end today’s recap with a few books mentioned that I’m desperate to read after this great meeting of the minds. All seem financially reasonable on Amazon:

The Queer Art of Failure by Judith Halberstam

The Rise of the Video Game Zinesters by Anna Anthropy

Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen

Shovel on, sandboxers!

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iPad Cases for Kids

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about using an iPad to support methodology when doing research with kids. I've been searching high and low for the perfect iPad case for a kid to use. It would have to be something that could travel well, is easy for a kid to hold and manipulate, and could stand up against a child's physicality. I've included some of the top runners below:

1. Not only is this guy fun, his arms are great grips for kids' hands

2. The rounded edges and grips make it easy for kids to grasp the iPad

3. A simple, boring case, with built-in stand and cover

4. The OtterBox looks like it could survive some serious damage

5. This Griffin case looks tank-like strong, even in dainty pink

6. The elongated sides probably make accidental drops a little less stressful

7. This chunky case and stand look like they'd be preschool friendly

8. This iPad case was part of a recent Kickstarter project

I decided to go with a plain, old black leather case (3). I know it sounds crazy after looking at all these cool colors and shapes, but it's the only one with a screen cover. I wonder why not one case for kids comes with a protective cover. If we consider that kids are being encouraged to use iPads for travel and to take to school, it might benefit these companies to start developing a screen protector. 

Which one would you choose?

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