2019
Heljakka, Katriina; Ihamäki, Pirita
Toys That Mobilize: Past, Present and Future of Phygital Playful Technology Proceedings Article
In: Arai, Kohei; Kapoor, Supriya; Bhatia, Rahul (Ed.): Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC) 2019. FTC 2019, pp. 625-640, Springer, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-030-32522-0.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Phygitals, Smart toys, Toy mobility, Toys
@inproceedings{Heljakka2019f,
title = {Toys That Mobilize: Past, Present and Future of Phygital Playful Technology},
author = {Katriina Heljakka and Pirita Ihamäki},
editor = {Kohei Arai and Supriya Kapoor and Rahul Bhatia},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-32523-7_46},
isbn = {978-3-030-32522-0},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-10-10},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC) 2019. FTC 2019},
pages = {625-640},
publisher = {Springer},
abstract = {This exploratory paper focuses on the technological development of the toy medium with an interest in toys’ capacity to mobilize homo ludens, the playing human. By conducting an extensive literary review on the history and the present of mobile play objects, the study demonstrates how toys have developed from early moving and mechanical automata to playthings that move by themselves through in-built computerized components. The interest is two-fold: By analyzing the historical trajectory of mobile toys, the authors highlight the role of both toys and their players as participants in technologically mediated, phygital play. This hybrid form of playing combines the physicality of playthings with both mechanical and digital features. The results of the review show how toys—character toys in particular—have transformed from entertaining, self-moving spectacles to educational machines that mobilize the player both physically and geographically. Based on the results of the literary review, the authors suggest a continuum that visualizes the development of the types of toys that afford mobility in play of the past, present, and future. The paper concludes with the observation that phygital, playful technologies, such as character toys, have the capacity to influence human well-being in its various dimensions. By making them mobile, toys as a medium invite engagement with phygital playful technologies to enhance physical, cognitive, and social well-being.},
keywords = {Phygitals, Smart toys, Toy mobility, Toys},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This exploratory paper focuses on the technological development of the toy medium with an interest in toys’ capacity to mobilize homo ludens, the playing human. By conducting an extensive literary review on the history and the present of mobile play objects, the study demonstrates how toys have developed from early moving and mechanical automata to playthings that move by themselves through in-built computerized components. The interest is two-fold: By analyzing the historical trajectory of mobile toys, the authors highlight the role of both toys and their players as participants in technologically mediated, phygital play. This hybrid form of playing combines the physicality of playthings with both mechanical and digital features. The results of the review show how toys—character toys in particular—have transformed from entertaining, self-moving spectacles to educational machines that mobilize the player both physically and geographically. Based on the results of the literary review, the authors suggest a continuum that visualizes the development of the types of toys that afford mobility in play of the past, present, and future. The paper concludes with the observation that phygital, playful technologies, such as character toys, have the capacity to influence human well-being in its various dimensions. By making them mobile, toys as a medium invite engagement with phygital playful technologies to enhance physical, cognitive, and social well-being.
2018
Heljakka, Katriina; Ihamäki, Pirita
Smart Toys for Game-based and Toy-based Learning: A Study of Toy Marketers', Preschool teachers' and Parents' Perspectives on Play Proceedings Article
In: CENTRIC 2018 : The Eleventh International Conference on Advances in Human-oriented and Personalized Mechanisms, Technologies, and Services, pp. 48–57, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-61208-670-5.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Game-based learning, Internet of toys, Preschool-children, Smart toys, Toys
@inproceedings{Heljakka2018g,
title = {Smart Toys for Game-based and Toy-based Learning: A Study of Toy Marketers', Preschool teachers' and Parents' Perspectives on Play},
author = {Katriina Heljakka and Pirita Ihamäki},
url = {https://www.thinkmind.org/index.php?view=article&articleid=centric_2018_3_10_38001},
isbn = {978-1-61208-670-5},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-10-14},
urldate = {2018-10-14},
booktitle = {CENTRIC 2018 : The Eleventh International Conference on Advances in Human-oriented and Personalized Mechanisms, Technologies, and Services},
pages = {48–57},
abstract = {Over the next years smart Internet-connected toys are expected to grow significantly in numbers. Our study explores smart toys’ potential to deliver experiences related to playful learning. One key aspect of toys, such as the CogniToys Dino, Fisher-Price’s Smart Toy Bear and Wonder Workshop’s Dash Robot are their game-based and toy-based features and functions, which are suggested to have educational outcomes when used in play. Through a comparative investigation of toy marketers’, preschool teachers’ and the parents’ of preschoolaged children’s perspectives of smart toys potential—and a comparison to the actual play experiences of preschoolers discovered in earlier stages of research, we demonstrate how the educational potential of contemporary smart toys may be categorized into game-based and toy-based affordances that may be employed for specific educational goals in playful learning.},
keywords = {Game-based learning, Internet of toys, Preschool-children, Smart toys, Toys},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Over the next years smart Internet-connected toys are expected to grow significantly in numbers. Our study explores smart toys’ potential to deliver experiences related to playful learning. One key aspect of toys, such as the CogniToys Dino, Fisher-Price’s Smart Toy Bear and Wonder Workshop’s Dash Robot are their game-based and toy-based features and functions, which are suggested to have educational outcomes when used in play. Through a comparative investigation of toy marketers’, preschool teachers’ and the parents’ of preschoolaged children’s perspectives of smart toys potential—and a comparison to the actual play experiences of preschoolers discovered in earlier stages of research, we demonstrate how the educational potential of contemporary smart toys may be categorized into game-based and toy-based affordances that may be employed for specific educational goals in playful learning.