Bodies in motion between the real
and the virtual
Invent a game with Scratch using body movements


In this activity, on the border between the real and the digital, children become creators (and not only users) of a game that uses the body to design movements in the virtual world. This playful setting emphasizes an idea of the digital dimension that does not alienate, but favors and supports children’s research in relation to the world around them. This activity can be a continuation of Transforming the real with the digital, or it can be a starting point for other explorations or activities.
This activity was developed starting from the Scratch online platform designed by LifeLong Kindergarten at MIT Media Lab (Boston) , which scintillae has been in dialogue with since it opened.
For those unfamiliar with Scratch:
https://scratch.mit.edu/about


The continuous interaction and exchange created between the real and the virtual worlds emphasize an idea of the digital that is not alienating, but one which favors and supports the relationship between the child and the surrounding world. The interconnection between different fields of knowledge and school subjects becomes fundamental and generative in the creation of new knowledge and in promoting and supporting the research processes of children.
→ age
children aged 8 / 14
→ tools
computer connected to the Internet, webcam, tablet or mobile phone (optional)
→ competences
geography (cardinal points), spatial perception, math concepts
from designing to sharing
This section is a guide for adults to orient and support children’s and young people’s projects. The children’s hypotheses, starting from some initial questions, will be verified and deepened during the activity.
Questions to start with:
Can you play with movement?
What happened in the trailer you saw?
How do you think this happened in the trailer you saw?
What personal experience inspired you to design your game?
What is the purpose of your game?
What are the rules of your game?
What difficulties did you encounter? What strategies did you use to solve them?
How do the sprites’ actions change with respect to the movement perceived by the webcam?
How does the interaction with sprites change if you change their sensitivity?
What happens if you move away from the computer webcam?
What happens if you use an object to move the sprites?
How can you modify the sprites’ actions?
What is the relationship between the position of your body in real space and the position of the sprites in their virtual space?
How did the Scratch environment change your initial design?
What did sharing your experience with others add to your project?
Tip:
In this project, we use some blocks from the Scratch < Video Sensing >. These blocks activate your computer’s webcam and allow you to use motion to activate and animate sprites in Scratch.
/ in the first case (post-it), you need to “touch” the sprite to activate it, always maintaining this connection in order to guide and move it in the Scratch space.
/ in the second case (leaf), you need to “touch” the sprite to activate it, but unlike the first sprite, it will move away as soon as it perceives a movement.
designing
experiencing
sharing
how to continue the project




