DISCUSSION
Saturday Studio offered Sebastian opportunities to explore, make/play, and share a video game he made. The purpose of this study was to examine how Saturday Studio supported and/or confounded the development of personal interests. This section highlights two key themes and suggests implications for future research. The two themes discussed are: (1) Saturday Studio’s environment supported Sebastian’s interest in making a video game and (2) this experience suggests a purpose-driven arts curriculum through making/playing with digital media.
Supporting Hi-tech Interests in the Arts Sebastian arrived to Saturday Studio with hi-tech interests/lo-tech experiences. He engaged in making a video game in a dynamic manner. It appeared he explored his hi-tech interests nonlinearly and iteratively via play. For instance, when Sebastian made his video game, he decided to shift between playing and making. If he had not said, “I think I will play one of these games for inspiration,” I may have misunderstood his purpose for playing rather than recognizing his play as a means to inspire his next steps for his game. Sebastian’s video game making process included drawing symbols that represented codes when captured by the iPad application, Pixel Press. When Sebastian played the games, it might have permitted him to visualize how the codes he was drawing translated into a video game. Eisner’s (2002) work may deepen our understanding of this moment. Eisner describes two important notions to consider when making art: 1) “each material imposes its own limits” (p. 81), and 2) “the arts, in all their manifestations are close to the attitude of play” (p. 4). Thus, it is possible that Sebastian encountered limitations with the materials of pencil and paper and engaged in playing as a means to visualize how the codes worked in-game. According to Eisner, “seeing or imagining how something will look is crucial” (p. 80). By deciding to play, Sebastian might have been able to transcend the static drawn symbols and imagine how the symbols translated into a dynamic video game, thus transforming his chosen materials into an appropriate medium to make his art and tell his story. An implication this study suggests is through the challenging experience of media art making, Sebastian is situated as a maker and player. His experience may have helped him …show more content…
makerspaces) for younger children. Recognizing the maker/player intersection as an important role can lead to a more supportive environment for children as they navigate the different explicit and tacit rules and limitations (and possibilities) of the making process. Arguably, an important goal is to guide students by engaging them in activities that may point toward a specific direction and aid in the development of future career trajectories. This argument should not be dismissed or ignored. Yet should the child always be given a purpose? In contrast, consider the value of the uncertainty and even surprises that occur when children formulate, execute, and manage their making/playing - as well as the possibility that the experience may foster one to visualize and imagine a personally meaningful purpose (Eisner, 2002; Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein,1999). It is plausible children may not realize their purpose without explicit scaffolding, or children may appear to be aimlessly playing. This notion may be unobservable or only temporary as children engage in making by playing or playing by making. Nevertheless, this notion of making and playing may lead to what I consider a purpose-driven arts
Saturday Studio offered Sebastian opportunities to explore, make/play, and share a video game he made. The purpose of this study was to examine how Saturday Studio supported and/or confounded the development of personal interests. This section highlights two key themes and suggests implications for future research. The two themes discussed are: (1) Saturday Studio’s environment supported Sebastian’s interest in making a video game and (2) this experience suggests a purpose-driven arts curriculum through making/playing with digital media.
Supporting Hi-tech Interests in the Arts Sebastian arrived to Saturday Studio with hi-tech interests/lo-tech experiences. He engaged in making a video game in a dynamic manner. It appeared he explored his hi-tech interests nonlinearly and iteratively via play. For instance, when Sebastian made his video game, he decided to shift between playing and making. If he had not said, “I think I will play one of these games for inspiration,” I may have misunderstood his purpose for playing rather than recognizing his play as a means to inspire his next steps for his game. Sebastian’s video game making process included drawing symbols that represented codes when captured by the iPad application, Pixel Press. When Sebastian played the games, it might have permitted him to visualize how the codes he was drawing translated into a video game. Eisner’s (2002) work may deepen our understanding of this moment. Eisner describes two important notions to consider when making art: 1) “each material imposes its own limits” (p. 81), and 2) “the arts, in all their manifestations are close to the attitude of play” (p. 4). Thus, it is possible that Sebastian encountered limitations with the materials of pencil and paper and engaged in playing as a means to visualize how the codes worked in-game. According to Eisner, “seeing or imagining how something will look is crucial” (p. 80). By deciding to play, Sebastian might have been able to transcend the static drawn symbols and imagine how the symbols translated into a dynamic video game, thus transforming his chosen materials into an appropriate medium to make his art and tell his story. An implication this study suggests is through the challenging experience of media art making, Sebastian is situated as a maker and player. His experience may have helped him …show more content…
makerspaces) for younger children. Recognizing the maker/player intersection as an important role can lead to a more supportive environment for children as they navigate the different explicit and tacit rules and limitations (and possibilities) of the making process. Arguably, an important goal is to guide students by engaging them in activities that may point toward a specific direction and aid in the development of future career trajectories. This argument should not be dismissed or ignored. Yet should the child always be given a purpose? In contrast, consider the value of the uncertainty and even surprises that occur when children formulate, execute, and manage their making/playing - as well as the possibility that the experience may foster one to visualize and imagine a personally meaningful purpose (Eisner, 2002; Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein,1999). It is plausible children may not realize their purpose without explicit scaffolding, or children may appear to be aimlessly playing. This notion may be unobservable or only temporary as children engage in making by playing or playing by making. Nevertheless, this notion of making and playing may lead to what I consider a purpose-driven arts