Faculty/School

Faculty of Science

School of Computer Science

Topic status

We're looking for students to study this topic.

Research centre

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Supervisors

Dr Kellie Vella
Position
Senior Research Fellow
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Science

Overview

Our project seeks to explore and prototype novel technologies for young children to use to explore and learn about the natural world around them. It engages with the Early Childhood Learning framework to help children to become confident and involved learners. By situating this learning outdoors, this project seeks to engage children through novel combinations of their senses, natural materials, networked sensors, and computing.

This project is connected to a larger program of research funded by the Centre for the Digital Child that engages both human-computer interaction researchers and early childhood educators.

Research engagement

This project seeks to explore these ideas using research through design methodologies, and you can expect to produce:

  • Detailed design requirements
  • Low to hi-fi prototype digital technologies that test your ideas
  • Critical reflection on the strengths and weaknesses of your approach
  • A short report of your design process and critical reflection

Research activities

Activities will include:

  • Reading recent publications to gain an understanding of how young children learn
  • Reviewing current technologies used in Internet of Things networks
  • Sketching novel combinations of networked sensors to drive learning outdoors for children aged 4-5 years
  • Building technology prototypes using single-board computers and sensors
  • Communicating your ideas in writing and verbally
  • Meeting with your supervisors regularly

Outcomes

Expected outcomes include:

  • At least one prototype that meets all the essential user requirements
  • A report which includes all technical documentation (at sufficient detail to enable someone else to construct the device), outlines the steps taken to arrive at this design, and describes the considerations that impacted design decisions.

Skills and experience

To be considered for this project you will need:

  • Experience with (or a strong interest in researching) popular microcontrollers and single-board computers (eg. Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32) and associated modules (e.g. RC522, PIR sensors, touch sensors)
  • Familiarity with writing C, Python, and/or Javascript
  • Experience with (or a strong interest in researching) Internet of Things (IoT) system architecture design
  • Experience with (or a strong interest in researching) electronics system design and development
  • Good written communication skills

Start date

14 January, 2024

End date

28 February, 2024

Location

QUT, Gardens Point Campus

Additional information

We can provide:

  • Base level design requirements already scoped by the wider research team
  • Literature to use to familiarise yourself with the topic
  • Access to the IoT lab which contains equipment and materials for prototyping including a laser printer, Raspberry Pi computers, PCs, as well as hand tools for creating casing
  • Purchased materials, including computing hardware if justified

We cannot support you directly testing prototypes with children due to ethical constraints but we can facilitate testing by members of our research team.

There is no need to have any experience with early childhood education, but it would be useful if you were willing to read some of BELONGING, BEING & BECOMING, The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0, 2022 (at least the section about Learning Outcomes).

Keywords

Contact

Kellie Vella - kellie.vella@qut.edu.au