Virtual Playgrounds: Holistic Technology for Children

15 Mar 2010

Marta Ferraz focuses on The Emotive Brains Theory for her Ph.D. research. She is a CoLab student and creative director at Atomic Designers.

Marta Ferraz is a Ph.D. student in the International Collaboratory for Emerging Technologies (CoLab) program, a partnership between UNL and UT Austin. She´s also creative director for Atomic Designers. Marta holds two master's degrees, one in childhood motor development - technological solutions and energy expenditure in children - and one in exercise and health.

In her research, Marta shows how to create physical entertainment and educational spaces for children. These spaces are also known as virtual playgrounds. They allow children to explore outdoor contexts in natural environments through technological expressions while contributing to sustainable development. A child's educational field is upgraded with interactive technological devices based on the primordial context of development, the Pretend Play language. This specific architectural design brings children to a reconstruction of the concept of "street culture nature environments." It helps them construct their cognitive, emotional, social, and motor development domains.

Marta's goal is to test a new theory with her Ph.D.: The Emotive Brains Theory. It is based on the relationship between neurological activity, corporeality, and exploratory/creative learning environments. She wants to use the theory to build new environments/interfaces.

Marta's Main Research

• Embodied interaction child-machine: technological and holistic learning systems building and analysis
• Development and analysis methodologies in child development relating to global and fine mobility
• Child development through motion, physiological, cognitive, and social affective domains
• Relations between corporeality, technologies, environment, and childhood development
• Development and analysis of methodologies in teacher training for twenty-first century education for children

Alberto Gravimente Suit
This product allows children to play in a street culture environment. The child receives real-time personalized learning through biometric variables.

• Software methods on learning exploratory challenges
• Social development: shared challenges and corporeality proximity
• Increases energy expenditure values related to health
• Environmental connection
• Sustainable development through a rechargeable interface that converts motor to electric energy

For more information on Marta's research, please visit http://atomicdesigners.yolasite.com/

To see some of Marta's recent work, please visit http://www.equilibriarte. org/member/4030. The site includes paintings that originate from the scripts created for the children.