Original Abstract

The objective of the PUPPET project in the field of early learning is to develop and investigate the value of a new virtual reality environment, the Virtual Puppet Theatre, (VPT), based on a theoretical framework of “learning through externalisation”. Hence PUPPET aims at extending the current forms of early learning through play by developing a range of novel individual as well as collaborative interactive environments  - using a theatre metaphor. 

The results of the project will be to: 
(a) promote new forms of creativity made possible by new IT tools; 
(b) enable new forms of self expression not possible with conventional plays; 
(c) encourage learning to learn and 
(d) allow for a new form of computer-literacy.
The consortium has developed a 3 year project plan, which has yearly milestones to deliver and experiment with VPT's:
(1) for a single young puppeteer (age 4 to 5) in realistic settings, 
(2) for a single older puppeteer (age 6 to 8) in settings that encourage symbolic activities, and 
(3) for multiple puppeteers in settings encouraging collaborative interactions.

The work programme is designed with a clear annual development cycle through 3 phases of Informing and Specifying Design, Tool Development and Implementation, and Experimental Evaluation, respectively. 

In the first phase of each year, we will study drama and playwriting for children and carry out a series of exploratory and empirical studies to determine current play practices - especially when using imaginary and physical puppets and props - in order to establish reference and support for the design of the VPTs. We will involve children, teachers and others  in co-designing the prototypes of our interactive worlds (VPTs) and their appropriate interfaces, by using a range of innovative lo-fi and hi-fi prototyping methods called “informant design”.

In the second phase, overlapping the first phase in time, we will develop and implement the VPTs as full Virtual Reality Environments with the use of avatars, autonomous agents/puppets and “magical” animations. The third phase evaluates the Early Learning benefits of the developed “Virtual Puppet Theatres” through school tests.

The impact of the project will be: 
(a) the development of a new concept for interactive computer environments, the “Virtual Puppet Theatre”, and 
(b) the demonstration of our fundamental hypothesis that socio-cognitive skills can be fostered by the VPT in developing a new form of computer-literacy: the ability to construct, edit, and run interactive plays. 

This is a form of learning how to learn, since only by developing strategies for making the process explicit can the children decompose, master and integrate the sequence of play construction. The VPT is age-appropriate - since children naturally like to perform drama - and innovative because physical (everyday) plays do not allow the possibilities for manipulating characters, roles and plots in the ways that technology can allow. In this regard the VPT can play a vital role in developing both individual self-belief, through the ability to make personal creations, and collaborative communication skills through group work on plays.

The publicity of PUPPET and its results will be promoted in terms of a number of linked levels of involvement. At the community level, children, teachers, parents and others will be involved in the development and test of the VPTs, to encourage the development of IT-strategies at our partner schools with communication via the Internet, video-conferencing, and children publishing their plays and stories on the Internet. This organised local setting around the project will form the basis for contacts to relevant national and international organisations and authorities.