cahoots
Collaborative Storytelling between children
Current Status: Complete
My Role: UX Design, UX Research
Date: 2021-2022
Cahoots is a digital platform that takes children through a MadLibs-esque storytelling adventure where they get to decide who they are, what problems they face, and how they solve them. Kids take turns answering questions and making decisions on their adventure.
This project was researched and designed as a Master’s Project for the Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech under the guidance of Dr. Jessica Roberts, Dr. Richard Henneman, and Dr. Carrie Bruce.
discovery & Needs Gathering
This project began from a want to help children communicate and build relationships during the pandemic. To guide this goal, I started my research with a literature review of collaborative storytelling and informal learning environments and children.
Through this, I learned about the benefits of collaborative storytelling, specifically with children. Not only would playing in an imaginative space with other children their own age help them create richer stories, but they would also learn valuable skills, such as negotiation and communication of their own ideas.
Because this project was aiming to work with a vulnerable population, we worked with adults who participate
The data from the user interviews was synthesized in an affinity map. From here, I developed the following design requirements:
Problem
While there are plenty of collaborative tools or storytelling tools for children, none combine collaborative storytelling in a digital format.
| Stakeholder Comment | Design Requirement |
|
I encourage talking between students to help them share ideas |
Fosters casual communication between collaborators |
|
When we ask the students to create a product, we give them a structure to follow to help guide their thinking |
Offers structure via direct communication and praise |
|
9 year olds have different world view. I have to use different viewpoints to reach them. like school or pop culture |
Engages the child's mind by connecting to their worldview |
|
I make sure my students know they're in a safe space and I encourage them to be weird |
Helps children feel comfortable and free to be themselves |
ideation & design
Cahoots is a storytelling platform that takes children through a MadLibs-esque storytelling adventure. They decide who they are, what problems they face, and how they solve them. Kids take turns answering questions and making decisions on their adventure.
Low Fidelity Prototype
The system design requires information be sent to three entities:
User 1
User 2
Mediator
Tested prototyping on ProtoPie, Axure, and Figma, but none replicated the communication the way it needed to work.
Instead, to test this design, I created a version of the activity on a digital whiteboard that allows participants to collaborate in real-time. This allowed me to test the activity’s functionality in a low-fidelity design.
This prototype was tested with 6 children, paired in teams of 2. Each team was asked to complete the activity while I moderated the activity.
activity insights
When without tasks, participants distracted themselves with the interface and their partner’s objects.
Most body/speech cues in the story-sharing portion came from hearing their own contributions.
None of the participants negotiated or spoke to each other during the activity.
Answer rewrites often led to tamping down out-of-the-box ideas.
The mid fidelity prototype was tested with teachers and parents as proxies to their children. They provided several design recommendations, including how to improve communication design between users and accessibility concerns over colors and icon usage.
This design received an overall SUS Score of 81.
Solution
A digital collaborative storytelling tool that engages children’s imagination and helps them learn to tell stories together.
interview insights
Participants mentioned feeling engaged when they received questions
They also liked having others read their responses and seeing their reactions to their ideas.
“This was actually really fun” – participants seemed surprised at the fact that he had fun while completing the activity.
Participants made connections to classroom activities where they normally work alone and mentioned enjoying this more.
“This was actually really fun”
Participants seemed surprised at the fact that he had fun while completing the activity.
design considerations
Add timer to limit wait times and rewrites.
Expand on story questions to encourage out-of-the-box answers.
Allow users to see that their partner is working (but not see their work until submitted).
Color-code user contributions.
future work + Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Overall, I am immensely proud of this project. It stemmed from my own need to connect with others during the pandemic and turned into a fun, imaginative activity to help children connect with each other. I see this as the perfect example of my design and research abilities.
To say this project was a challenge would be an understatement. I came to the MS-HCI program with a heavy graphic design and game design background, and shifting to a research mindset wasn’t easy.
Through this project, I learned critical research communication strategies that I hadn’t realized I was accidentally jumping over. Each step of the way, I had to work to connect every decision to my research and explain why that decision was made. This felt easier said than done at the time, but thanks to this project I now understand how to connect each item to the proof.
Another challenge I faced in this project was that the user group I worked with is not only a vulnerable population, but is also one that is notorious for expressing emotions in a different way from the groups I’d previously worked with.
Through this, I learned research techniques that allowed me to gain a better idea of what the children were thinking and feeling at the time, such as which questions to ask, how to ask them, and how to read their body language to capture their feelings at the time.
