Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

۱٫ Introduction

۲٫ Related research

۳٫ Research design

۴٫ Fun in the clubs

۵٫ Discussion

۶٫ Conclusion

Declaration of Competing Interest

Acknowledgments

Appendix. Technologies used in clubs of organizers A and B and the different skills learned

References

Abstract

In this exploratory study into the world of 8–۱۷-year-old children’s non-formal technology education, two different types of technology education with varying levels of non-formality were investigated to see how participants find fun in these situations as it is apparent that if something is non-mandatory to attend to, there should be some type of enjoyment found in the process. The results of the analysis suggest that there are three main ways children and teenagers have fun in non-formal education: fun from the tasks they are doing, social fun by sharing with other attendants, and pedagogical fun that has been embedded in the learning process. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions for how to add elements of fun in the non-formal technology education, to make it more motivating and enjoyable to the participants.

۱٫ Introduction

Digital fabrication and making in education have aroused notable interest in the Child Computer Interaction (CCI) (Blikstein, 2013, Chu, Schlegel et al., 2017, Iivari and Kinnula, 2018, Iversen et al., 2018) and FabLearn communities (Blikstein and Krannich, 2013, Blikstein et al., 2016), among other communities; researchers have addressed the potential of the Maker Movement and maker technologies in transforming education, including digital technology education, for the generation of youth today (Blikstein, 2013, Chu, Schlegel et al., 2017, Iivari and Kinnula, 2018, Iversen et al., 2018). Some researchers have concentrated on the context of school and integration of digital fabrication and making into the basic education curricula (Chu, Schlegel et al., 2017, Iversen et al., 2018), while others have studied them in non-formal settings such as in computer, programming, robotics or maker clubs, museums or science centers (see e.g. Tisza et al., 2019).

Fun as a concept is widely recognized in the Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) (Blythe & Hassenzahl, 2003) as well as in the CCI community (see e.g. Nielsen, 2003, Read, 2012, Read and MacFarlane, 2006, Read et al., 2002, Sim et al., 2006). Entertainment in the form of e.g. video games easily comes to mind when talking about fun and technology; indeed, games and enjoyment derived from the playing of them has been extensively studied in HCI and CCI research (e.g. Fowler, 2013). In CCI, notable research addressing fun in connection to products designed for children has been carried out, and different kinds of methods and tools for measuring fun have been developed (Nielsen, 2003, Read, 2012, Read and MacFarlane, 2006, Read et al., 2002, Sim et al., 2006). Moreover, some studies addressing fun in connection to the design process have also been conducted (e.g. Chu, Angello et al., 2017, Schepers et al., 2018, Tisza, Gollerizo et al., 2019). Chu and colleagues (Chu, Angello et al., 2017) have considered fun in connection to making in the context of formal education of children. However, fun as experienced and emerging in the context of children’s non-formal technology education has not been examined as much as it probably should have; as non-formal education typically is voluntary, one expects fun to play a significant part in such education. Surprisingly, we did not find studies exactly on the topic. In addition to the study on fun in making in formal education (Chu, Angello et al., 2017), one study was found to examine fun in making with children outside of the school context (Schepers et al., 2018), which did not address non-formal technology education per se. A couple of studies focusing on non-formal education were found to mention fun as a side note, such as Alekh et al. (2018).