E-textile

Introduction

“Electronic textiles, or e-textiles, are an increasingly important part of wearable computing, helping to make pervasive devices truly wearable. These soft, fabric-based computers can function as lovely embodiments of Mark Weiser's vision of ubiquitous computing: providing useful functionality while disappearing discreetly into the fabric of our clothing. E-textiles also give new, expressive materials to fashion designers, textile designers, and artists, and garments stemming from these disciplines usually employ technology in visible and dramatic style. Integrating computer science, electrical engineering, textile design, and fashion design, e-textiles cross unusual boundaries, appeal to a broad spectrum of people, and provide novel opportunities for creative experimentation both in engineering and design.”

In education

In 2008, Bucheley et al. reported conduct of several workshop that aimed to raise children's interest in computer science education subjects. “We want to emphasize that our data is clearly preliminaryand inconclusive. However, we feel these results strongly indicate that the emerging universe of (artistic) e-textiles has compelling contributions to make to technology education.” (p. 432).

Tofel-Grehl et al. (2017) conducted the first quasi-experimental design with four classes engaged in a traditional circuitry unit while the other four classes undertook a new e-textile unit. The authors report, that, “overall, students in both groups demonstrated significant learning gains on standard test items without significant differences between conditions. Significant differences appeared between groups’ attitudes toward science after the units in ways that show increasing interest in science by students in the e-textile unit.”. The authors conclude that “e-textiles may support social connections with teacher, family, and friends that are particularly productive areas for developing students’ interest in science. These findings converge with those of qualitative studies that have described increased engagement with underserved populations, including urban youth (Searle and Kafai 2015a, 2015b) and American Indian youth (Kafai et al. 2014).”

In a conclusion to a qualitative study of e-textile workshops held in a public high school in a large urban area, Kafai, Fields and Searle (2014) conclude e-textiles are one type of hybrid activity that combines the digital and material in authentic, aesthetic ways and can draw diverse groups of youth into identification with disciplines by connecting seemingly abstract computing and concrete, hands-on, do-it-yourself craft. In a similar study the authors analyses “indicate that the e-textile activities were successful in engaging students in a rich array of computing concepts and practices while att he same time broadening their perceptions of computing. Students expanded their thinking about the relevance of computing to their personal lives, their self-concept as computer scientists, and their understanding of computing as a field.” (Kafai et al., 2014, p. 18).

In (provisional) conclusion, creating e-textiles may not significantly improve computer science skills, but may raise interest for these subjects within different populations.

Bibliography

• Buechley, L. (2006), “A construction kit for electronic textiles”, 2006 10th IEEE International Symposium, Wearable Computers, Montreux, pp. 83-90.

• Buechley, L., Peppler, K., Eisenberg, M., & Yasmin, K. (2013). Textile Messages: Dispatches from the World of E-Textiles and Education. New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies. Volume 62. Peter Lang Publishing Group. 29 Broadway 18th Floor, New York, NY 10006.

• Buchholz, Beth, et al. (2014). "Hands on, hands off: Gendered access in crafting and electronics practices." Mind, Culture, and Activity, 278-297.

• Buechley, L., & Qiu, K. (2014). Sew electric. Cambridge: SLT Press, ISBN:0989795608

• Fields, D.A. and King, W.L. (2014), “So, I think I’m a programmer now”, developing connected learning for adults in a university craft technologies course”, in Polman, J.L., Kyza, E.A., O’neill, D.K., Tabak, I., Penuel, W.R., Jurow, A.S., O’connor, K., Lee, T. and D’amico, L. (Eds), Learning and Becoming in Practice: The International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) 2014, ISLS, Boulder, CO, pp. 927-936.

• Fields, D.A. and Lee, V.R. (2016), “Craft technologies 101: bringing making to higher education”, in Peppler, K., Halverson, E. and Kafai, Y. (Eds), Makeology, Routledge, New York, NY, pp. 121-137.

• Fields, D.A., Lui, D. and Kafai, Y.B. (2017), “Teaching computational thinking with electronic textiles: High school teachers’ contextualizing strategies in exploring computer science”, in Kong, S.C., Sheldon, J. and Li, R.K.Y. (Eds), Conference Proceedings of International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2017, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, pp. 67-72.

• Fields, D.A., Searle, K.A. and Kafai, Y.B. (2016), “Deconstruction kits for learning: Students’ collaborative debugging of electronic textile designs”, FabLearn ’16, Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education, ACM, New York, NY, pp. 82-85.

• Kafai, Y., Fields, D., & Searle, K. (2014). Electronic Textiles as Disruptive Designs: Supporting and Challenging Maker Activities in Schools. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 532–556. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.4.46m7372370214783

• Lee, V. R., & Fields, D. A. (2017). A rubric for describing competences in the areas of circuitry, computation, and crafting after a course using e-textiles. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology, 34(5), 372–384. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJILT-06-2017-0048

• Peppler, K. and Glosson, D. (2013). Stitching circuits: learning about circuitry through E-textile materials, Journal of Science Education and Technology, 22(5), 751-763.

• Peppler, K. (2016). A review of e-textiles in education and society. In Handbook of research on the societal impact of digital media (pp. 268-290). IGI Global.

• Searle, K. A., & Kafai, Y. B. (2015). Boys' Needlework: Understanding Gendered and Indigenous Perspectives on Computing and Crafting with Electronic Textiles. In ICER (pp. 31-39).PDF (Research Gate)