1. CONTENT
INTRODUCTION 5
WHAT DID WE DO? 7
Drishya Kids Workshop 9
Srishti Faculty Kids Workshop 10
WHY DID WE DO? 13
14
Nokia N810 WORKSHOP CONSTRAINTS
WHY KIDS? 17
Internet Tablet WHAT WERE WE TRYING TO FIND? 18
DRISHYA KIDS WORKSHOP PROCESS 21
Workshops & Analysis Introduction to Nokia N810 & Scratch on it 25
Drawings and Imagination 27
Constructing the imagination 29
Selecting appropriate location 31
Story-telling on location 33
SRISHTI FACULTY KIDS WORKSHOP 34
Workshop Process 36
INFERENCES & CONCLUSION 39
DIRECTIONS & QUESTIONS FOR THE NOKIA N810 40

2. INTRODUCTION
This book is about user-research and
possible future directions for the Nokia
N810 Internet-tablet.
The research was carried out through
two workshops, run with two independent
groups of children over two weekends
and an evening. It was a joint exercise
between Nokia and Project Vision (Srishti
School of Art, Design and Technology).
The Drishya children were drawn
from a not-school learning centre,
Drishya, run by the Dwarkanath Reddy
Ramanarpanam Trust (DRRT). We
thank the Drishya family for the support
extended us for this research.
The Faculty children were a group of
kids primarily from the Mallya Aditi
International School (with the exception
of one). They were sons and daughters
of Srishti faculties, and a few of their
friends. We thank them for their
enthusiasm and willingness to be a part
of this research.
4 5

3. WHAT DID WE DO?
We ran two workshops, as a joint exercise
between Nokia and Project Vision (Srishti
School of Art, Design and Technology),
with two independent groups of children
over two weekends and one evening.
6 7

4. DRISHYA KIDS WORKSHOP
This workshop ran over two Saturdays
(a total of about 8hrs.) with six children
from Drishya, who had prior experience
working on Scratch, and additionally were
good with craft and drawing. Their age
group ranged from 10 to 12 years old.
The workshop was designed specifically
to initiate them to the Nokia N810, and
to instill an understanding of the device
in them. Additionally, it was planned to
observe how the children took to playing
with Scratch on the new device.
We wanted to question the usability of the
shrunk interface, the stylus-based mode
of interaction and the ability to draw
directly; and how these could translate
into newer and better ways of play-
learning.
As these kids don’t have formal school
training it was interesting for us to see
how they perceived the device and made
their own devices (using craft-materials)
which they called their Magic Boxes.
8 9

5. SRISHTI FACULTY KIDS WORKSHOP
This workshop ran over the relatively
shorter time-span of 3hrs. We conducted
and designed this workshop with five kids
from formal schools, in the age group
of 10 to 12 years. The workshop was
designed to test Scratch and its usability
on the Nokia N810. Of course, detailed
observations were also made regarding
the usability and interface of the device
itself.
There was only one kid out of the five who
wasn’t exposed to Scratch. We wanted
to observe how they would adapt to the
device and to Scratch on a handheld.
10 11

6. WHY DID WE DO?
The workshops were run specifically to The MIT and the Nokia team had been
test Scratch functionality on the N810; hard at work over the past year trying to
and in general to also test the usability of port Scratch onto the Maemo flavour of
the device itself. We also wanted to find Linux (which is the operating system for
out if there is a need to further develop the N810), and we were going to put their
the device itself, or design any supportive hard work to the test through these two
accessories that would enhance the short workshops.
functionality of the product.
12 13

7. WORKSHOP CONSTRAINTS
Scratch wasn’t working seamlessly when were forwarded to both the MIT and the
we conducted the workshop with the Nokia teams.
Drishya kids. There were problems with
the sound in Scratch, wherein Scratch As far as the homogeneity of the test-
could neither record nor playback. Also, group is concerned, the Drishya kids were
the interface itself hadn’t been translated fairly equals and well-balanced in their
to fit the aspect ratio and smaller screen conceptual and cognitive abilities. Also,
of the N810. In short, it was very much a both sexes were fairly well represented.
work in progress; and the results of the For the Faculty-kids workshop, however,
workshop would be primarily to evaluate all abilities were more or less balanced;
the device and the concept of Scratch- but there was a marked bias in that there
on-N810. was only one girl amongst the team of
six.
By the time the second workshop was
run, however, Scratch was working
smoothly on the devices. Barring a few
hiccups, of course. To our, and the kids’
delight, sound was finally up and running
on the device! Scratch wasn’t recording,
but the familiar sounds of the cat and
the rest of the musical family were there.
There had been a tangible progression in
the design of the interface as well, and it
was now much better tuned to the screen
of the N810.
Following the two workshops, several
suggestions and feedback on the working
of Scratch on the Nokia N810 device,
14 15

8. WHY KIDS?
We targeted kids because they are has to begin with the interest of the kids
core focus for Project Vision. We have themselves. The kids enjoy storytelling
conducted workshops with these kids and animation on the Scratch platform,
earlier, and they are all eager and excited and they have had prior workshops
to explore new things. They also adapt to and camps in which they have worked
new modes of playing and working easily. intensively with Scratch. Thus, Scratch
too became an integral part of these
The final concept of making the Nokia workshops.
N810 device into an education tablet
16 17

9. WHAT WERE WE TRYING TO FIND?
We were trying to find out alternate ways
in which the device could be used by kids
as well as facilitators. How children react
to the product and how it could work as
an education tablet rather than just been
an internet tablet for professionals on the
go. Also, how could the device break free
of its internet-dependency?
On the Scratch front, we were trying to
test the newly-translated interface along
with the new modes of interaction that
the N810 provided. Also, what the device
could provide in terms of facilitating
greater immersion and mobility for the
Scratch platform.
18 19

10. DRISHYA KIDS WORKSHOP PROCESS
Drishya Workshop (Day 1)
We planned to start with revisiting a prior The responses were very different and
workshop, following it with a warm-up each child contributed extensively.
session with the Nokia N810 device; and
finally letting them loose to freely think Here are few examples of their likes
and make their own devices using craft • Scripting in Scratch was fun
material. • Story-telling
• Making characters in Scratch
We started with revisiting the Scratch • Drawing in Scratch
Trans-media Storytelling workshop • Projecting on a wider screen
which was a part of the summer camp • Performance
in Drishya. The kids were asked to revisit • Phone recordings
their Storytelling workshop (of June 2008)
in which they merged traditional forms Dislikes were
of storytelling and narration, with digital • Too chaotic
methods of procedural animation and • Low concentration
performance. The kids used Scratch for • Technical failures within Scratch
animation and media manipulation, along
with Nokia mobile phone handsets for Following the revisit, the kids were
gathering and transferring media. asked to comment and compare, their
experiences of working on various
The discussion served to ease them into computer and computer-like devices. The
thinking about technology, something devices we had in mind were a desktop,
which is not an overwhelming feature of laptop, mobile phones and finally,
their daily lives. Also, it let them revisit the Nokia N810. It seemed a logical
their lived experiences and narrate to us progression in our minds and we wanted
various likes and dislikes; all of which to see whether the kids could arrive at
were valuable insights for the current this conclusion by themselves with a
context as well. minimum of prompting from us.
20 21

11. What ensued was an enthusiastic
and lively discussion that went into
considerable detail as to the pros
and cons of the various devices. The
progression from desktop to handheld
was amply clear to them, as were the
limitations of each of the devices.
Following are, according to the children,
the pros and cons of each of the above
mentioned devices:
Desktop pros Desktop cons
• Doesn’t rely on a Battery • Not portable & Non-tactile
• Runs on UPS • Need external accessories
• Can be localised (web cam etc.)
Laptop pros Laptop cons
• Portable & Personal • Battery dependent
• Outdoor spaces • Non-tactile
• Can be localised
Mobile phones pros Mobile phones cons
• Portable, Tactile & Personal • Battery dependent
• Many features in one device
• Can be localised
• Media
Nokia N810 pros Nokia N810 cons
• Like a computer in a pocket • Not a phone
• Tactile & Portable • Battery dependent
• In-built Keyboard • Not much use without internet
• All features in one device
• Stylus
• Drawing
22 23

12. INTRODUCTION TO NOKIA N810 & SCRATCH ON IT
Drishya Workshop (Day 1)
At this stage, the Nokia team decided to Following are the marked observations
give to the kids a slightly more detailed • Playing games (Numpty physics
introduction to the N810, including etc.)
its Scratch capabilities. Needless to • Playing Scratch (wasn’t fully
say, the kids were overwhelmed at the developed)
idea of working with Scratch on such a • Video, camera & recording is fun
convenient and mobile form-factor. • Skype
They took to the device with amazing • Drawing with stylus is fun
speed, spurred on by the Kannada • Cool factor
interface of Scratch. Beyond Scratch, • Typing is difficult
the kids also tried their hands at • Fun and playful
browsing on the N810’s fully-featured • Online portals like Ning (Kannada)
browser, called each other on Skype, and
had a blast taking group photos through
modules downloaded from the internet.
The readily available Wi-Fi connection
was a huge help.
All through their process of engaging
with the device, the team observed
them and made notes, took photos and
recorded their triumphs and frustrations.
There were corners galore that needed
rounding prior to full-fledged use of the
device, but it was a very good reception
from the primary test-group.
24 25

13. DRAWINGS AND IMAGINATION
Drishya Workshop (Day 1)
The final stage for the day involved Following were the observations made
giving the kids some drawing materials. from the drawings
Their task was deceptively simple: to • Lots of games to be played
conceptualise their own devices (along • Information is the key factor
the lines of the N810) and make a story • Fun and colourful
for their personal N810; which they would • Companionship (device)
then have to prototype using boxes and • Spreading awareness
craft material. • Location sensitive device
• Environment and nature issues
At this point Scratch was not working • Friends (connecting and sharing)
flawlessly on the N810 and thus, not • Information about Planet Earth
much more could be tested on the • Information to Community
Scratch front. Therefore, it was necessary • Form of the device is different
for us to give the kids an opportunity to • Emotions (happy, lonely etc.)
think beyond the N810 and create their • Easy Interface
own Magic Box, which would be informed • Localised
by their interests, biases, contexts and • Extremely personal & Interactive
general exposure to technology. This • Simulation
would then help us to conceptualise
further applications for the device.
26 27

14. CONSTRUCTING THE IMAGINATION
Drishya Workshop (Day 2)
Day Two was focused upon the making of Making of the boxes:
the Magic Boxes. The kids were provided • Gathering specific pictures
materials to decorate and make their • Interactive boxes
individual Magic Boxes. They also went • Colours
further by looking up paper-mechanisms, • Local material
searching for appropriate pictures and • Compact
selecting appropriate colours for their • Motion or movement
boxes. All the kids were able to represent, • Multi-layered
in craft, the drawings that they had made • Portable
earlier. The final interactive boxes were • Magical (surprise element)
not very different from their drawings. • Extremely personal
• Informative
• Craft
• Embellishment & Decorative
28 29

15. SELECTING APPROPRIATE LOCATION
Drishya Workshop (Day 2)
The kids were also asked to select Selection of the spaces:
a space in which they would like the • Home
company of their boxes. It was in this • Drishya (majority)
space that they were to narrate the story • Garden
of their box, and explain its working to us. • Swimming pool
Most of the spaces overlapped, and some • In the community
needed a bit of imagination because all • In friend’s house
contexts weren’t readily available. • Natural spaces
• In day time
• Rainy season
• Pottery workshops
• Used when lonely, sad or happy
• In a bus
• Contextually sensitive information
retrieval
• Various other places (abroad)
30 31

16. STORY-TELLING ON LOCATION
Drishya Workshop (Day 2)
It was fun and intriguing to see the Story-telling in liked location:
manner in which they worked to • Known and comfort zones
produce interactive boxes that met their • Informative boxes (communicative)
own specifications; and then the final • Device that solves environmental
show-and-tell in which they proudly problems
demonstrated their Magic Boxes to us. • Relational and metaphorical
• Personal & Portable
• Personalised (local)
• Bank
• Media and entertainment
• Happy box
• Educative and illustrative
• Accessible and interactive
• Story-telling
• Simulation
• Bringing outer world inside
• Localise
• Learning resources
• Spreading awareness
• Multi-layered (information &
interface)
• Skinnable
• Analogue-digital balance
• Environmental conscious
• Eco-friendly
• Compact, attractive & colourful
• Like a friend
• Cool factor
32 33

17. SRISHTI FACULTY KIDS WORKSHOP
This workshop was targeted at a slightly
more upper-class focus group, that are
more familiar with technology in their
day-to-day lives. They use a variety of
screen-based interactions and media.
These kids were drawn from families
known to the researchers, and were all
school-going kids. This workshop had
a marked gender bias, with only one
participant out of six representing the
girls.
The workshop was designed to test
how school-going children from upper-
middle-class society interact with the
Nokia N810. As Scratch was working
smoothly on the device by this time, the
workshop additionally focused on the
testing of Scratch on the Nokia N810.
34 35

18. WORKSHOP PROCESS
We had six kids out of which five had The results or the insights were as
prior experience in working on Scratch. follows
The workshop started off with a short • Enjoyed the cool factor of the device
introductory session where we introduced • Why not a phone
each other, and hinted at the possibility • Scratch cards not helpful (ignored)
of the device. When their curiosity had • Patient and enthusiastic
been piqued, the kids were just handed explorations
the Nokia N810 devices to play with. • Enjoyed playing games
There was no formal introduction given • Fun drawing with stylus
to them, and they discovered the various • Want to own one
possibilities and features of the device • Typing was a pain (key-board)
completely by themselves. • Fun, play and cool
• Internet is a necessity
It was amazing to observe how easily
they navigated and made themselves at
home on the device. Also, they related to
us all the apparent and visible hardware
features as well. Unfortunately, there
was no internet access; and the focus
remained purely on the device and
Scratch. The kids, also, tired easily of
Scratch and found themselves various
other diversions on the handheld
(including some games).
36 37

19. INFERENCES & CONCLUSIONS
The workshop gave us a lot of rich data Application
that could help Nokia and MIT to open up Software that extend functionality, and
wider opportunities. The above insights enable the child to learn and discover.
are all very essential for Nokia and MIT to Examples of applications would include
develop this device further. data-gathering and visualising, animation
and story-telling through varied media.
Applications would enable the child to
The above analysis can be clustered into grow with the device and vice versa,
three categories: thus ensuring long-term usage and
upgradability.
Mobility
The kids want to move around and play Additionally, plug-in hardware could also
with the device. They have multiple be conceptualised along similar lines.
numbers of places to take the device For example, an add-on that enables the
around. The biggest factor of the device device to project the screen onto a wall or
being that, all the kids wants to study similar flat surface.
their environment not sitting at one place
but testing it in the real context with the Emotion
help of this device. Emotions play a major role as far as this
device is concerned. This device should
The device thus has to have the following be a friend to the child, helping him
capabilities according to the demands: discover and learn.
• Reliable Internet access
• Multiple real time data collecting
sensors (apart from Scratch
sensors)
• Projecting facility (story-telling)
• Better key-board for easy usage
38 39

20. DIRECTIONS & QUESTIONS FOR THE NOKIA N810
• Why doesn’t it have phone
capabilities?
• Stylus is fun to draw with
• What if there is no wireless
connectivity?
• Want more educative games
• Key-board is very difficult to operate
• Numbers are difficult to type
• How can it stand against the new
mini laptops (netbooks) in the
market?
• Much more sophisticated Scratch
functionality (recording, right-clicks
etc.)
• Right-click functionality on the
N810
• Need for good reference material
for the first time users of N810 (and
Scratch on it)
• GPS functionality
• GIS functionality
• Locative media
• Location Awareness in device
• Localise
• Use of Scratch-boards for scientific
experiments or arts
• Use of external sensors to obtain
real-time data (science learning in
spaces)
40 41

21. Nokia N810 Design Research & Workshops
Dipti Sonawane
Divya Vishwanathan
Palash Mukhopadhyay
Vijay Narayanan-Saroja
The Nokia Team
Jan Blom
Divya Vishwanathan
Vijay Narayanan-Saroja
Acknowledgements
We thank everyone associated with the The Scratch@MIT Team
workshops: the parents, the children and Mitchell Resnick
others who generously donated their time, Natalie Rusk
advice, patience and space to facilitate the John Maloney
workshops. Evelyn Eastmond
Jay Silver
It was indeed a pleasure working with you all, Karen A Brennan
and a testimony to your generosity that so
much happened at such short notice. Project Vision Principal Investigator
Geetha Narayanan
We look forward to further generations of the
N810 series, and we hope that this workshop Book Design
hasn’t been an exercise in futility. Dipti Sonawane
42