KOCO : Tangible Creative Coding Kit
Gigabyte Great Design Award 2022
KOCO brings creative coding to life through interactive toys, inspiring young minds to learn and explore in a fun, hands-on way.
Merging the Physical and Virtual through Tangible Creative Coding.​​​​​​​
In observing the current landscape of programming education, most teaching methods predominantly focus on the virtual space and software interfaces. My inspiration stems from witnessing children playing with sandcastles at the beach. Can programming be taught beyond just right or wrong, making it a tangible experience with the real world?​​​​​​​ Just as children use tools to dig, stack, and spontaneously organize cooperative play with sand, there exists a potential for a programming pedagogy that allows them to transcend beyond the conventional binaries of right and wrong, creating a space for free expression rich with possibilities.

Creative coding empowers children to move beyond mere correctness, placing creativity at the forefront of the learning process. I've observed individuals around me, some of whom were unfamiliar with function-oriented programming or even apprehensive about mathematics. However, through creative coding, they embarked on self-directed journeys to learn programming. Beauty is a compelling force; it challenges traditional boundaries of what's deemed 'correct.' At times, the most exquisite creations emerge from unforeseen mistakes.

Given the richness of our world, numerous aesthetic frameworks coexist. I've chosen the principles of art (balance, contrast, proportion, repetition, rhythm, etc.) as the foundation for our pedagogical approach. Drawing from these principles, I've crafted a programming curriculum that enables children to immerse themselves in creative coding using tangible objects in the physical realm. Their creations are intimately tied to the principles of aesthetic form. Yet, it's crucial to understand that the aesthetic form acts as a gateway, not the end goal. We've woven key principles and insights from Creative Coding into this curriculum, laying a robust foundation for children's programming voyage.
Engage with Physical World
Engage with Physical World
Hands-on Experiences
Hands-on Experiences
Principles of Art
Principles of Art
I've been deliberating on how abstract programming operations might manifest in the physical world, and how such manifestations might influence form. For instance, consider the "Loop" function. I posit that its essence resonates with the concept of a wind-up key, an interaction frequently encountered in children's playful experiences. I argue that repurposing familiar interactions from our daily life can offer effective comprehension in children's programming education.
I have illustrated a series of funny forms that construct programming concepts through engaging interactions found in the real world. 

Concurrently, I started the prototyping process to actualize the manipulation of Creative Coding through tangible objects.
Upon examination of the generative art pieces on the Open-processing community, I discerned that they align remarkably with the principles of art. I have annotated these works and subsequently structured the framework for the KOCO curriculum.
The kit encompasses three dimensions: tangible artifacts, instructional playbooks, and an interactive website. Each dimension offers distinct value in the learning process. The tangible artifacts act as situational props, fostering interactive opportunities and immersion, enabling students to intuitively grasp the abstract concepts of programming. The instructional textbooks present a systematic knowledge framework and exercises, guiding students in progressively cultivating a computational mindset. The interactive website, besides offering online exercises and collaborative tools, establishes a platform for communication and feedback among students, peers, and educators, streamlining and optimizing the learning journey.
These three dimensions complement each other, ensuring that students engage with programming from varied perspectives and approaches, thereby offering a comprehensive and in-depth learning experience. Through this kit, our aspiration is to ignite students' passion and facilitate their swift and efficient mastery of foundational programming skills.
Dive into playbook stories to grasp design principles and programming concepts.
Dive into playbook stories to grasp design principles and programming concepts.
Engage with the digital realm by following our online guidelines.
Engage with the digital realm by following our online guidelines.
A green light on the module indicates a successful connection to your device.
A green light on the module indicates a successful connection to your device.
Once set up, embark on your artistic adventure!
Once set up, embark on your artistic adventure!
Back to Top