Permeable media: A design strategy for Constructionist software

This paper introduces a design strategy called permeable media for software used in Constructionist approaches to introductory computer science education. Permeable media is characterized by three qualities: it invites learners to extend themselves into the medium, it has affordances for learners to make the medium part of themselves, and it supports learners in growing beyond the medium when they are ready to do so. This paper joins a long tradition of design for Constructionist learning environments, emphasizing two principles which have not been emphasized in the prior literature: incorporating media into one’s identity and embodiment, and support for growing beyond the medium. This paper illustrates permeable media by analyzing the design of Banjo, a software package which allows beginners to create web applications. The final sections theorize the relationship between permeable media and computational literacies and propose a research agenda based on this paper’s conceptualization of permeable media.