BiiNo

by Little Lot

Panu Chiraguna

Natcha Chiraguna

Ratima Pawaphuchakay

In our modern learning and playing society, there seem to be two very different worlds, one with the warm touch of traditional wooden toys, while on the other a vast up-to-date online library of knowledge a click away. Especially in this “post-Covid” era, online learning has become fundamental for kids all over the world, but how can we adapt the screen-dependent learning to fit the nature of children?

Our toy, BiiNo, is designed to become a bridge between the online and offline worlds where dynamic lessons and games can be updated with new contents and materials while being played the traditional way through physical play.

With soft movable elements and changeable lights, combined with an adaptable brainy device, BiiNo is a playground for endless possibilities. BiiNo allows players to look away from the screen, but still enjoy the lively gameplay through non-verbal communications. We designed the gameplay and platform for family and friends to join in on the fun together, since we recognize the importance of spending time with loved ones.

Our first pairable application, BiiNo’s Tunes, takes players on a musical journey of rhythms, melodies, and tunes. In the game, we gamify 5 different aspects of music lessons into a fun and interactive game where the player explores an entertaining storyline and helps save an island through musical experiences. The game includes:

“Peek-a-Tune”

Get yourself ready for music playing with this exciting hand-eye coordination game.

“Boom Bam Bop”

Play to the beat, recognize the pattern, and repeat to learn about rhythms.

“Puzzling Pitch”

Listen the different notes and identify the high-low pitches to practice listening skills.

“Little Loopers”

Become a composer. Get creative and design your own unique songs through looping patterns.

“Jiggly Jams”

Bring out the musician in you by playing as different characters with different instrument parts, including drums, bass, woodwinds, brass, and chorus, and learn how each role affects a song.

Have fun with Chrome Music Lab in a Challenging Online Music Classroom

by Thawin Laithong

Teaching music composition online is challenging. Music teachers are faced with technological limitations that affect many aspects of music learning such as missing acoustic instruments, losing classroom interaction, and not having suitable topics in music content. Teachers need to adopt and adapt additional technology to their lessons, and change their teaching methods and strategies to match their online classroom conditions and overcome the limitations of technology. This article presents the benefits of using Chrome Music Lab, as an online music teaching tool. Music activities from Chrome Music Lab are shown to overcome the limitation of online music learning in at least three ways. First, it solves the problem of no acoustic instrument by creating simple hands-on activities through singing, composing, seeing, playing, and listening. Second, it makes up for the lack of real-time interaction between teacher and student by creating a synchronous and safe sharing environment to provide the opportunity for students to make, learn, and share music with each other. Last, it allows teachers to rearrange and reduce music content from thick into smaller functional concepts to match the technological limitation and student needs. The music teacher played an important role in encouraging the students to explore and create music freely. Having fun while following their imagination and feelings fosters a positive attitude toward online music learning and early experiences in music composition.