This document outlines a two-day workshop for students to design superheroes based on disabilities. On day one, students brainstorm superpowers related to disabilities, develop persona sheets for characters, and storyboard their ideas. They then create low-fidelity prototypes. On day two, students add interactivity to their prototypes using Makey Makey and Scratch kits. They present their functional superhero prototypes to an audience including people with disabilities. The workshop is inspired by designers who view disabilities as super abilities and uses techniques like care-based learning and embodied cognition.

1. SUPERPOWERS
IMAGE: OPEN BIONICS

2. 6TH GRADE...
2 DAYS...
3 HOURS/day...
ALL MATERIALS &
IDEAS WELCOME
DESIGNING SUPERHEROES!
IMAGE: IBTIMES

3. DISABILITIES
SUPER ABILITIES!
IMAGE: CBS NEWS
CCSS.Math
CCSS.ELA
NGSS

4. IMAGE BY ADAM FOSTER
DIY
PHYSICAL COMPUTING
DESIGN THINKING
HCD
INTRO TO:
Care-based Learning
Constructionism
Embodied Cognition
Goal-based Scenarios
Narrative Intelligence

5. INSPIRED BY AIMEE MULLINS...
IMAGE: TED
It’s not fair having
12 pairs of legs!

6. IMAGE: TED
A narrative
models not only a
world but the
minds seeking to
give it its
meanings.
AND JEROME BRUNER...
SOURCE: BRUNER, 2002, p. 27

7. IMAGE: WIKIPEDIA
The diversity of
outcomes is an
indicator of
success.
AND MITCHEL RESNICK!
SOURCE: RESNICK &
SILVERMAN, 2005, p. 118

8. DAY 1 DAY 2
1. Introduction & Overview: presentation of the
topic and of some examples of people that have
superpowers or super-abilities.
2. Collective Oral Brainstorm: facilitator instigates
students to think about other superpowers and
super-abilities that can come with what is usually
referred to as a disability.
3. Group Ideation: Facilitator gives students
“persona” sheets, presenting individuals with
specific conditions, whom students are turning to
superheroes.
4. Storyboarding: groups select some of their best,
most incredible ideas and start to storyboard a
superhero character in the comics format.
5. Lo-Fi Prototyping: students use varied materials
to give physical appearance to the super-abilities
and superheroes they created. Prototype at this
stage is non-functional. Facilitators help them.
6. Introduction to Makey Makey & Scratch:
students see concrete examples of Makey Makey
and Scratch projects. The idea is to make them
realize how much they can build by themselves
through these simple kits.
7. Functional Prototyping: students, helped by
facilitators, begin to add electricity, movement
and action to what they created and prototyped.
8. Presentation: post-mortem and presentation.
People with disabilities in the audience.

9. SAMPLE RESULT
THE PIANO-ARM!
FOR PROSTHETIC HAND-USERS
CHECK THE VIDEO!

10. THANKS, AMANDA!
IDEATING

11. … AND SKETCHING, OF COURSE!
STORYBOARDING...

12. LOW-FI PROTOTYPING

13. FUNCTIONAL PROTOTYPE

14. PIANO TOOLS

15. Bruner, J. S. (2002). Making stories: Law, literature, life. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Resnick, M., & Silverman, B. (2005). Some reflections on designing construction kits for kids. In Proceedings of the 2005 conference
on Interaction design and children (pp. 117-122). ACM.
REFERENCES
IMAGE: SRI LESTARI