Moovl – just add imagination

Moovl began life as a prototype developed by Soda Creative – an exploration of what was possible with dynamic drawing tools for Primary-age children.
Moovl built on the constructionist play pedagogy of sodaconstructor making it accessible to a younger audience. Moovl used the natural activity of drawing to create an environment that included dynamic simulation, and cause and effect. The drawn Moovl objects could be moved according to simple physics of mass, elasticity, air resistance and solidity.

In 2004, Futurelab ran a research project using Moovl. The report is available here: Futurelab report. Futurelab was particularly interested in exploring how Moovl could be used practically in the classroom, and its research scheme analysed its use in Key Stage 1 science and literacy, as well as its potential as a cross-curricular resource to motivate young children’s creativity.

Using the prototype, Futurelab carried out a number of trials at schools in Bristol and south London with children in KS1 and their teachers. Subsequent trials of the full working prototype indicated how Moovl could be used as a tool to support children’s problem-solving, their design of narrative ideas, and as a resource to visualise their understandings of dynamics.

The Moovl prototype was showcased on the Futurelab stand at BETT in 2005, and Gerald Cole of the TES (article here) said “The potential for Moovl as a teaching and learning tool is immense and points the way for the next big leap in interactive multimedia in the classroom.”

You can read more about the early days of Moovl here.