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Digital learning environments are used frequently in K-12 classrooms. Such use can require skillful orchestration as teachers need to understand the affordances of the learning environment, sequence of activities, and when and how to intervene with students. Using a digital learning environment in a multidisciplinary classroom context makes the design of support materials for teachers and students even more essential. To design for effective teacher orchestration in the classroom, we created a comprehensive set of materials for our multidisciplinary digital learning environment. We employ the design-based intervention research framework to trace the contextual and practical iterations these materials underwent. Additionally, we provide next steps for our work and considerations for the broader community. 

Digital storytelling in combination with makerspace activities holds significant potential to engage students and support their learning. When students play, such as through makerspace activities, they engage in critical thinking and problem solving. In our work, we are joining storytelling with computational thinking (CT) practices, physical science exploration, and makerspace activities through a digital narrative-centered learning environment for elementary school. Learning within the environment is undergirded by makerspace play that centers on finding solutions to an open problem—how can stranded scientists on a remote island power up their village using found materials? The learning environment supports students’ CT practices and science content learning as they use and problem solve with physical energy conversion kits, culminating in their creation of an interactive story. We present here a brief case study of the ways students’ experiences with makerspace play support their problem solving and storytelling.