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"Prototyping Puppets" combines craft and performance in a puppet making STEM workshop for informal learning. We report on its final evaluation in two events (n=10 and n=13) to show how the design addressed black boxing of technology through a craft-centric approach and successfully engaged different student populations through an educational framing that included performance practice. The informal learning workshops are aimed at 5th grade level students. First, the problem space is laid out and the approach of the project introduced. Second, the design realization is briefly covered. Third, the final evaluation of the design in two workshop conditions is presented using qualitative as well as quantitative data. Students showed self-perceived increases particularly in their attitudes toward technology. These results are discussed before we report on the adaptation of the workshop for different conditions to illustrate the flexibility of the basic set up.

Background: Working memory (WM) loss, which can lead to a loss of independence, and declines in the quality of life of older adults, is becoming an increasingly prominent issue affecting the ageing population. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, is emerging as a potential alternative to pharmacological treatments that shows promise for enhancing WM capacity and May enhance the effects of cognitive training (CT) interventions. Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to explore how different tDCS protocols in combination with CT enhanced WM in healthy older adults Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the effects of tDCS combined with CT on WM in healthy older adults were retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Scopus and the Cochrane Library databases. The search time period ranged from database inception to January 15, 2024. Methodological quality of the trials was assessed using the risk-of-bias criteria for RCTs from the Cochrane Collaboration Network, and RevMan 5.3 (Cochrane, London, United Kingdom) was used for the meta-analysis of the final literature outcomes. Results: Six RCTs with a total of 323 participants were ultimately included. The results of the meta-analysis show that tDCS combined with CT statistically significantly improves WM performance compared to the control sham stimulation group in healthy older adults [standard mean difference (SMD) = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.11-0.59, I2 = 0%, Z = 2.86, p = 0.004]. The first subgroup analysis indicated that, when the stimulus intensity was 2 mA, a statistically significant improvement in WM performance in healthy older adults was achieved (SMD = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.08-0.70, I2 = 6%, Z = 2.46, p = 0.01). The second subgroup analysis showed that long-term intervention (= 10 sessions) with tDCS combined with CT statistically significantly improved WM compared to the control group in healthy older adults (SMD = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.22-1.21, I2 = 0%, Z = 2.85, p = 0.004). Conclusion: tDCS combined with CT statistically significantly improves WM in healthy older adults. For the stimulus parameters, long-term interventions (= 10 sessions) with a stimulation intensity of 2 mA are the most effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been studied extensively for its potential to enhance human cognitive functions in healthy individuals and to treat cognitive impairment in various clinical populations. However, little is known about how tDCS modulates the neural networks supporting cognition and the complex interplay with mediating factors that may explain the frequently observed variability of stimulation effects within and between studies. Moreover, research in this field has been characterized by substantial methodological variability, frequent lack of rigorous experimental control and small sample sizes, thereby limiting the generalizability of findings and translational potential of tDCS. The present manuscript aims to delineate how these important issues can be addressed within a neuroimaging context, to reveal the neural underpinnings, predictors and mediators of tDCS-induced behavioral modulation. We will focus on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), because it allows the investigation of tDCS effects with excellent spatial precision and sufficient temporal resolution across the entire brain. Moreover, high resolution structural imaging data can be acquired for precise localization of stimulation effects, verification of electrode positions on the scalp and realistic current modeling based on individual head and brain anatomy. However, the general principles outlined in this review will also be applicable to other imaging modalities. Following an introduction to the overall state-of-the-art in this field, we will discuss in more detail the underlying causes of variability in previous tDCS studies. Moreover, we will elaborate on design considerations for tDCSfMRI studies, optimization of tDCS and imaging protocols and how to assure high-level experimental control. Two additional sections address the pressing need for more systematic investigation of tDCS effects across the healthy human lifespan and implications for tDCS studies in age-associated disease, and potential benefits of establishing large-scale, multidisciplinary consortia for more coordinated tDCS research in the future. We hope that this review will contribute to more coordinated, methodologically sound, transparent and reproducible research in this field. Ultimately, our aim is to facilitate a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which tDCS modulates human cognitive functions and more effective and individually tailored translational and clinical applications of this technique in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some studies showed that a single session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has the potential of modulating motor performance in healthy and athletes. To our knowledge, previously published systematic reviews have neither comprehensively investigated the effects of tDCS on athletic performance in both physical and psychological parameters nor investigated the effects of tDCS on high-level athletes. We examined all available research testing a single session of tDCS on strength, endurance, sport-specific performance, emotional states and cognitive performance for better application in competition and pre-competition trainings of national- or international-level athletes. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Embase, and Scopus up until to June 2023. Studies were eligible when participants had sports experience at a minimum of state and national level competitions, underwent a single session of tDCS without additional interventions, and received either sham tDCS or no interventions in the control groups. A total of 20 experimental studies (224 participants) were included from 18 articles. The results showed that a single tDCS session improved both physical and psychological parameters in 12 out of the 18 studies. Of these, six refer to the application of tDCS on the motor system (motor cortex, premotor cortex, cerebellum), five on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and two on temporal cortex. The most sensitive to tDCS are strength, endurance, and emotional states, improved in 67%, 75%, and 75% of studies, respectively. Less than half of the studies showed improvement in sport-specific tasks (40%) and cognitive performance (33%). We suggest that tDCS is an effective tool that can be applied to competition and pre-competition training to improve athletic performance in national- or international-level athletes. Further research would explore various parameters (type of sports, brain regions, stimulation protocol, athlete level, and test tasks) and neural mechanistic studies in improving efficacy of tDCS interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]