A little more grounding research..
Found this interesting interview on ABC….
A window into our technological future: what do kids want?
It’s an interview with Steve Mushkin, whose company (Latitude Insights) has been conducting research with children aged 12 and under in the US & Australia as to what they would want from the future of computing / devices…
Some of the most interesting findings are outlined in the interview; with the standouts being that kids imagined a much more physical world of computing – for example “being able to reach into the computer and touch objects” and others asking for “the computer to read their mind”….
Another really pertinent finding for me was a lot of kids anthropomorphise their computing experience – giving personality to both their devices and the internet. They want to be able to “speak to and have friends with” their devices and software… This makes perfect sense to me as our devices integrate closer with our lifestyle, and the push for ubiquity increases. It is the interactions with our devices that make them personal and indispensable.
This communication with devices interestingly extends to a number of kids expressing a desire to learn the language of computing, to learn to program environments and experiences (i.e games)… The possibilities afforded by the new open source robotics platforms (such as Lego Mindstorm & Vex) are beginning to bridge this gap between the virtual and physical; and providing a new arena for expression for the designers, inventors and end-users of tomorrow….
Further readings:
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