Designing Educational Products for Children

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Designing Educational Products for Children

• by Kimberly Tee

• Outline
• Toys, Games, and Software
• 3 Case Studies
• Things to Consider

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Educational Toys

• academic toys
• focus on reading, writing, arithmetic
• skill drills
• enrichment toys
• add to general knowledge
• tend to be interactive

Barbie B-Smart and Stylish Compact, Oregon
Scientific
LEGO Mindstorms, LEGO
Explorer Globe, Leap Frog
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(Electronic) Educational Games

• for school
• motivate learning by making it fun
• focus on curriculum
• for home
• simulation or quest-based
• secondarily educational

Prime Climb, E-GEMS
Roller Coaster Tycoon, Atari
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, The
Learning Company
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Educational Software

• computer aided instruction
• computer replaces teacher
• individualized, one-on-one tutoring
• applications
• story-telling, creative writing
• desktop publishing, movie-making

Andes, University of Pittsburgh
Creative Writer 2, Microsoft
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Case Studies

• MIT LEGO
• user observation
• E-GEMS (UBC Electronic Arts)
• participatory design
• Microsoft
• usability research

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MIT LEGO (1/4)

• constructivist theory
• knowledge is built by the learner, not supplied
  by the teacher
• promotes active inquiry, investigation, and
  constructing new understandings
• constructionism
• new ideas are most likely created when learners
  are actively engaged in building artifacts

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MIT LEGO (2/4)

• LEGO/Logo
• 1984 MIT begins collaboration with LEGO
• LEGO Technic Logo
• LEGO/Logo in classrooms
• limitation
• had to be connected to desktop computer

http//www.mmem.spschools.org/grade5science/mechan
ismselectric/legologo.html
Resnick, M. and Ocko, S. (1991). LEGO-Logo
Learning Through and About Design".
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MIT LEGO (3/4)

• next-generation
• fit computer into a LEGO brick
• design concerns size, weight, of
  inputs/outputs, LCD screen?, battery life
• Programmable Brick

Programmable Brick, MIT and LEGO
Beland, C., Chan, W., Clarke, D., Park, R. and
Trupiano, M. (2000). LEGO Mindstorms The
Structure of an Engineering (R)evolution.
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MIT LEGO (4/4)

• RCX brick
• Programmable Brick as prototype
• cost-effective and robust
• LEGO Mindstorms
• launched in 1998
• 80,000 units sold in first three months

RCX Brick, LEGO
http//www.hssd.k12.wi.us/FG/KarlWeb/team/JB.htm
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E-GEMS (1/3)

• exploratory learning
• learning by doing
• encourages the learner to explore and experiment
• collaborative learning
• students work together to explore a question or
  to attain a group goal

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E-GEMS (2/3)

• participatory design process
• four classrooms equipped with computer
• students kept journals
• weekly visits from E-GEMS researcher
• observed students using computer
• interviewed students
• class discussions about the games
• monthly meetings with teachers

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E-GEMS (3/3)

• guidelines
• 7-10 years old ideal design partners
• more than one child on team
• more than one adult on team
• use diverse low-tech prototyping tools
• Counting on Frank
• commercialized in 1994

Counting on Frank, Electronic Arts
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Microsoft (1/3)

• Microsoft Kids product teams
• develop software and hardware
• design concerns
• components of a fun product
• control, challenge
• ease of use critical to success

Actimates Interactive Barney, Microsoft and Lyons
Partnership
The Magic School Bus Explores in the Age of
Dinosaurs, Microsoft and Scholastic
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Microsoft (2/3)

• Usability Research Techniques

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Microsoft (3/3)

• guidelines
• preschool vs. elementary vs. middle school
• emphasize
• the product is being tested, not the child
• the childs role is important
• set childrens expectations
• break complex tasks into smaller activities
• offer generic positive feedback
• behavioural cues are more reliable than responses

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Involving Children in Design

• different from adults
• while children may not be programmers or
  engineers, they are experts in what they want and
  why they want it

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Things to Consider

• educational products for school
• teachers are stakeholders
• how to accommodate a variety of playing and
  learning styles?
• how to determine how educational products are?