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An investigation of participatory design with children-informant, balanced and facilitated design
Abstract and Figures
This paper describes WeDD (Web Site Design Day), a project which brought university staff, parent helpers and school children together to design a school web site. The design process, which was modelled on participatory design, is described with reference to other work that has used a similar approach. The methods that were used to evaluate the process are described, and some general conclusions about the efficacy of the approach are presented. Difficulties with trying to work in a participatory way with children are examined. A participatory design model -the IBF model -is proposed; this defines terms for the different balances of participation. This is followed by a discussion of the variables that affect, both before and during the participatory process, the level of participation of the various categories of participant. The project environment and the skills of the participants are identified as being important in the initial positioning of a design project on the IBF model. Subject knowledge and personal security are considered to cause fluctuations within the project. The importance of controlling and monitoring these variables is discussed and further work in this area is described.
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... In England an estimated 1.4 million children are reported not having access to the internet in their homes and one million [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] year olds are classed as NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training) (Netimperative 2010, Guardian 2010, Telegraph 2011. In an attempt to address this issue the UK government launched a scheme to offer low-income families access to the internet (Home Access) in 2009. ...
... There are many forms of collaborative design, one being PD which has similarities with User Centred Design (UCD). However, UCD focuses on refining rather than conceptualising, in essence, sanding off the rough edges by viewing the game from the player's perspective and seeking to fully understand the user experience (Raph 2005), in PD, the user is involved with conceptualising, testing and evaluating the design produced by the designer (Read et al 2002). Participation was an essential component of this study as its aim was to fully engage them with the technology, rather than simply assess their experience of a given service and why a PD approach was adopted rather than UCD (Read et al 2002). ...
... However, UCD focuses on refining rather than conceptualising, in essence, sanding off the rough edges by viewing the game from the player's perspective and seeking to fully understand the user experience (Raph 2005), in PD, the user is involved with conceptualising, testing and evaluating the design produced by the designer (Read et al 2002). Participation was an essential component of this study as its aim was to fully engage them with the technology, rather than simply assess their experience of a given service and why a PD approach was adopted rather than UCD (Read et al 2002). ...
This paper explores issues around using a Participatory Design of a Location Based Game (LBG) developed as part of a project to connect young people (11-19 years old) in Lancaster and Manchester by exploring issues surrounding place and their sense of belonging within their community. Both these communities were chosen, as they are representative of particular socio-economic conditions that have led them to be considered digitally excluded. The results highlight issues researchers face when working with such a group and the importance of building trust and being sensitive to the lives of the participants.
... The preceding discussion introduced the principles of participatory design, emphasizing that it entails the involvement of multiple individuals in a collaborative design process (Read et al., 2002). ...
... By exploring research in the field of participatory design, one can recognize the significance of soliciting input from children and the potential detrimental effects of excessive adult involvement (Read et al., 2002). Gardner (1990:p.ix) says that classroom learning influences the style of the art and that although models of the 'correct schema' are found in the art classroom and in textbooks, children are not afforded the opportunity to be creative in an alternative way. ...
... Woolner (2011) agrees with the necessity of participatory design; however, Woolner (2011) acknowledges that it is not as straightforward as thought because the adult is bound by restrictions when engaged in designing and planning and therefore, has to compromise during the participatory design process. design where the child is the principal designer and the adult merely facilitates (Read et al., 2002). ...
... In terms of co-design, this implies that researchers should pay enhanced attention not only for applying co-design principles and co-design approaches adapted for children with cerebral palsy as a group, but individually adapted to each child-participant. Read et al. (2002) defined three modes of children's involvement in the design process in the IBF Participatory Continuum Model, where co-design is a continuum along which identifiable but not discrete modes are located. These modes are Informant design, Balanced design and Facilitated design, delineated by the amount of a child's contribution to the design. ...
... This role corresponds to Informant design mode from the IBF Participatory Continuum Model. As informants, children are involved in informing the design process before a design product is developed or to use an existing design, which aligns with Balanced design mode from Read et al. (2002). In the role of design partner, children engaged in collaborative process and are considered to be equal partners in the design of new products throughout the entire experience. ...
... In the role of design partner, children engaged in collaborative process and are considered to be equal partners in the design of new products throughout the entire experience. They are involved in creating designs and could guide 4 and evaluate the design decisions, which corresponds to Facilitated design mode from Read et al. (2002). Large et al. (2006) presents children's engagement in the design process in relation to different methodologies. ...
... However, involving children in co-creation, that is, the collective creativity throughout the entire innovation process (Sanders & Stappers, 2008;Vargas et al., 2022), requires a childcentered approach. In comparison to adults, children have different perceptions and competences, and should therefore be engaged in a way that suits their characteristics and needs (Gielen, 2013;Kinnula & Iivari, 2021;Markopoulos et al., 2021;Read et al., 2002). Although prior research shows multiple instances of involving child-patients in the development of technology (see e.g., Meulendijks et al., 2022;Stålberg et al., 2016;Wiljén et al., 2022), some studies reveal that difficulties may be encountered in this process (Lindberg, 2013;Lindberg et al., 2017;Nygren et al., 2017). ...
... However, involving children in the innovation process, is not uncomplicated. According to Read et al. (2002), several factors must be considered in this process, such as the environment in which children participate, children's knowledge and skills, and the extent to which children feel safe or comfortable. For example, children may lack the cognitive skills to understand what the researcher asks them to do, which is why instructions must be easy for children to follow (Markopoulos et al., 2021). ...
... To enable collective participation, workshops and other activities, such as focus groups and planning discussions are adopted as tools in LL planning (Baek;Lee, 2008;Villa;Ornstein, 2016). Brainstorming and prototyping may be used as a strategy to demonstrate and visualize ideas for all participants (Read et al., 2002). Focus groups are particularly suitable for participatory design processes both for data collection and decisionmaking (Elali;Pinheiro, 2016;Krueger;Casey, 2000). ...
Research which evaluates Social Housing (SH) in Brazil often points out unfavorable conditions expressed by residents, in terms of the residential unit and common spaces, as well as surroundings. Participatory processes to improve projects are considered essential for political, social and economic reasons, and user values need to be prioritized. Processes to develop improvements for existing SH, that include residents as protagonists, with active participation, may guide more effective actions. However, participatory processes for home and public area renovations require procedures to effectively achieve their technical objectives and meet the needs and desires of their residents with feasibility of implementation. This research developed a case study with the participation of residents of a small SH project in Campinas - SP, with a specific focus on improvements for the children's leisure areas. The study involved the public targeted, children living in the analyzed SH complex, in defining their leisure space through dynamics and playful activities. Qualitative results are presented of this participatory process, involving children. Knowledge gained is methodological, with lessons learned for the planning and development of participatory co-design projects with children.
... There was also, in one of the participatory design workshops, a discrepancy in the power relations between adults and young people, with a considerable number of adults present. Adult numbers need to be minimal in participatory design processes with young people to encourage a sense of equality among the participants [52]. ...
Background
Blood glucose management around exercise is challenging for youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previous research has indicated interventions including decision-support aids to better support youth to effectively contextualize blood glucose results and take appropriate action to optimize glucose levels during and after exercise. Mobile health (mHealth) apps help deliver health behavior interventions to youth with T1D, given the use of technology for glucose monitoring, insulin dosing, and carbohydrate counting.
Objective
We aimed to develop a novel prototype mHealth app to support exercise management among youth with T1D, detail the application of a co-design process and design thinking principles to inform app design and development, and identify app content and functionality that youth with T1D need to meet their physical activity goals.
Methods
A co-design approach with a user-centered design thinking framework was used to develop a prototype mHealth app “acT1ve” during the 18-month design process (March 2018 to September 2019). To better understand and respond to the challenges among youth with diabetes when physically active, 10 focus groups were conducted with youth aged 13-25 years with T1D and parents of youth with T1D. Thereafter, we conducted participatory design workshops with youth to identify key app features that would support individual needs when physically active. These features were incorporated into a wireframe, which was critically reviewed by participants. A beta version of “acT1ve” was built in iOS and android operating systems, which underwent critical review by end users, clinicians, researchers, experts in exercise and T1D, and app designers.
Results
Sixty youth with T1D, 14 parents, 6 researchers, and 10 clinicians were engaged in the development of “acT1ve.” acT1ve included key features identified by youth, which would support their individual needs when physically active. It provided advice on carbohydrates and insulin during exercise, information on hypoglycemia treatment, pre- and postexercise advice, and an educational food guide regarding exercise management. “acT1ve” contained an exercise advisor algorithm comprising 240 pathways developed by experts in diabetes and exercise research. Based on participant input during exercise, acT1ve provided personalized insulin and carbohydrate advice for exercise lasting up to 60 minutes. It also contains other features including an activity log, which displays a complete record of the end users’ activities and associated exercise advice provided by the app’s algorithm for later reference, and regular reminder notifications for end users to check or monitor their glucose levels.
Conclusions
The co-design approach and the practical application of the user-centered design thinking framework were successfully applied in developing “acT1ve.” The design thinking processes allowed youth with T1D to identify app features that would support them to be physically active, and particularly enabled the delivery of individualized advice. Furthermore, app development has been described in detail to help guide others embarking on a similar project.
Trial Registration
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12619001414101; https://tinyurl.com/mu9jvn2d
... Walsh et al., (2013) describe codesign as focusing on the design partners (their experience, needs for accommodations), design goal (design space, maturity of design), and design technique (cost, portability, physical interaction, and technology). However, when working with children, it is important that the techniques and framework for design fit the population and creativity is harnessed (Read et al., 2002). The needs for children from under-resourced or marginalized communities to become codesign partners may also be different and require a critical eye towards justice, diversity, and accessibility from codesigning researchers, e.g., drawing on critical race theory and intersectionality to better center diverse child codesigners (Ogbonnaya-Ogburu et al., 2020). ...
This paper describes an experiment in which children aged between 6 and 10 entered text into a word processor using four different input methods, mouse, keyboard, speech recognition, and handwriting recognition. Several different measures of usability were made in an attempt to assess the suitability of the input methods in this situation. The paper describes and discusses the measures and their use with very young children.
Measures of effectiveness were affected by a number of different types of error that occurred during text input. Following an analysis of these errors, six types of error were identified. This analysis should help in the construction of more discriminating measures. Efficiency measures were sometimes affected by the distracting effect of novel input methods. Satisfaction measures were particularly problematic; several methods were used, with the repertory grid technique appearing the most promising.
A surge of interest has been seen in the use of multimedia in educational computer applications. Some researchers examine which particular benefits media provide for students' learning. A different approach looks at students' learning experience while creating their own educational multimedia applications. We present and discuss the results of a project in which seven teams of elementary school students were involved in designing and implementing interactive multimedia resources in science for younger children. We found that students improved significantly in their science understanding and programming skills. While the student teams included many multimedia features in their software, a closer examination of students' individual contributions to the software product revealed that not every aspect of multimedia programming afforded the same type learning opportunities for science and programming. We discuss the benefits and problems of integrating science content with multimedia design and discuss why the quality of dynamic and interactive components in students' multimedia production proved to be a better indicator of students' learning than the quantity of multimedia produced. Furthermore, we address how students' learning experience is also impacted by their conceptions of multimedia users.
An abstract is not available.