An "interview" about interface design for children
compiled from e-mail correspondence between
Madelon Evers
Managing Producer
Human Shareware
info@humans.demon.nl
http://www.humans.demon.nl
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and
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Kevin Kelly
ITEC 830 student
San Francisco State University
keviroony@aol.com
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~kkelly
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Kevin:
Hi!
I am a graduate student at San Francisco State University, studying
Instructional Technologies (part of the College of Education). One of my classes,
Interface Design, has assigned a research project regarding the issues of designing a
computer interface for children. After finding your website, I felt that you would be highly
qualified to help me. If you have time to answer a couple questions, I would appreciate it
greatly!
Madelon:
I'd be really interested in reading your further research and other case studies. Do you have anything on the net?
Kevin:
You can find more research, done by me and my classmates, by going to the Interface Design class (ITEC 830) Website: http://students.itec.sfsu.edu/ITEC830/. Choose Issues or Resources from the menu bar.
What research has your group done to reach your current methods of
interface design?
Madelon:
A lot -- we work with all the main pedagogical institutes in the Netherlands
unders the auspices of the Ministry of Education. We design for
broadcasters, which need high-end solutions, and for publishers looking at
the home market. I started out myself as research at the university of
Amsterdam specialising in interactive television for children.
Kevin:
Do you follow certain educational approaches (e.g., behavioral, cognitivist,
constructivist, other learning theories) over others?
Madelon:
We use mainly a constructivist approach (i.e. doing is learning, playing is
learning) or certain design approaches.
Kevin:
Do you follow the gestalt theory of visual psychology?
Madelon:
Gestalt is important but we don't get hung up on it too much if we design,
for example, for special ed needs, since that is a terrain that needs custom
made approaches.
Kevin:
How important is the use of visuals in instruction?
Madelon:
Visuals in instruction is crucial. We think even more important, however, is
story and immersion in an experience in which they are in control every step
of the way (we are anti "buttons" and "lists" for kids).
Technology limits our concepts more than the concepts themselves.
Kevin:
What differences are there between your design for childrenand your design for an adult audience?
Madelon:
In general children are much more critical --
They have no patience.
They click before they listen and often (especially boys, we've noticed)
need to come back to something a number of times before they really get it,
not because they are unintelligent but because they are trigger happy.
They don't read (not counting if they are too young to read).
They want clear responses and intelligent systems.
They need a lot of feedback and like to have a lot of interesting instruction
and encouragement when there is a learning challenge.
They need reinforcement of their experience on the computer in the classroom
or outside / beyond the computer; we make this a central part of the
concepts we create since it also keeps the teachers happy!
Kids never ask why do I need this programme; adults are much more sceptical.
The computer is a huge motivator for kids; our work with dyslexic kids
showed they solved alot of learning and concentration problems through the
computer simply because the dynamic is different and the computer is patient
with them, day in day out.
Does this help?
Kevin:
Yes, it helps a lot! Thank you! I'd love to pay you back with a plug for you and/or your company.
Madelon:
A plug would be great, thanks! I guess if they go to our website that would
be good.
-- also if there are any students coming over to Europe I could hook them up
with stuff going on here, since I teach at the University of Amsterdam and
the University of Utrecht, with a focus on cross overs between TV, film and
new media (the future being on interactive cable). We are involved in a
number of yearly international conferences on new media and education that
take place in Amsterdam that may be of value to students (to get a
non-American perspective perhaps?).
Ciao
Madelon Evers
HUMAN SHAREWARE
Specialists in educational design
info@humans.demon.nl
http://www.humans.demon.nl
"Keeping a face in technology"
Beethovenstraat 66/III
1077 JL Amsterdam
The Netherlands
tel. 31 (0)20 6649246
fax 31 (0)20 6701090
Back to:
Issue: Multimedia for Kids (from a design perspective)
Interface Design class (ITEC 830) Website
Kevin's ITEC 830 Webpage