The Design of Children's Technology (Interactive Technologies) [Paperback]

Allison Druin (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Interactive Technologies

Compiled by a leading authority in the field of children's technology, this book brings together current discussions of how and why new technologies are being designed. It presents innovative methods, techniques, and ideas, making this a unique resource for developers of children's software, hardware, and multimedia products; graphic/human interface designers; and university faculty doing research in the area of children and technology.

* Case studies, commercial products, and academic research projects
* Overview of present and future trends in computer technologies for children
* Design practices from university and industry researchers that can aid readers in developing their own approaches to creating and using computer technologies for children

Editorial Reviews

Review

Read the full review for this book.

Like most collections, The Design of Children's Technology contains material that will fascinate some readers, but be paged through by others. I was most interested in the descriptions of methodologies and pitfalls in the first half; a lot of the points made seem obvious once they have been stated, but would probably not occur to someone who hadn't tripped over them before. The descriptive material in the second half was less satisfying for me, as the projects discussed have moved on since the book was written, and more up-to-date material is available through the Web. However, these chapters were still useful as an overview of who's doing what, and why. --Gregory V. Wilson, Dr. Dobb's Electronic Review of Computer Books -- Dr. Dobb's Electronic Review of Computer Books

From the Back Cover

Compiled by a leading authority in the field of children's technology, this book brings together current discussions of how and why new technologies are being designed. It presents innovative methods, techniques, and ideas, making this a unique resource for developers of children's software, hardware, and multimedia products; graphic/human interface designers; and university faculty doing research in the area of children and technology.

Features

Case studies, commercial products, and academic research projects

Overview of present and future trends in computer technologies for children

Design practices from university and industry researchers that can aid readers in developing their own approaches to creating and using computer technologies for children

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann (August 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155860507X
• ISBN-13: 978-1558605077
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,320,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kids designing for Kids, April 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Design of Children's Technology (Interactive Technologies) (Paperback)

Allison Druin and others in "The Design of Children's Technology" describe in very thorough terms how the processes of how to design for kids are the same, yet different, from how software is developed for adults. The first half of the book explains how many methodologies that are used to develop adult software work with kids, but with modifications. Druin and her research group developed another type of software research that seems to be unmatched in adult software design: technology immersion, bringing users (the kids) together for 5 consecutive 10 hour days into an environment of almost unlimited technology.

The 2nd half of this book shows us how kids are extremely capable of not only participating in software evaluation, but also in programming and creating their own software and software for younger children.

This book clarifies the need for a different way to approach designing software for kids. Kids can and should be involved in creating children's software. They clearly are much more capable to assist, inform, evaluate and create software, and to use that technology, than software designers have thought. Druin has proved herself to be a leading expert in this research and the most of the other writers in this book base their research on her findings.

If you are interested in creating kids software or a teacher wanting to push the envelope of what kids can do with the right technology and support, you will enjoy this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A reader enrolled in an HCI class, April 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Design of Children's Technology (Interactive Technologies) (Paperback)

The Design of Children's Technology is edited by Dr. Allison Druin and authored by a variety of researchers and experts that lend their experience to the pages of the book. The book is easy to read and gives practical examples of software design methodologies. The Design of Children's Technology has pragmatic models of step by step guides to making software better. Druin's writes about methods for developing and improving the design of children and adolescent software, however, I believe she could apply many of the concepts to the development of adult software. I wish Druin would have included more statistical data to validate that the concepts outlined in the book have a positive and lasting effect on the design of children's technology. If you are interested in the software development market, this book offers you suggestions on how you can enhance your talents.

J Calhoun

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect!, January 2, 2012

By 

fedaa - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Design of Children's Technology (Interactive Technologies) (Paperback)

Il prodotto è arrivato in tempo. il prodotto era usato, ma in condizioni perfette. massima serietà nella descrizione del prodotto e nella spedizione e consegna.