Children’s agency by design: Design parameters for personalization in story-making apps

Publication date: Available online 18 June 2019Source: International Journal of Child-Computer InteractionAuthor(s): Natalia KucirkovaAbstractThe importance of children’s agency in the use of technologies is well-established but it continues to be challenged with applications that automatically personalize children’s content. This paper integrates educational theory of personalisation with the design principles and empirical work of a story-making app (OS) that places a child’s agency at the centre of its design. The impact of a series of studies with the OS app is summarized and implications for future design are offered. The Agentic Personalisation Framework that consists of a design principle and a set of guiding questions is presented. The design principle is based on two continuous axes: agency/structure and individualism/collectivism, which give rise to four processes: personalisation/customization and standardization/individualization. The guiding questions are intended to promote reflection among researchers and designers interested in supporting children’s agency with stories that children can make or interact with on tablets. The Agentic Personalisation Framework is rooted in empirical studies, iterative design and theoretical developments and provides fertile ground for innovative research-design collaborations that place children’s agency at the heart of innovative work.

Source: International Journal of Child Computer Interaction - June 20, 2019 Category: Child Development Source Type: research