Mobile Technology for Children: Designing for Interaction and Learning

Children are one of the largest new user groups of mobile technology -- from phones to micro-laptops to electronic toys. These products are both lauded and criticized, especially when it comes to their role in education and learning. The need has never been greater to understand how these technologies are being designed and to evaluate their impact worldwide. Mobile Technology for Children brings together contributions from leaders in industry, non-profit organizations, and academia to offer practical solutions for the design and the future of mobile technology for children.

*First book to present a multitude of voices on the design, technology, and impact of mobile devices for children and learning

*Features contributions from leading academics, designers, and policy makers from nine countries, whose affiliations include Sesame Workshop, LeapFrog Enterprises, Intel, the United Nations, and UNICEF

*Each contribution and case study is followed by a best practice overview to help readers consider their own research and design and for a quick reference

Table of Contents:

Foreword: Water Jugs and Ringtones: Jason Bellone

Introduction: Defining Mobile Technologies, Children and Learning: Allison Druin

Section 1- The Landscape

Chapter 1: How Mobile Technologies Are Changing the Way Children Learn: Yvonne Rogers, Sara Price 

Chapter 2: Harnessing the Potential of Mobile Technologies for Children and Learning: Carly Shuler, Dixie Ching, Armanda Lewis, Michael H. Levine, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop

Chapter 3: Pocket Rockets: The Past, Present and Future of Children's Portable Computing: Warren Buckleitner

Chapter 4: Social Impacts of Mobile Technologies for Children: Keystone or Invasive Species?: Christopher Hoadley

Chapter 5: A Disruption is Coming: A Primer for Educators on the Mobile Technology Revolution: Elliot Soloway

Section 2- Designing Mobile Technologies

Chapter 6: Mobile Interaction Design Matters: Matt Jones

Chapter 7: A Child's Mobile Digital Library: Collaboration, Community, and Change: Jerry Fails, Allison Druin, Ben Bederson, Ann Weeks, Anne Rose

Chapter 8: Adding Space and Senses to Mobile World Exploration: Maria Joao Silva, Cristina, Azevedo Gomes, Bruno Pestana, Joao Correia Lopes, Maria Jose Marcelino, Cristina Gouveia, Alexandra Fonseca

Chapter 9: LeapFrog Learning Design: Playful Approaches to Literacy, from LeapPad to the Tag Reading System: Jim Gray, Jennae Bulat, Carolyn Jaynes, Leap Frog, and Anne Cunningham

Chapter 10: Designing the Intel-Powered Classmate PC: Ramon Morales

Section 3- Learning and Use

Chapter 11: Early OLPC Experiences in a Rural Uruguayan School: Juan Pablo Hourcade, Daiana Beitler, Fernando Cormenzana, Pablo Flores

Chapter 12: It's Mine;: Kids Carrying Their Culture Wherever They Go: Lisa Guernsey

Chapter 13: Mobile Technologies in Support of Young Children's Learning: Glenda Revelle

Chapter 14: Mobile Technologies for Parent-Child Relationships: Svetlana Yarosh, Hilary Davis, Paulina Modlitba Soderlund, Mikael Skov, Frank Vetere

Chapter 15: Using Mobile Technology to Unite (for) Children: Christopher Fabian and Erica Kochi

Chapter 16: Designing the Future: Janet Read and Allison Druin