Including children in the design of the internet of toys

Yamada-Rice, Dylan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3917-9197 (2019) Including children in the design of the internet of toys. In: The Internet of Toys: Practices, Affordances and the Political Economy of Children’s Smart Play. Studies in Childhood and Youth . Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 205-221. ISBN 9783030108977

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Abstract

Like previous work in the field of co-design with children (Bruckman & Bandlow, 2003; Jones, McIver, Gibson, & Gregor, 2003; Williamson, 2003), this chapter seeks to ask: ‘How can the ideology and practice of participation improve design practices?’ (Lee, 2008, p. 34) and thus produce better products. In the case of the specific focus here, this is in relation to improving the quality of digital and connected toys by better matching design to children’s play patterns and interests. To make this point the chapter draws on three different collaborative research projects in which I have considered children in relation to the design of digital play. Through the sharing of specific insights from the findings of these three projects, I advocate that there are benefits in considering toy design and play in relation to one another (Nesset & Large, 2004). Further, this is better done by positioning the child as a knowledgeable and able partner in this process (Carsaro & Molinari, 2017; Roberts, 2017). In order to achieve this, the chapter is structured first to review past literature about designing digital play and second in the area of co-design and participatory research with children.