Robert: "The goal shouldn't be to force these kids to dedicate all sorts of attention to the tool, but on the content to which the tool provides access"
I see this missing support mechanism as a challenge turned in to an opportunity. I agree with your risk assessment and maybe have a more optimistic view of the potential outcome. A purely academic approach focusing on the content layer will not address the needs of the do-ers among us who understand through taking tools apart to see how they work; I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand. - Confucius Dan:"My guess is that it gives them access to information that they otherwise wouldn't have." Included is access to the basic concepts of information technology, its more than just the content on the screen. Robert: "From what I can tell, Alan Kay's name isn't typically followed by "designer"." Actually, he might be more in tune with the project at hand than you might have realised: http://www.vpri.org/ And I -strongly- urge you to watch this through.. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1109203988787201616 Robert:"How does Alan Kay's experience make up for the apparent lack of quality interaction design? " I cant answer that question, but I ask you to think about the bigger picture here, the context of the endeavor. I installed Sugar on my mac and based on that I decided to put only $200 down for 1 laptop to be sent off. I think its very unsuitable for western goals and would bet yours will sit collecting dust in 6 months if not sooner. "They live in a different world, for sure, but their brains are still human, and human behavior is what led Nielsen to this list of usability heuristics." I dont think Nielsen gets 'social', he's very goal-quantitate result driven and maybe not the best yardstick for the mushy-human-chaos stuff. As I interpret Nielsen's "Location is Irrelevant for Usability Studies" I conclude that its true as long as there's a baseline in collective understanding of technology. Remove any preceding exposure and the methodology falls apart. Take his Parking Meter example from the linked page. In this case there is no concept of meter, parking or even car - its as much use as providing feedback on the "Help and documentation" that comes with negotiating Peruvian border control. "so I'm hoping I just don't get what you're saying." nope, I think you got me right and we have a different view on the matter, but thats what makes for great debate and learning. I will accept that I might have an optimistic view of the potential. But, I also think that Sugar fails in preparing kids for practical applications... however, spreadsheets dont engage kid's imaginations. regards - pauric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://gamma.ixda.org/discuss?post=23928 ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
