192 pages
250mm x 168mm, illustrations
ISBN-10: 1 85856 307 0
ISBN-13: 978 185856 307 7
April 2004

This book describes recent work on developing new educational tools for four to eight year olds, funded by the European Commission. Children of this age learn quickly, as they have few pre-conceptions and are curious and open to new ideas and experiences. But young children have their own forms of communication and expression and the developers and designers of these learning technologies had to create more intuitive and accessible products than if they were for older children and adults. The research and development indicates what can be done and the book points the way forward.

The work, carried out over three years in the European Commission Intelligent Information Interfaces (i3) programme and its Experimental School Environments (ESE) initiative, was multi-disciplinary and involved ten collaborative research and development projects along with two supporting 'working groups'. The contributors include Joseph Blat, Bridget Cooper, Richard Noss, Danae Stanton, Augusto Chioccariello, Phi] Ellis and Lieselotte van Leeuwen.

They describe the projects and the lessons learnt in the process of developing each distinctive product and consider the cognitive and effective development of young children pertinent to the development of appropriate technology. Aspects of communication and collaboration, creativity and problem solving, metacognition, and of provision for special educational needs are explored.

The book will interest specialists and more general readers concerned with young children and technology. It provides a valuable and unique resource for all involved in researching the use of existing early childhood technology or embarking upon the development of new products.
As a member of the Children's Awareness of Technology (CHAT) working group, John SirajBlatchford has been involved in the project throughout. He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.

'This text contains seven stimulating chapters, and I recommend it strongly. The introductions put the work into context (and are well supplied with references); the accounts of the projects are intriguing; and the implications are when taken seriously are mid-boggling. Fascinating and informative'. - British Journal of Educational Technology