5 - "Prototyping": Hardware Talk

The design I sketched out shown above is really about the shape and protection of the product. The outer material would be firm sponge/rubber. As you can see from the side view the edges fatten to protect the screen if the product is dropped.

5 - "Prototyping" : Ideas on Hardware

We have thought of many different peripheral(hardware) possibilities so far, here is a list of the best ones that we think should be implemented:

• Headphone jack:
  Sometimes the console might become too noisy and we thought that a headphone-jack could be handy. So that they can simply use a headphone.


• TV-output:
  It would be good if parents(or kids) could have a larger screen sometimes, especially for the gallery.


• Remote Control(for parents):
  This could be well useful for the times when kids are just making too much noise and parents want to switch the console off or turn the sound down...


• A little printer (which could be connected to the device through the camera slot, this obviously means the camera would have to be ejected.)


• Hardware protector(IBM Thinkpad - Active Protection System):
  This is something that will be needed for such device, because it is likely that the console gets droped all the time and we obviously don't want the hard drive to be damaged. The Active Protection System on IBM Thinkpads is not exactly what we need though, as that is designed for Windows XP or 2000.


• Microphone:
  We could have a built-in microphone so that the child could actually sing along with the music/nursery rhyme that is being played or read along with a story.

We also thought of a different button which could take the child(user) back to the main screen(Home). By having this button we could design the other 6 buttons in the way that they could be concealed inside the product, so basically by pressing the Home button all other 6 buttons would pop-up and when a program is running or the toy is switched off, other buttons could go down inside(hidden).

5 - "Prototyping": Ideas on Software

Last week we had a meeting about the softwares that the product should have. As we were discussing the matter we realized that it would be nice to have the product designed in the way that new softwares (games, stories etc) could be downloaded from the internet at a later time(this would mean that the device would have to connect to the internet via a wireless or wired network card), we also thought about the programs that each chunky button should launch, the idea is that each button should be for a specific program. Here are the programs that we thought should have a unique button on the device:

• Games


• Stories


• Drawing


• Music & Nursery rhyme


• Numbers & Counting


• Camera (could be replaced by a printer, will explain this later)

5 - "Prototyping" An Initial Design

We decided a few of us should independantly put together designs and compare the results and the reasoning behind them, forcing us to each think about the design ourselves and come up with our own ideas, and not know what other people were thinking when we were deciding.

Above is the design I put together.

I wanted the design to be really basic so that there would be nothing a child might find confusing. So all it is is a screen, pen and buttons. The shape is intentionally large with smooth edges, as clearly sharp or pointed edges are dangerous for a child. The screen is the focal point of the console, so it is large and central, with the controls framing it. The pen is chunky so that it is easy to grip for the child.

We had talked about ways of controlling the console and not really come to any conclusions. The only thing we decided was that the controls should be very simple and easy to use. The use of buttons appeals to me as the easiest and most intuitive way to control the device, hence in the design I have included two types of buttons, clearly separate from each other spatially and by formation, as well as in shape and size. This is so that each can be assigned common functions, separately from each other, that the child would be able to get to know, and which would be continuous with the functionality of the system, so that the child can easily get to know how to use it. An example of how to use this could be having the controls for what program you are in on the larger buttons to the sides, which would be constant, then have the bottom set of buttons as the controls for those individual programs, when you are in them.

The idea of using big chunky buttons as I have done, as opposed to simple on screen buttons, is that by having them separate from the screen would simplify the on screen display, as it would not have to show buttons, it would just have to display the graphics for the program that would be running. Also children respond largely using touch and having chunky buttons would be a something nice and tactile for them to interact with. The act of physically manipulating something in order to get a result would also make the functionality or the buttons much more tangible for the child.

If the buttons are to control the various functionality of the console as proposed it is clear that the design lacks any detail as to images or messages on the buttons to let the child know what they do. This is because we had an idea about the screen surroundings that may be a really nice feature for introducing an adaptive nature to the console and it’s buttons. Clearly different programs will require different things from the consoles buttons, even if it is only the bottom set of controls, and having only one set of images or messages for all programs is not going to be sufficient. So what we envisaged is that the whole console including buttons (excluding screen which would be separate) would be made out of a clear protective plastic or something, with a plasma screen type functionality imbedded underneath, so that on the surface of the whole thing can be displayed any images we like. This would mean that the body colours could be changed and simple images could be displayed, to suit the program being used. It would also mean that the display on the buttons could be changed to suit the program being used, meaning that the controls could be changed for each program and their new functionality could be communicated through new images or message to the child letting them know what the buttons will do.

The advantages of this technology will mean that the console could be much more versatile, and could have much more intuitive adaptive controls. Of course this technology doesn’t quite exist yet, but with display technology as it is it is easy to imagine that something like this really wouldn’t be too difficult to produce with current technology. The idea of it is not to make the body of the console an exact extension of the screen, as we don’t want the body of the console to be interactive, and this would seriously confuse the whole user interaction of the unit. What we want is for the screen to be separate to the body, in terms of appearance, feel and location. The design, although not clear from the individual drawing, involves the screen being slightly inset from the body, so that it is visibly different and the child would be able to feel the change from body to screen. The quality of images displayed within the body would not be of the same visual quality of those displayed on the screen, they would not be of the same resolution and detail, and would have to have different colour qualities, for example being slightly more washed out, the scale should be different too so that they could not appear a continuation of the scene set within the screen. This would ensure that the screen and body appeared very separate, keeping the focus still on the screen, but allowing the body appearance to compliment what is on the screen, and allowing the buttons to display whatever they want.

A console like this for children needs to be seriously protected, especially if it is going to have the kind of display technology we are thinking about inside. We have had a brief look at protection and there is a lot of fantastic protective technologies around. The Apple Ipod’s are a notoriously easy to scratch and damage, but because their beautiful aesthetics are such an important feature there are a massive amount of protective accessories available. Here are a few that could be useful in combination with our product.


http://www.speckproducts.com/vid-seethru.html

Above is a completely clear, hard plastic case for the Ipod video (probably the easiest Ipod to damage). Something like this would be a good surface to surround the console with, as it is very tough, shock absorption would be nill, and impacts would break components pretty easily.

http://www.iskins.co.uk/iskin_evo3.htm

This is the Ipod soft silicon case. They are a soft option to prevent scratches and have a really nice feel to them. They won’t provide as good protections as the hard case, but feel really nice and give great grip, and probably provide some degree of shock absorption.
http://www.iskins.co.uk/h2o_audio_waterproof_ipod_video_case.htm

This is the water proof case for the video Ipod. It is hard and clear like the above hard case, but also water proof. Water Resistance is going to be a real consideration for our product, as children are likely to be messy and spill liquids on it.

5 - "Prototyping"

(click on the photo to enlarge)

In the last couple of meetings we have been discussing how the product should actually be designed. The picture above is what we thought would be sensible.

Here are the facilities and reasons why we thought this is going to be a suitable design:

• A touch screen LCD was the most important part of the device.


• The product should definitely have some sort of built-in speaker. That's why we have got the two speakers at the top.


• Some way of allowing the child to draw and write was required, so we thought of having a stylus which is attached to the device.


• For our purposes a camera was needed and the best location for it was the top middle, Because that spot is most likely facing the child.


• We are going to have different applications installed on the device and the easiest and quickest way to launch the applications is to have a big round button just next to the screen for each application.


• We should be avoiding sharp edges for obvious reasons.


• Two handles were required as well, these handles are going to make the device quite easy to carry and also when it comes to mounting the device to car seats, it will be more stable.

5 - "Prototyping" : My initial design...

Before the last meeting we thought that we should come up with some image(hardware) of the product so each of us could discuss the advantages and disadvantages of our design and so this was my design. (click on the photo for more details about the design)

4 - "Observations"

We researched upon various products that are available in the market that can inspire us to develop our product further.

Fridge DJ Magnetic Learning Radio

• This Fridge DJ magnetic Learning radio is a great product for numbering and counting from 1-20 and comes with a case recognition feature. It also helps child learn the days of the week and enjoy music at the same time. However, it's all very limited to certain extent as we can't go further with numbers and count. Also, the hardware design is also vulnerable; hence has a very short life. We, on the other hand, are aiming to develop a product which can help a child grow from early scribbling to mastering words and book reading to the least. Also, we aim for a product, which can be used as an educational console for next generation toddlers.
  

Grow with me Learning System

• Grow with me learning system is another good product, which uses interactive discs for various functionality and software range for the product. It also has a 2 in 1 wireless activity controller, which can interact with other wireless devices. It comes with a proper storage case and a detailed parent guide. Also, comes with a choice of 4 different language selector options i.e. English, Spanish, French and German. It has these quiz games and have animated live action for kids entertainment. This is a good product, however it has a very limited scalability and adaptability. And these are the features like flexibility and scalability we are looking to incorporate into our final product design.
  

Learning Piano

• Learning Piano is another product that we looked at . It allows a child to get introduced to colours, instruments names, sounds and matching concepts. It helps child develop creative and motor skills; hence enhancing child's own initiative techniques. This has inspired us to consider features for enhancing creativity and self development. One of the other features that was of some interest were visual development for assisting in learning nursery rhymes. The bright colours and keys with lights enable child to comprehend to cause and effect mechanism.
  

Our product research have us an insight to how are software and hardware decisions be influenced with our visualization of the product. It totally motivated us to think about incorporating a robust, highly educational and entertaining product.

4 - "Use Cases" Research: Toddlers Milestone Chart 13/02/07

Following our last meeting we wanted to expand our knowledge of the understanding and learning of our target age groups. Whilst conducting our research we studied different behaviours in children and their learning techniques ranging from ages 19 months to 36 months.

At 18 months a child is capable of scribbling well and have the ability to read board books independently. At this age they are competent enough to complete tasks such as sorting shapes, colours and sizes into the correct group, likes to gaze at their own reflection, dances to music, can use common objects very well e.g. telephones, respond to given instructions and can become attached to a soft toy or other objects.

At 24 months a child becomes attuned to gender differences and is able to talk about their likes and dislikes. A child is knowledgeable to recognize alphabets and has the ability to set simple goals such as placing toys in a certain place. In addition they can name simple pictures in a book.

At 36 months a child is competent to name colours, draw several shapes such as circles, lines, stick figures, moreover can point to and describe particular objects.

They also have the ability to understand descriptions e.g. big, soft, and small, can recite and comprehend to their own name and are proficient to name particular actions.

Therefore these characteristics have helped us to incorporate several features into our proposed design.

4 - "More Task Analysis": Funky night lights

Check out these funky little night lights on amazon. The colour of the light represents the temperature of the room so a parent can instantly see whether their baby is safe.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gro-Group-Grobag-Egg/dp/B000DZF1WE/sr=1-1/qid=1171407005/ref=sr_1_1/203-5373206-9186363?ie=UTF8&s=kids

I know we're not creating a baby safety device but thought it might be interesting.

4 - "Target Audience" -Persona 3 :Dennis Smith: Target Persona (Meeting Date: 08/02/07)

Our 3^rd and last Target Persona is Dennis Smith, who is 2 ½ years old and following are some facts about him and his parents:

Martin Smith is;

• 32 years old
• a policeman
• Strong, tall, handsome, well built, stands 6 ft tall
• Bald and Has a mustache
• Commanding, gets respect from his two kids and is also playful
• Responsible father and is very cheerful
• Captain of Local Policeman’s Cricket Team
• Helpful to his wife in house chores whenever he can
• Enjoyable and likes to go out on family holidays and outings
• Kids have element of fear and obey him when asked to

Gail Smith is;

• 30 years old
• Mother of two kids: Anthony and Dennis ( Dennis is our target persona)
• She works as a receptionist at Optical express and has flexible hours (usually works between 9-3)
• She wears glasses and has light brown hair
• She is attractive, intelligent and is responsible mother
• She cooks meals for the family almost every night
• She does the household chores along with her husband and takes care of her kids well
• Martin and Gail have a good relationship and they are a happy family

Anthony is;

• 5 years old and is at school in reception
• is quite confident and clever
• gets attention at home as he’s smart and intelligent
• gets on with Dennis
• likes video games and likes to play football too
• likes to swim and fights with Dennis occasionally
• is popular at school and swears sometimes

Dennis (Our target persona) is;

• 2 ½ years old
• active child
• plays with brother and fights sometimes
• plays with action figures
• swears, imitating brother, sometimes
• mischievous but doesn’t know always what is too much
• Like micro machines and action man as his favorite toys
• Messy and boisterous

An average day for the family goes like so;

7:00 am – All the family members gets up at 7. Gail and Martin are good organizers and have set schedules for them and the kids. They all know what they are doing.

7: 50 am – They all have healthy breakfast which usually includes a selection of cereals and toasts.

8:15 am – Gail drives both the boys to pre- school and school on the way to Optical express. Martin goes straight to work depending upon his Rota.

9:00 am – Gail and Martin are both at work.

12:00 pm – Boys have their school dinners and parents have usually got their packed lunches. They usually enjoy their work life and company of work mates.

4:00 pm – Gail and boys are at home. After changing their clothes, they either do reading or play games until mum Gail sorts out the work at home. They have little snack time at 4: 30 and they are usually asked to do some reading before playing.

6:00 pm – Martin usually arrives at 5: 30 and dinner is ready for them at about 6 pm. All the family have their family dinner together and talks about their school stuff/ work around the table.

7:00 pm – Parents snuggle up and sit down with a glass of wine occasionally. Kids play various games like video games, interactive games on TV, board games with the family or play fight with each other. Their family time is very important as they get to spend time together, get time to plan for weekends and holidays etc.

8:00 pm – Gail takes Dennis to bed and read stories for him. Martin takes Anthony to bed at 8: 30 and asks his school stuff like tables or rhymes or stuff he’s learning. They do this in turns.

9:00 pm: Parents watch TV and have some leisure together.

10:00 pm: Gail and Martin go to bed after a long tiring day.


The family as a whole is a fun loving and integral family. Martin has odd working hours depending on his work Rota but still finds time to help Gail and kids at home. He is a very responsible father and thinks of long term future of kids. Parents already have saving account for the kids and are very encouraging to bring out the best in their kids. They go out on family holidays and have picnics/outgoings over the alternative weekends. Martin is also keen on sports and takes his kids out for football or swimming at times. He also lets Gail spend some time with her friends on a Friday nights when she has any outings or parties.

Gail is not stuck with household chores all the time. They have a sense of understanding and co-operation amongst each other. Although it gets very tiring and restless day after day, they manage to find time for each other when they leave the kids with the grand parents. They want their kids to be educated, intelligent and responsible people at the end of the day.

Picture Credits: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/718212

4 - "Target Audience" -Persona 3": William Worthington (Meeting 08/02/07)

William (3) is an only child who lives in a large house in the country side, with his parents Edward (28) and Consuella (25) and their labrador Sugar.

Edward is a hard working IT consultant who earns lots of money and works from home in his large office. Work occasionally requires him to live away from home for a while. Edward is tall, dark and handsome with a stylish look and an appreciation for expensive items such as his TAG watch and Hugo Boss suits. He's not a fickle man and realises money isn't everything. He enjoys squash, playing the Saxophone, and hunting with Sugar.

Edward met his wife Consuella (who is Spanish) whilst at convention in Spain 5 years ago. They fell in love at first site and married a year later. Consuella is an attractive latin looking lady. She is very clever, creative and artistic. She enjoys cooking, gardening and painting. Even though they could afford a cleaner, Counsella likes to look after the house and is very proud of how the house looks. Consuella likes to spend a lot of time with William, helping with his reading and encouraging his interest in musical instruments.

William, who is actually three and a half, goes to a private school. He wears glasses and generally looks like a bit of a geek (for which he sometimes gets teased for). He enjoys reading and playing with toys in his play room (his parents make a point of only buying educational toys). He also has an interest in his Dad's work.

Average weekday

6.00 am Consuella gets up and wakes William and prepares his and her breakfast.
7.45 am Consuella takes breakfast up to Edward just before she leaves with William to take him to school.
8.20 am The school is quite a drive but they can usually make it in 35 minutes. By this point Edward has finished his breakfast and is probably reading The Telegraph in bed.
9.00 am On the way back from school Consuella pops into the Supermarket to pick up some shopping. Edward is getting showered and ready at this point.
10.00 am Edward starts work at this point.
10.30 am Consuella gets back to the house and if necessary does some house work.
12.00 pm William is having his Jamie Oliver standard school dinners. Consuella starts to prepare lunch for herself and Edward.
1.00 pm Edward and Consuella eat their lunch.
2.00 pm Consuella carries on with house work or if there isn't much to do she'll play the piano or perhaps do some baking or walk the dog. Edward goes back to his study.
3.00 pm Consuella leaves to pick up William from school.
3.35 pm She arrives the school and takes William home. William usually sleeps in the car after a hard day at school.
4.10 pm They arrive home. William watches some childrens TV on Nickelodeon.
5.00 pm Consuella starts to prepare to tea. William often wants to help but is too young to do many of the jobs.
6.00 pm Edward finishes work and comes out of his study. They all eat a fantastic cooked meal around the table.
7.00 pm The following hour is usually family time where everyone will get involved in an activity whether it be music practise, helping William with his reading or playing games.
8.00 pm Consuella puts William to bed who goes with no argument. If he's not too tired, she may read him a story.
8.30 pm Consuella and Edward relax, usually in front of the telly with a bottle of wine.
10.00 pm Consuella retires to bed but Edward stays up to watch the 10 o clock news and usually gets to bed at 11.00 pm.

*Picture Credits: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/555324

4 - "Target Audience" Persona 1 - Britney Jones (Meeting Date 01/02/07)

Between the last meeting and the latest we have all been doing research on different age groups to help us come to more realistic decisions.

Now that we have made up a few basic personas we want to flesh them out. In our meeting the other day we did this to the persona of Britney Jones (was all we had time for). We started at the top by defining her parents; Kevin and Sharon Jones.

First the facts:

Kevin is;

• 30 years old
• Unemployed
• He claims the Doll
• Likes to go to the bookies
• Likes to go to pubs and watch football

Sharon is;

• 22 years old
• works in ASDA supermarket part time, because she has to take care of young Britney
• She manages 20 hours a week
• She enjoys her job to some extend, as it gets her out of the house, which doesn’t happen often otherwise
• She has ambition, but is as yet going nowhere
• She does all the housework and chores around the house and their lives
• She is not well educated, and does not feed Britney a balanced diet, giving her trash like Chicken Dippers and Turkey Twizzlers, along with high sugar treats and drinks.

Britney is;

• 19 months old
• A chubby child, as she is not fed well
• Often Hyperactive and stroppy
• She has a bad immune system
• Very attention seeking
• If she doesn’t get what she wants she will cry and complain relentlessly
  

An average day for the family goes like so;

8:00 am – Sharon gets up and wakes Britney, then gets them both ready for the day. She gets ready for work and gets Britney ready to go to the state run crèche

10:00 am – Sharon starts work, having dropped Britney at the state run crèche shortly before. Kevin gets up.

12:00 pm – Creche feeds Britney (This is the main way Britney gets a balanced and appropriate diet). Kevin goes out ‘job hunting’ at the local bookies.

3:00 pm – Sharon finishes work and picks up Britney. She then takes Britney with her while she does the shopping or daily chores.

6:00 pm – Sharon cooks dinner, Kevin comes home and plays with Britney

7:00 pm – Kevin goes to the pub, Sharon watches TV with Britney because she is too tired to do much else more productive with her.

9:00 pm – Sharon puts Britney to bed. Britney does not fall asleep easily because she has had too much trash to drink and is hyperactive.

11:00 pm – Kevin comes home. Sharon and he argue, then she goes to bed. Kevin goes and watches TV

2:00 am – Kevin goes to bed.


Kevin spends very little quality time at home, he does not like to feel shackled down. When he is home, which is usually in the evenings he plays with Britney a lot and she really enjoys it, however he lets her do whatever she likes, as he does not want to have to discipline her. This often leads to undermining rules Sharon tries to maintain.

Sharon spends all day everyday with Britney except when she is at work. She enjoys the escape that work brings as she constantly feels tied down by Britney with no help from Kevin. They argue a lot because of this their relationship has deteriorated a lot. Sharon sometimes loathes Britney, as she has brought her young life to such a dead end, however she still loves her and tries to be a good mother, but finds it hard because Britney is so demanding, and she gets not only no help from Kevin, but he will frequently make things harder for her by undermining her authority because he does not understand that her rules will only keep Britney at bay if they are consistent, but all he want s to do is see her happy so he does whatever she wants with him even though it damages her stability.

Because Kevin lets Britney do whatever she likes Britney loves him more than her mother, as she is too young to know what is good for her, so she is even more of unreasonable a brat when with her mother. She is a playful girl, but so impatient, demanding and out of control because her parents give her mixed messages between them, and inconsistent treatment themselves too.

* Picture Credits: http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=search&w=1&txt=baby&p=5

3a - "Detailed Problem Definition": Initial Personas: Trisha was ill so I had to post it! (last week's meeting(30th Jan))

A suggestion put forward for our HCI project, was to design and create a console that can be used for educational or entertainment purpose aimed at children within the age group of 1-4 years. The console will be designed to adapt to various devices such as car seats, high chair, push chairs and portability will also be an option for the child and parent. All these devises will be administered by a remote control which will be held by the parents. Functionalities for this console will include:
• Music – poems, nursery rhymes
• Action games
• Stories that highlight the pictures and words
• Alphabet games
• Manipulation of action figures
• Sketching feature
• Portability

Below we have stated the three personas that will help us identify and accommodate our target users.

1. BRITNEY SMITH
• 1 year old
• Blonde hair
• Only child
• Spoilt
• Rosy cheeks
• Likes to play with her Barbie dolls

2. DENNIS JONES
• 2 years old
• Naughty
• Breaks all his toys
• Hits the other boys
• Drinking problem (milk)
• Clumsy and messy
• Impatient
• Has an older sibling
• Loves attention

3. WILLIAM WORTHINGTON
• 3 years old
• Wears glasses
• Gets bullied
• Shy and timid
• Likes to read
• Likes to play the piano
• His favourite cartoon is pocoyo

3a - "User Need Analysis": Second Major meeting (About week ago)

Following the trip to what turned out to be ‘The Entertainer’ and the ‘The Early Learning Centre‘ we had had some hands on experience of what current children of all ages get to play with. One toy that stuck out after this journey was the drawing tablet that allows a child to draw whatever they like and simply erase it with the slide of a lever (can be seen in one of the photos from the trip). This kind of toy is great because it allows the user to be as imaginative and creative as they like with drawing or writing and must surely help them develop some cognitive and physical skills. It also had a very obvious link with one of the ideas that we had had the week before, that being the digital cartoon drawing thing.

The trip had made us think a bit about the age group we were interested in pursuing, and that the younger the child the more interesting the design of their toys, because it requires so much more thought about what it can provide the child with, as the earlier stages in their life are where such massive development happens to them. We were thinking of narrowing our age band to 1 to 3 / 4 years old.

So we started thinking that we could design a modified version of the hand held cartoon drawing thing for a younger generation, so we went back to the drawing board on that, and with it we took the realisation that with the whole car seat idea we hadn’t decided anything specific for the entertainment that we had decided it would have, so why not make it this??

What we came up with was…

A hand held console, where a tft style touch screen would be the main focus, where all of the main interactive graphics would be displayed, so that the user could press things that appear on it and make things happen. The console would come with attachments so that it could be connected to car seats and prams, etc. but still portable so that the child could play with it anywhere. That’s the basis of the idea, I’ll list the other properties that we thought up for it;

• It would have to be chunky, smooth and very strong
• Would have to be easy to clean
• Would have to be very colourful, in addition to this the whole console will be made out of some high tech material that would change colour depending on what application was being run on it / just what was being done on it in general
• Would run several applications, all designed with the intention of being fun and educational
• Has a big chunky pen to write on the screen with
• Has to be light weight
• Has to be battery powered
• We want to avoid having side controllers like most hand held consoles do, but maybe have big buttons that could show images or something
• The possibility of having some kind of Bluetooth link up ability for two player software has been suggested, but we don’t know how sound an idea that is yet.

Those are some general properties and I’m sure it’s relatively clear where those designs ideas would have come from, with the product being for young children. Basically we want it to be bold and beautiful so that the aesthetics appeal to young children. We want it to be real tactile and chunky, as children can’t be expected to have particularly well developed motor control. We obviously want it to be very safe, and usable wherever so it has to be very strong.

What kind of things would be on it is the next issue, and we had a wide variety of ideas about that as follows;

• Following the drawing idea it would have to have some kind of drawing program on it, allowing the user to draw or write whatever they liked. Also the possibility of importing (in a simple way) set cartoon images and the like would be good.
• A program to read stories to the child would be good. A good way to do this would be to have real voiced children’s stories be played along with cartoon images of the story on screen as the story unfolds to animate it. It would also display the words in text on the screen and highlight which are being spoken as the story progresses like a karaoke machine, to aid the child’s reading. If the child could press on the words as they appear and they would be repeated that would be good. This strikes as a good logical step on and combination of standard children’s books where there are words and pictures, and story telling where a speaker voices the books, maybe showing the pictures as they go.
• In The Early Learning Centre we saw a game where a number of pairs of pictures we stored under windows and the game is to uncover a window see it’s picture and try and guess and later remember where the pair to it is, with the goal being to find the pairs. This is a game that has very obvious ability to be transported onto am electronic interface like that proposed, and is designed to help children’s observation and memory skills.
• In the same shop we saw a game where you press plastic animal heads and the sound they make is played. That would be very transferable and has multiple extensions that could be done too. For example the console could present a picture of an animal, and the user would have to spell it’s name using the pen, or they may have to speak it’s name and that could be picked up by the console, whereby the system could tell them if they are right or present the correct answer back to them.
• A simple writing game would be a good addition, whether it is as simple as the child is presented with a picture and asked to write what it is, or whether it is more of a guess / logic based game like hangman. Something like this would be a great addition for benefiting language skills. The whole writing thing could be done by either the pen and hand writing on the screen, or an on screen alphabet would be possible for this, it would all depend on it the child had started writing yet or not. Maybe which is used for game could be set by the parents so that the console could be more useful.

Other simple puzzle games, on board comics and various other things were also discussed, and we feel we are getting a good stating point here. A couple of things to note, however, is that some of these software ideas may apply more to certain ages than others, so they may not all be useful, or perhaps the console could be developed with the intention of being used for a range of ages, with different software for each, that would certainly provide better value for money. Also there is no mention of operating system above, not because it was ignored, just that before we start top restrain our idea with technical issues we want to explore a range of things first.

1 and 2b - "Group Formation and BrainStorming": First Meeting Post (Bit Late!!)

We’ve been a bit lapse with updating our blog, so firstly to recap!

In our first meeting a couple of weeks ago we quickly realised that we all wanted to create some kind of product for young children. We had a brainstorming session to decide on various products that we could do, and two of the strongest that emerged were as follows;

Firstly we thought about some adaptation on car seats to make them entertaining for children, in order to keep children occupied on long journeys. This then extended into the idea that it could be transformed into a multipurpose baby carrier, that would contain some way of entertaining the child, and be able to act as a safe car seat, baby carrier and have wheel attachments to be useable as a pram. As far as we knew a product like this didn’t exist so it was a good option.

The second idea was some kind of hand held gizmo like a handheld touch sensitive flat screen console that would allow the user to draw cartoons, as well as use set pictures and drawings, to create their own characters, and then allow animation of them so that the user could create some kind of personal cartoon based on their own designs and innovations.

Clearly these would be intended for very different age groups of children, the first being for maybe 3 and younger, the other having to be for maybe 7 and older as it would have to include some relatively complex controls and technology that younger children would struggle with.

That was the result of our first meeting and idea session. Aside from that we decided that it would be a great idea to go to Toys ‘r’ us for some inspiration (so this meeting was before the previous post), or at least to clarify our ideas and gain more of an incite into what is available for children these days, and what is appropriate for different age groups, as for this meeting we were all pretty much in the dark about specifics of that nature.