Children in the information technology design process: A review of theories and their applications <s> Conclusion <s> The value of involving people as ‘users’ or ‘participants’ in the design process is increasingly becoming a point of debate. In this paper we describe a new framework, called ‘informant design’, which advocates efficiency of input from different people: maximizing the value of contributions tlom various informants and design team members at different stages of the design process. To illustrate how this can be achieved we describe a project that uses children and teachers as informants at difTerent stages to help us design an interactive learning environment for teaching ecology. <s> BIB001 </s> Children in the information technology design process: A review of theories and their applications <s> Conclusion <s> A flexible pipe joint comprising a cylindrical tie member for tieing the ends of pipes together and a flexible envelope for fluid flow conduction between the pipes. The tie member comprises a plurality of annular series of parallel tie bars arranged co-axially and there is adjustable mounting means for the tie member in the envelope for enabling the tie member to accommodate misalignment of the pipes on installation. Further misalignment produced by thermal expansion of the pipes is accommodated by the tie member by uniform flexing of the tie bars. <s> BIB002 </s> Children in the information technology design process: A review of theories and their applications <s> Conclusion <s> This paper describes preliminary work carried out to design a children's digital library of stories and poems with and for children aged 11-14 years old. We describe our experience in engaging children as design partners, and propose a digital library environment and design features to provide an engaging, successful learning experience for children using it for collaborative writing. <s> BIB003
What can be concluded about these various design theories based upon the rather limited number of applications in the information technology field? It has become obvious that as children's likes, dislikes, wants, and needs in relation to technology become more and more sophisticated, they must be involved in the design process in a meaningful way. Certainly, few if any current researchers would dispute the value of including children in at least some aspects of the design of children's technologies; the dispute lies in the methods for accomplishing this. The participatory design theories discussed in this article each have the potential to be adapted to include children as active participants. However, picking and choosing different aspects from these theories that can better facilitate the involvement of children will go a long way in achieving the usability goals set by experts such as Nielsen, Rubin, and Shneiderman, as well as other goals significant to the design of information technologies. As Druin and Large have shown with their work with intergenerational design teams, reinforced by that of  BIB002 and BIB003 , involving children as much as possible in the design process initiates and facilitates innovations and improvements to the final design that might not otherwise have been thought of by adult designers. The research has shown, however, that there are limitations to involving children in all aspects of the design process. Children often have difficulty in expressing ideas   and learning goals they have not yet met and as a result may be unable to participate fully as design partners and can contribute only in an informant role  . In terms of working as an intergenerational design team, children are often very conscious of age differences, no matter how slight  , and may need to be separated according to age BIB002 to be able to participate effectively. Other difficulties in establishing intergenerational design teams are the dynamics of power relations between adult and child, and directly related to this, the fact that some professional designers may have difficulty accepting children as peers  BIB001 . However, it should be noted that many of these drawbacks can be overcome as evidenced by the research conducted by Druin et al. and Large et al., and that the notion of including children as full members of a design team merits further study. To better promote creativity, usability, and profitability, designers must move forward from the reactive process of including children towards the end of the design process in the limited roles of user and tester. Although not all children may be able to participate as full design partners, they can be involved as informants at salient points throughout the design process. And although participatory design techniques can often be expensive and time consuming when working with adults and are likely to be more so with children, the advantages in terms of innovation and appropriateness of design can outweigh these negative factors. As has been established in this review, researchers have demonstrated the benefits of including children in the design process. Therefore, to modify the quote by BIB001 , in light of today's research into the development of children's technologies, it might now be said, ''the real issue would seem to be not whether involving children is good or bad but rather how to more effectively engage them in the design process.''