Technology to Support Children's Collaborative Interactions

Book excerpt: This book explores how technology can foster interaction between children and their peers, teachers and other adults. It presents the Co-EnACT framework to explain how technology can support children to collaborate, so helping them to learn and engage enjoyably with the world, in both work and play. The focus is on children, rather than young people, but the principles of supporting interaction apply throughout all life stages. Chapters on classrooms and on autism explain principles behind using technology in ways that support, rather than obstruct, social interaction in diverse populations. Collaborative interaction involves both verbal and non-verbal behaviour and this book presents evidence from closely analysing children’s behaviour in natural settings. Examples from cutting-edge technology illustrate principles applicable to more widely-available technology. The book will be of interest to psychologists, educators, researchers in Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), particularly those designing with children in mind, and practitioners working with children who want to deepen their understanding of using technology for collaboration.