Kidgenuity: What We Can Learn from Kids Inventing Future Technology

KIDGENUITY: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM KIDS INVENTING FUTURE TECHNOLOGY

Steve Mushkin / @latddotcom

ReadWriteWeb 2WAY Summit

June 14, 2011

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” —Albert Einstein

—Female, 10, Melbourne, Australia

WHY TALK TO KIDS?

1.  They like to be asked.

2.  They have a very intuitive relationship with tech.

3.  They can be a window into future tech.

4.  They’re creative, and often have practical solutions.

5.  Even their wackiest ideas reveal patterns that are insightful and grounded.

Photo by Cia De Foto on Flickr

STUDY: CHILDREN’S FUTURE REQUESTS FOR COMPUTERS & THE INTERNET

Photo by Markus Kwan

Our Participants

We asked 200+ kids across the world, ages 12 & under, to draw their answers to this question:

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR COMPUTER OR THE INTERNET TO DO THAT IT CAN’T DO NOW?”

INSIGHT 1° Human Computers: More Intuitive & Interactive

Photo by Markus Kwan

77% of kids illustrated a tech idea that called for more dynamic, human-level responsiveness (often anthropomorphized as robots or virtual companions).

1° Human Computers: More Intuitive & Interactive

“I want to play virtual mind-reading games.”

—Male, 12, Sydney, Australia

“The computer becomes 3-dimensional and, instead of a keyboard, it’s controlled by voice.”

—Female, 11, Copenhagen, Denmark

1° Human Computers: More Intuitive & Interactive

“Help Computer: it knows what you are thinking and does it for you—both touch and voice controlled.”

—Male, 8, Brisbane, Australia

1° Human Computers: More Intuitive & Interactive

“I want an interface where we can search, not by text, but by drawing—and get image results with that particular shape or pattern.”

—Female, 12, Mumbai, India

1° Human Computers: More Intuitive & Interactive

INSIGHT 2° The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing

Photo by enfad on Flickr

Nearly 40% of kids imagined technologies that bridged the gap between virtual and physical experiences.

2° The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing

“I’d like to go through the computer to the places that are inside it.”

—Female, 4, Medellin, Colombia

“I’d like to touch the things that are in the screen—feel and move them.”

—Female, 7, Barcelona, Spain

2° The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing

“I’d like it if my computer could convert images or food and make them real.”

—Female, 10, Pakenham, Australia

2° The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing

“The Food Printer” —MIT’s Fluid Interfaces Group

2° The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing

“I’d like to paint and draw right on the computer screen and have it show up.”

—Female, 8, Ogden, Utah, USA

2° The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing

INSIGHT 3° Technology Should Improve & Empower Us

Photo by laihiu on Flickr

1/3 of kids invented technologies that would empower them by fostering new knowledge and skills.

3° Technology Should Improve & Empower Us

“I want to video kids on the other side of the world using a different kind of language.”

—Female, 7, Warwick, RI, USA

“I want a computer that gives easy help with math homework.”

—Female, 12, Victoria, Australia

3° Technology Should Improve & Empower Us

“I want to make up my own video game.”

—Male, 8, Kennewick, WA, USA

3° Technology Should Improve & Empower Us

“I wish the computer could be faster than a plane or a car and not waste time, taking me from South Africa to the USA in seconds.”

—Male, 8, Pretoria, South Africa

3° Technology Should Improve & Empower Us

INSIGHTS°

Photo by Samuel Mann

1.  ME = TECH Human computers: more intuitive & interactive

2. TECH = WORLD The physical vs. digital divide is disappearing

3. ME = WORLD Technology should improve & empower us

POSSIBILITIES FOR CREATORS OF CONTENT & TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCES°

Photo by Chris Willis

1.  Games and entertainment with real-world outcomes

2.  Advanced mastery and creation

3.  Robots: the next generation of HCI

“I want to watch movies (for a fee) currently being screened at the cinema.”

—Female, 11, Sydney, Australia

“I want a robot that would help me pick out fashion clothes and dress me everyday.”

—Female, 8, Potchefstroom, South Africa

“There is a computer disease that anybody who works with computers knows about. It's a very serious disease and it interferes completely with the work. The trouble with computers is that you 'play' with them!”

—Richard Feynman      

KIDS INNOVATION & DISCOVERY STUDIES (KIDS)° AN ONGOING LEARNING & INNOVATION SERIES

Follow our innovation studies: latd.com / @latddotcom

•  Children’s Future Requests for Computers & the Internet •  Robots @ School •  Trash to Treasure

KIDS invites children from across the globe to tackle big ideas in structured problem-solving scenarios, providing valuable insights for educators, technologists, and society.

www.latd.com

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twitter * @latddotcom

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Latitude is an international research consultancy helping clients create engaging

content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web.

To learn more about working with Latitude,

contact: Ian Schulte, Director of Technology & Business Development (ischulte@latd.com).

Presenter:

Steve Mushkin steve@latd.com