Investigating class conversations with classtalk: a study with tangible object prototypes in a primary school

Abstract

Interactive tangible objects can help orchestrate conversations in school classes. If such tangibles are created with a meta-design approach, for the specific context of their users, they evolve according to their usage. Specifically, tangible object prototypes are created; prototypes are adopted by their users in ecological studies; their usage is reflected over by users and designers to investigate design possibilities, which are rapidly prototyped and again adopted by users. This paper reports on the meta-design and latest evolution of ClassTalk, a tangible for conversations in primary school classes. It shows how new design ideas emerged by making users adopt ClassTalk prototypes, and by moving designers into users' context.