How do adults and children work together to design new technology?

Abstract

A reporter came to our lab the other day. He asked a lot of questions to our adults and kids who work together in a team. But the funny thing is we weren' t sure he really understood our answers to his questions. All too often this seems to happen, because most people make certain assumptions about how adults and kids can work together to create new technologies. Many people assume kids can be technology testers. Some people even think kids can help in the brainstorming process every once in a while. But few people quite believe that adults and kids can be on-going partners in designing new technology. This is what we strive for here in Maryland.