Abstract

Large, Nesset, Behesht , & Bowler
Figure 2. Brainstorming drawing, History Trek design team (Copyright © 2006 by
McGill University. Used with permission)
modeling clay, and other such materials to represent design ideas. In bonded design,
prototyping is used iteratively throughout the sessions in order to produce a final
low-tech prototype. Bonded design is particularly appropriate when working with
children because they enjoy these types of prototyping activities, and very successfully
accomplish them. Furthermore, children often can express their ideas more
cogently through such activities, rather than attempting textual descriptions (Arizpe
& Styles, 2003; Glynn, 1997).
In both the History Trek and the KidSearch Canada design teams, the preferred
prototyping technique was to draw Web portal mock-ups on large sheets of paper.
Initially, the team members sketched their own concepts of a Web portal before
moving on to drawings that represented their ideas on specific components within
a Web portal interface. A downside of drawing as a prototyping activity is that it
can absorb the children’s attention for long periods of time within a session. This
tendency is especially prevalent when the children are encouraged to produce colored
drawings rather than pencil sketches. Figures 3 and 4 show examples taken from
the initial prototyping session of History Trek: the first drawing was contributed
by an adult team member, and the second by a grade-six student member. Figure
5 is a similar example, but this time from a grade-three student in the KidSearch
Canada team. These drawings represent early attempts at representing ideas for a
complete portal interface.
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