Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children

Today's children are the adults of the future. Let's lend a hand so that children can be freed from stereotypes. Let's lend a hand so that children can further develop all their senses. Let's lend a hand so that children's sensitivities will become more enhanced. Children with great creative minds are happier children. ---(Bruno Munari) This piece of wisdom from Bruno Munari - Italian artist, writer, designer, architect, educator, philosopher, may capture the deep essence of the IDC field, the philosophy underlying our artifacts, the reasons that inspire our activities in this area and have moved us to Como from all over the world. Since its birth in 2002, IDC has been a very special conference --- a place where high quality scientific research merges with creativity, fantasy, vision, and passion --- and a very special group of people --- multi-disciplinary, highly competent, cheerful, friendly, and enthusiastic. As Conference and Program Chairs of IDC 2009, it is our honor and pleasure to serve this conference and this community, and to host them in the region where we live and work. IDC 2009 called for long papers, short papers, demos, and workshops addressing case studies, experimental results, innovative technological solutions, methodological proposals, theoretical developments and reflections on the field. The submissions received addressed the wide diversification of technology for young people, from conventional computers to interactive tables, from mobile phones to any form of "smart" interactive device and technological solution that involves tangible interaction and full-body engagement. Submissions considered the requirements of different profiles, in terms of age (from very young children to adolescents), psychological, social, or physical needs, and different contexts of use (home, school, public places, hospitals, outdoor spaces). They investigated technological and methodological issues related not only to learning and play, but also to social awareness of young people in relationship to environment, cultural heritage, cultural roots of minorities and children with special needs. A number of them explored interaction design for young people in the family context and from an adult's perspective, e.g., how to help connect parents and children and how to master the complexity of a scenario in which technology is more and more part of their children's life. This year the number of submissions, by academic and industrial researchers from Europe, all Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia, has been one of the highest ever, and of excellent quality: it was truly hard for Chairs and Program Committee to identify the most outstanding works that could be accommodated within the constraints of a three days program. 17 full papers were accepted from a set of 53 submissions, 30 short papers from 82 submissions, 14 demos from 20 submissions, and 4 workshops from 12 proposals. The program this year features two exciting keynotes, by world's leaders in the field, Sasha A. Barab and Allison Druin, who will give us new inspirations on educational games and on designing for and with the world's children. In the panel on "Museums, Interactive Technology, and Children", participants from academia and top level cultural institutions and science centers in US and Europe, will share with us experiences on interactive digital exhibits and how children explore them and interact among peers in a real or virtual museums. A special session is devoted to present the European Commission 2010 Research Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning, and the recently launched IFIP Special Interest Group on Interaction Design and Children. A novelty of this year is the Como for Children (C4C) Competition, addressing interaction design in the context of preschools. 6 proposals were nominated from the 35 received, which considered either the vision of an interactive preschool of the future, or the design of specific applications or learning/playing experiences for children at kindergarten. Nominees will present their work in the final session; in the future, they will have the chance to have a true impact in the "real world" by developing their ideas in the context of the C4C project, a wider initiative of the Chamber of Commerce of Como wishing to promote innovation in education for very young children.