Children and embodied interaction

Abstract

As computation plays an ever larger role as an embedded part of the environment, research that seeks to understand the embodied nature of children's interactions with computation becomes increasingly important. Embodied interaction is an approach to understanding human-computer interaction that seeks to investigate and support the complex interplay of mind, body and environment in interaction. Recently, such a perspective has been used to discuss human actions and interactions with a range of computational applications including tangibles, mobiles, robotics and gesture-based interfaces. Physically-based forms of child computer interaction including body movements, the ability to touch, feel, manipulate and build sensory awareness of the relationships in the world are crucial to children's cognitive and social development. This workshop aims to critically explore the different approaches to incorporating an embodied perspective in children's interaction design and HCI research, and to develop a shared set of understandings and identification of differences, similarities and synergies between our research approaches.