Layered Elaboration: A new technique for co-design with children
27 th Annual Human-Computer Interaction Lab
Symposium
Greg Walsh, Allison Druin, Mona Leigh
Guha, Beth Foss, Evan Golub, Leshell
Hatley, Beth Bonsignore, Quincy Brown,
Sonia Franckel

• Cooperative Inquiry
(Druin 1999)
– Participatory Design methodology
– Children are partners in the design of technologies for children
• Techniques utilized
– Low tech prototyping with art supplies
– Modeling the new technologies

• Storyboarding
• BrainDraw
(Dray 1998)
• Comicboarding
(Moraveji 2007)
• Elaboration of prototypes results in the destruction of previous iterations.

• Paper-based co-design technique
• Uses paper + washable markers + overhead transparencies + permanent markers
• Allows for iteration without the destruction of previous versions

• Designed storyboards for history game
(Walsh
2009)
• Previous experience with hesitation to
“destroy” another person’s work
• Added transparency overlay to allow for drawing without destroying

Layered Elaboration Design Process
Break into groups
Teams create paper-based prototypes
Everyone comes together to explain their designs

Layered Elaboration Design Process
Break into groups
Teams create paper-based prototypes
Teams elaborate on the designs transparent overlay is added
Explain designs

• Design a technology to help children learn about the environment while visiting the
White House, while at school or at home.

• Use physical activity to power devices in the house
• Must keep jumping or devices stop working

• Works best when non-destructive design annotation, limited space, and evolutionary artifacts are requirements
• Layered Elaboration can support asynchronous design work
• Layered Elaboration can be used with little space
• Does not require costly resources
• Works well with screen-based projects

• Distributed Co-design
• How does LE need to be modified for geographically distributed co-design?
• What does a computer-based tool need to facilitate LE?
• What changes are needed to better achieve its goal?

• Flash/HTML/PHP-based
• Supports
– Asynchronous collaboration
– Geographical distribution
– Creative Freedom

• Undo Tool
• Better layer visualization
• More drawing tools

• Need to regulate who has control of the design
– Software locks
• Limitations of tool and needs of audience should not prohibit design
– New tools like voice recording
• Participants who know each other make good-fait efforts to elaborate
– Social networking features

• Current Projects using Layered Elaboration
– Children’s Equitable Online Social Network (Club
Penguin)
– Educational Concert Experience for Carnegie Hall
– Educational Social Network for Weil Music
Institute
• Being adapted for designing mobile technologies
• Continuing online version

• Children of Kidsteam
• Supported by:
– University of Maryland’s College of
Information Studies (the iSchool)
– Carnegie Hall’s Weil Music Institute
– The U.S. National Park Service

Thank You!
Greg Walsh gwalsh@umd.edu
http://www.gregwalsh.com
Twitter: gxwalsh

• Online-Collaborative
– PICTIVE->TelePICTIVE, PICTIOL
– Only real-time
• Distributed Co-Design
– Cooperative Inquiry -> Modified techniques
– Only paper-based/relied on mail