Proceedings of the 2004 conference on Interaction design and children: building a community

Today's technologies are shaping the way our children live, learn, and play. Therefore, it is critical that we understand the impact these new tools can have on young people. It is also important that we use this understanding to change technology to better support children in all that they do.Children are active, mobile, social beings who want to explore their environment and learn about it with friends, parents, and teachers. They want to be authors, builders, and artists who share their creations with loved ones and with the world. They need their learning experiences to be meaningful, and motivating. They look for opportunities to collaborate, ask questions, and share ideas. Technologies can provide a wealth of meaningful new experiences and support children's explorations into the neighborhood and the universe. Innovative tools can also foster communication and collaboration with other children and adults in the same room or half way across the world.With these opportunities, technology innovations also bring us profound challenges. All too often, new technologies are expected to magically transform how children learn. This is not the case, as Seymour Papert, one of our conference keynote speakers points out, "I think technology serves as a Trojan horse... but in the real story of the Trojan horse, it wasn't the horse that was effective, it was the soldiers inside the horse. And the technology is only going to be effective in changing education if you put an army inside it which is determined to make that change once it gets through the barrier." (http://www.papert.org/articles/GhostInTheMachine.html)It is this relationship between people and the tools we invent, that this conference highlights. The 3rd International Conference for Interaction Design and Children (IDC 2004) focuses on emerging new technologies, the impact of these technologies, and the process of innovating. It brings together researchers and practitioners from all over the world who share an interest in children's interaction with technologies. It is a forum to share the latest research in this field, as well as an unmatched opportunity to meet and communicate with colleagues. The theme of the conference reflects its main goal: "Building a Community". We believe that an active research community, where ideas are exchanged, and partnerships flourish will serve children best. These Proceedings reflect the international nature of the community as well as its growing development through papers, demonstrations, posters, and doctoral consortium abstracts.