What we should teach children
about design
Erika Lee and Zoë Marrich-Simon
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Toddler
Toddler
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Little Kid
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Elementary School Kid
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Bigger Kids - Adult
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Emotion
Lifestyle
Experience
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...and product placement is out of control
#1 Ask questions.
- Who is this design for?
- What does the designer or creator want us to do with this information?
- What is the purpose?
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#2 Be skeptical.
- How is this design / image / video constructed?
- How do I double-check (verify) whether this is a real?
- Am I being tricked?
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BEAUTY + FUNCTION
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#3 Good designs are helpful.
- Is this design functional, beautiful or both?
- Is it easy to use?
- Does it take who needs to use or understand in mind?
- What would you do to make this design better?
#4 Good designs also...
- have elements/aspects that are the same (unity),
- add interest by making something different (variety)
- are organized (alignment, proximity, etc..)
- often have a focus -- something that is the most important (emphasis, hierarchy)
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Visual mathematics is an important part of mathematics for its own sake and new brain research tells us that visual mathematics even helps students learn numerical mathematics.
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Visual Literacy Also Matters
Visual literacy is the ability to:
- Process and make meaning of information presented in an image
- Communicate our own ideas through principles of design
- Create our own messages that capture our visual thinking in a way that conceptualizes problems to given solutions
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https://www.makersempire.com/why-design-thinking-should-be-taught-in-schools/
https://www.edutopia.org/article/designing-public-school-scratch
https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/45-design-thinking-resources-for-educators/
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/upgrade-classroom-design/
http://www.spencerauthor.com/designthinking/
https://designthinkingforeducators.com/design-examples/
http://ajjuliani.com/the-beginners-guide-to-design-thinking-in-the-classroom/
https://dspace.sunyconnect.suny.edu/handle/1951/68786
https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/27832_Ch_1.pdf
https://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/resources/teaching-aids/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1512100?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-media-visual-literacy-classroom-dave-guymon
https://www.youcubed.org/resources/visual-math-improves-math-performance/
https://grapeseedus.com/visual-literacy-essential-for-young-learners/
Appendix & Recommended Sites for Support Material
Erika Lee
Lecturer in Informatics @ IU SICE
Zoë Marrich-Simon
UX Researcher, MS HCI
What we should teach children about design
By Erika Lee
What we should teach children about design
Indy Design Week 2019
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