The ChiCI group is the largest of its kind in the world and has been at the forefront in defining the field of Child Computer Interaction.
The best selling textbook in this field was co-authored by Prof Janet C Read and is used by researchers all across the globe.
Prof Read is the chair of the International IFIP TC13 SIG on Interaction Design and Children and editor in chief of the International Journal of CCI.
The ChiCI group has changed the way that research is done across the field by defining the methods used in design activities in schools, by producing a clear method for ethical work, by developing a toolkit of methods for measuring fun and by pioneering the teenagers as researchers in HCI approach. ChiCI methods have been used in over 30 research labs and with over 3000 schoolchildren.
In the recently completed UMSIC project, the ChiCI group demonstrated that children’s sociality can be improved with the use of mobile music technologies. Over 500 children participated in this research and improved sociality and less inclusion was reported in schools in the UK and in mainland Europe.
Through the SELEAG (serious games for learning) project and as a member of the international SEGAN (serious games network), the ChiCI group has demonstrated that young teenagers can engage in the design of their own serious games content – this work is now being continued in several high schools to improve pupil motivation.
