A Collection of Children's Ideas for the Future of Technology

Kids Vision: a collection of children's ideas for the future of technologyis a fascinating new publication from Latitude.

Latitude has been engaged in a wide range of projects that have engaged children in telling stories and imaging what their future world will be like. The core learning from talking to children about their expectations of the internet, their stories about robots and their approach to dealing with environmental issues is that children view technology very differently than adults. Children experience technology in an emotional way; they don't see it as separate from themselves, but as a part of what it is to be human. The approach Latitude takes is very respectful of the capacity that children have and does not talk down to them, but is genuinely interested in how the people who will be making the future decisions about our world think about it now.

It is put best in a write up about the project where Latitude talks about its work with children.

Over the past few years, Latitude has taken a unique stance when it comes to children and technology: young people shouldn't be merely passive recipients of media and technology, as they're often thought to be — rather, they should be active participants in imagining and creating the future of the Web. Why? Because "digital natives" have a more intuitive relationship with new technologies than many adults have, and because they have different expectations about technology. They instinctively expect it to respond to them in very human-like ways — to motivate and empower them, often serving as a sort of companion, rather than merely a tool for solving specific problems. While many adults think about technology as separate from humanness, kids tend to think of it as fundamentally human.

You can find out more information and purchase the book ($15) or the ebook ($5) over at Latitude's website.

Disclaimer: The author's company partnered with Latitude on the Robots@School project.