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Building KidPad: an application for children's collaborative storytelling
Author(s) -
Hourcade Juan Pablo,
Bederson Benjamin B.,
Druin Allison
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
software: practice and experience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1097-024X
pISSN - 0038-0644
DOI - 10.1002/spe.598
Subject(s) - storytelling , computer science , metaphor , interface (matter) , human–computer interaction , context (archaeology) , collaborative software , architecture , hyperlink , user interface , java , world wide web , multimedia , web page , programming language , art , paleontology , philosophy , linguistics , narrative , bubble , maximum bubble pressure method , parallel computing , visual arts , biology
Collaborating in small groups can be beneficial to children's learning and socializing. However, there is currently little computer support for children's collaborative activities. This was our motivation for building KidPad, a collaborative storytelling tool for children. KidPad provides children with drawing, typing, and hyperlinking capabilities in a large, two‐dimensional canvas. It supports collaboration by accepting input from multiple mice. In building KidPad, we developed solutions to problems common to all single‐display groupware applications for children: using an intuitive user interface metaphor that can support collaboration, and obtaining input from multiple devices. We addressed the need for an appropriate user interface metaphor by using the local tools metaphor. In developing the concept of local tools we learned about the importance of addressing the issue of global modes. Our solution for obtaining input from multiple devices was MID, an architecture written in Java. In building MID, we learned about the importance of building flexible architectures that can support a wide range of applications and devices in a consistent manner, and that are easy to extend and use by programmers. This paper describes our work on local tools and MID in the context of building KidPad, and aims to provide developers with valuable insights into how to develop collaborative applications for children. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.