Designing a web site with children

This paper describes WeDD (Web Site Design Day), a project which brought university staff, parent helpers and school children together to design a school web site. The design process, which was modelled on participatory design, is described with reference to other work that has used a similar approach. The methods that were used to evaluate the process are described, and some general conclusions about the efficacy of the approach are presented. Difficulties with trying to work in a participatory way with children are examined. A participatory design model the IBF model is proposed; this defines terms for the different balances of participation. This is followed by a discussion of the variables that affect, both before and during the participatory process, the level of participation of the various categories of participant. The project environment and the skills of the participants are identified as being important in the initial positioning of a design project on the IBF model. Subject knowledge and personal security are considered to cause fluctuations within the project. The importance of controlling and monitoring these variables is discussed and further work in this area is described.