Developing Children's Understanding of Personal Data
Dr Andrew Manches and Lydia Plowman have secured funding of £5000 from The Edinburgh Futures Institute in order to explore young children's understaning of personal data through the new project 'Developing Children's Understanding of Personal Data'.
The burgeoning market in internet-connected toys (known as the Internet of Toys) means that issues of personal data increasingly concern this age group. Internet-connected toys use a variety of sensors and recording devices to offer children exciting new forms of interactivity, but not without risk. With a focus on children's understanding of 'data', this project will utilise a sensor-augmented toy to generate child-friendly visualisations of their personal data. The data will then be used to facilitate debate with adults and children about personal data, its use and what it means for privacy and security.
The research team comprises University of Edinburgh staff from Information Services, Informatics, Design Informatics, and the School of Social and Political Science. Research partners include Glasgow Science Centre, Dynamic Earth and Education Scotland.