"Grasping data: empowering young children to understand and benefit from their personal data" is one of the thirty-six successful projects of the UKRI’s cross-research council responsive mode round 1 pilot scheme, designed to stimulate exciting new interdisciplinary research.
The project is led by Prof Andrew Manches, Director of the Centre's Children and Technology research strand, to change perceptions about children and their personal data through the creation of cutting-edge, child-centred tools and teaching practices. Centre colleague Dr Cara Wilson collaborates on the project as Project co-lead (UK). Ayça Atabey (University of Edinburgh) is Researcher co-lead, while Dr Uta Hinrichs (University of Edinburgh) and Prof Stephen Brewster (University of Glasgow) are Project co-leads (UK).
The project works with 270 children (aged 3-8) in schools, in partnership with SSERC, Edinburgh Zoo and Glasgow Science Centre to construct physical representations of personal data that children can touch, explore, talk about and learn with. It aims to contribute knowledge to early learning, cognitive psychology, child-centred design, data ethics, data visualization and computer science.
As a result, children will have a better understanding and value of their personal data, and greater confidence that they should and can play a role in the design of their future.
