Sensors as senses – Increasing children’s data literacy through participatory information design
The ability to understand data and information are becoming increasingly important in the digitalized world. This design project is a practice-based design research about how we can increase children’s data literacy.
Three participatory information design workshops were conducted with a target group of children age 14 in the context of the Swedish elementary school system at Vasaskolan, Kalmar.
The workshops had three different stages targeted to increase data literacy; 1) Measuring environmental data through Arduino-based sensor boxes, 2) Processing the independently collected data into creative information visualizations and 3) Reflections and discussion on data literacy and information visualization. The design project produced the workshop design and feedback on how to develop the workshop approach further, and increased the data literacy of the participants.