The shift from user, to learner, to participant: An Inevitable development or (just a) mere coincidence?

Abstract

This paper presents reflections on a shift from the role of a user to the role of a participant among students taking part in a longitudinal project dealing with design and implementation of a mobile learning environment. Over the course of the project the underlying design methodology changed from User-Centered Design (UCD), to Leamer-Centered Design (LCD), to Participatory Design (PD). The study indicates that when designing with learners, a combination of design methodologies can be a feasible solution, as it: a) enables researchers' to gain expertise in the target domain, b) develops expertise among students, c) supports the diversity among users, and d) blurs boundaries among the participants. A combination of the above methodologies was found to facilitate the role shift among the students. It is concluded that PD, alone or in combination with other approaches, appears to be suitable for designing learning environments, while its time requirements might mean that existing PD methods need to be modified to be applicable 111 commercial software development.