Analysing design suggestions and use of resources in co-design of educational software: A case study

Abstract

This naturalistic study focuses on how the co-design of educational software is an activity mediated by and through communicative resources. The aim is to identify how design suggestions and the use of resources emerge in co-design. This study contributes to the growing interest in understanding aspects of collaboration in design. To understand the phenomenon of collaboration in design, we apply interaction analysis, dialogism and the sociocultural perspective to show which resources the participants use and how they negotiate design suggestions. We argue that such understanding is only visible through detailed analysis of naturally occurring co-design activities. We find that the design trajectory varies in how the participants orient themselves to each other and in relation to the design artefacts. Tensions make visible which communicative resources are sensitive to what the participants interpret as relevant in the context of their institutional norms and values. Their different positions must be negotiated. Together, these aspects orient the design and mediate the emerging consensus and design artefact.