| Every day more children have access to the internet. Digital media play an important role in the lives of children and they seem to manage quit well with these media and in particular with information-seeking on the internet. But are children really that good in information-seeking? Do the search systems - offered to them on the internet - support their particular behaviour and needs? Previous research shows all kind of problems children encounter with information-seeking on existing search interfaces. In a world where the internet and technology play such an important role as they do today, it is absolutely necessary that children can assess the meaning of gathered information and can in child-friendly ways get engaged in interaction with content. Hardly any currently available IR system aims to facilitate the creation of child-centric information access, based on the understanding of the behaviour and needs of children. To achieve this goal, new research is required. We need to create information services that are tailored for the unique information needs of children and their intuitive styles of interaction. In our research, we will examine children s needs and behaviours to find ways to support them in effective information-seeking. |
