Designing for appropriation: A DIY kit as an educator's tool in special education schools

While there has been growing interest in do-it-yourself (DIY) technologies in mainstream education, there are few studies on their potential use in special education. This study explores the possibilities of DIY kits as a special educator's tool and the requirements for such technologies in the context of special education schools. We used workshops, questionnaires and interviews to investigate how educators in three special education schools explored the DIY kit Makey Makey. In particular, we were interested in finding out for which purposes and how educators would appropriate the kit, how they perceived its openness and which factors affected the appropriation process. The results suggest that designing for appropriation can give special educators a more active and creative role in technology adoption and benefit special education by increasing accessibility, motivation and interaction possibilities. However, the results also inform interaction designers and researchers about issues to be considered when DIY kits are used by both nontechnical users and users who have a wide range of special needs.