Allison Druin facts for kids

Allison Druin is an American computer scientist who studies how people, especially children, use computers and technology. She focuses on making digital libraries and educational tools easy and fun for kids to use. She used to be a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and now she helps lead research at the Pratt Institute.

Allison Druin's Journey in Tech

Early Education and Learning

Allison Druin started her education by studying graphic design, which is about creating visual things, at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1985. She then went on to get her master's degree in 1987 from the MIT Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Later, in 1997, she earned her Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. Her Ph.D. research was about how to teach different subjects to design interactive computer programs.

Working with Technology and Kids

In 1998, Allison Druin joined the University of Maryland, College Park. She became a professor there in 1999. From 2006 to 2011, she led the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the university. This lab studies how people and computers work together. She also held other important roles at the university, like being an Associate Dean for Research.

Later, she took a break from the university to work for the US National Park Service for two years. There, she helped with their national digital strategy. In 2017, she joined the Pratt Institute as an Associate Provost, where she helps lead research and partnerships.

Books by Allison Druin

Allison Druin has written or edited several books about technology, especially for children. Here are some of them:

• Children’s Internet Search: Using Roles to Understand Children’s Search Behavior (2014)
• Methods and Techniques for Involving Children in the Design of New Technology for Children (2013)
• Mobile Technology for Children: Designing for Interaction and Learning (2009)
• Robots for Kids: Exploring New Technologies for Learning (2000)
• The Design of Children's Technology (1999)
• Designing Multimedia Environments for Children (1996)

Awards and Recognition

Helping Kids with Digital Libraries

In 2010, Allison Druin and Ben Bederson won the ACM SIGCHI Social Impact Award. They received this award for creating the International Children's Digital Library. This library is a special online place where children can find and read books from all over the world.

Top Honors in Computing

In 2016, Allison Druin was chosen as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery. This is a very high honor given to people who have made big contributions to computer science. She was recognized for her work in creating technology with and for children. In the same year, she was also elected to the CHI Academy, which recognizes top leaders in the field of human-computer interaction.