Cooperative Inquiry Revisited: Reflections of the Past and Guidelines for the Future of Intergenerational Co-Design

Since its creation, the Cooperative Inquiry method of designing technology with and for children has been refined, expanded, and sometimes questioned. Cooperative Inquiry has been adopted and used widely throughout the world, and it continues to evolve and grow to meet current needs. This paper examines the origins of Cooperative Inquiry, discusses how it has changed since its original inception, and clarifies the intent of its techniques. This paper concludes by presenting how Cooperative Inquiry can support designing with and for today’s international, independent, interactive, and information active children in the context of the developing world, mobile computing, social computing, and the ubiquity of search.