How to enable young teens to design responsibly

Smart things, such as smart watches, are popular among young teens. Designing them requires technical knowledge, concerning the inner workings of physical devices, cloud services, and their interconnectivity. Moreover, designing them responsibly means conducting diverse reflections in design. Engaging young teens in responsible smart-thing design is thus complicated and yet potentially empowering for them. Toolkits for teens can help guide them in smart-thing design and in reflecting in the process. This paper reports on the design process, based on the action-research paradigm, of the IoTgo toolkit, and it discusses the features, progressively discovered along multiple iterations of design and evaluation, that can empower young teens to design smart things while reflecting on their impact, e.g., safety concerns. The paper then concludes with lessons distilled from the insights that emerged from the analysis of the data gathered in the actions undertaken with teens during the design process.