Design Guidelines for Powerful Apps, with Ann McCormick

Design teams working with Ann McCormick have edited a list of Design Guidelines for children's learning programs for several decades, addressing what makes apps powerful, playful, beautiful, easy to use and worthwhile. Ann will share these guidelines, which guided the development of TLC's first games like Rocky's Boots and Reader Rabbit, and still guide development at Learning Circle Kids, where the team is producing Reader Bee.

Ann McCormick founded the Learning Company, a children's educational software company. She served as Chairman of the Board and Lead Designer, shaping the design of the company's first 16 products, including Reader Rabbit and Rocky's Boots. Under her leadership, TLC launched a new category of software and a leading national brand. Ann has served as an adviser to education and technology leaders in 15 nations and consulted with Apple Computer, IBM, Northern Telecom, and many other technology, publishing, research and telecommunications companies. She served as Vice President of VPL, a virtual reality company and gave invited lectures at Stanford, Harvard and the University of California. Ann wrote textbook chapters and articles on childhood and computing, and appeared on television shows such as the Donahue Show. She has won many awards, including the Parent's Choice Award, Best Software of the Year from Learning Magazine and Entrepreneur of the Decade from Junior Achievement.

NOTE: You can join this meetup remotely via streaming at 6:30pm PST at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/apps-for-kids. If you are attending remotely, please do NOT RSVP Yes! Only RSVP if you are attending in person (and please do come in person)!