Involving older people through co-design has become increasingly attractive as an approach to develop technologies for them. However, less attention has been paid to the internal dynamics and localized socio-material arrangements that enact this method in practice. In this paper, we show how the outcomes that can be achieved with user involvement often pertain to learning, but their content can differ significantly based on how the approach is implemented in practice. Combining explorative, qualitative findings from co-design conducted in four countries (Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden), we illustrate how different types of learning occurred as design workshops engaged the experiences and skills of older people in different ways. Our findings make visible how learning can be a core outcome of co-design activities with older adults, while raising awareness of the role of the power relations and socio-material arrangements that structure these design practices in particular ways. To benefit from the full wealth of insights that can be learned by involving older people, deeper knowledge is needed of the implicit features of design, the materials, meanings, and power aspects involved.

中文翻译：

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协同设计即学习：四个国家老年人参与数字化学习的差异

通过共同设计让老年人参与进来，作为一种为他们开发技术的方法，变得越来越有吸引力。然而，很少有人关注在实践中制定这种方法的内部动力和本地化的社会物质安排。在本文中，我们展示了如何通过用户参与实现的结果通常与学习有关，但根据该方法在实践中的实施方式，其内容可能会有很大差异。结合在四个国家（加拿大、荷兰、西班牙和瑞典）进行的协同设计的探索性、定性结果，我们说明了不同类型的学习如何发生，因为设计研讨会以不同方式吸收老年人的经验和技能。我们的研究结果表明，学习如何成为与老年人共同设计活动的核心成果，同时提高人们对以特定方式构建这些设计实践的权力关系和社会物质安排的作用的认识。为了充分利用老年人可以学到的丰富见解，需要对设计的隐含特征、所涉及的材料、意义和权力方面有更深入的了解。