Participant List

Wi-Fi = Riverside Conference, Password = Station11
Welcome to Dust or Magic 2014
This packet contains your agenda, a participant list and handouts for applying the theories of child development to interactive media design. Online resources include:
• Twitter http://twitter.com/dustormagic (maintained by CTR) Hashtag: #dustormagic
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/dustormagic/ (maintained by old timers)
• YouTube http://www.youtube.com/dustormagic (maintained by CTR)
• Wiki http://dustormagic.wikispaces.com (maintained by alumni)
• Virtual Demo Board http://dustormagic.wikispaces.com/Demos (maintained by alumni)
• Web: http://dustormagic.com (maintained by CTR)
• LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/WJ4ZjD (maintained by old timers)
• Read CTR reviews: http://childrenstech.com You should all have login credentials.
Note the evaluation form at the end of this binder. Give our staff the same type of feedback we give your products, by filling it out and dropping it in the evaluation box at any time over the course of the Institute.
Objectives:
• To familiarize you with key products and point out strengths and weaknesses.
• To contribute to your personal definition of “dust” and “magic.” • To review of the fundamental theories of child development in the context of emerging technologies.
• To give you hands on access to current products.
• To provide critical, honest, fair and open demonstrations of current products, with room for discussion.
• To provide an overview of the elements of CTR’s definition of successful design.
• To introduce you to others who are passionate about
This book belongs to:
creating children’s interactive media
• To provide a comfortable, structured, relaxing experience.
Let’s begin...
Printed on 100% non-interactive paper, with retinal display toner
Wi-Fi = Riverside Conference, Password = Station11
How do I share my iOS screen?
STEP 1: Setup your Wi-Fi. Get onto the wi-fi
network “Dust or Magic.” This is in your
settings (look for the gears).
STEP 2: Double tap the HOME key; you’ll
see the recent apps appear. Swipe right until
you see your music controls. Look for the
AirPlay icon
STEP 3: Touch Apple TV and make sure
mirroring is on. Presto -- youre screen is on
the big screen, audio and all.
Suggestions:
• Communicate with the group -- don’t
inturrupt a session in progress.
• Use your camera to display a drawing or brainstorm
list.
• Have the apps you want to demo in your bottom tray,
so you know where they are.
Dust or Magic 2014
2
Tips for finding
magic
Illustration: Peter Reynolds
In demonstration settings —
In order to get the most out of this institute, we ask that each
participant consider the following during the small and large
group discussions.
WHEN GIVING CRITICISM: Ground feedback in real examples
and provide opportunities for differing opinions.
Remember “modifiable” vs. “unmodifiable” issues, from the
perspective of the person getting the feedback.
1. Represent: take a lot of notes and make sketches.
Learn from others, listen, and leave the institute as better
reviewers, critics, researchers, teachers, designers, and publishers. Remember that it’s OK to sit quietly and reflect.
There is no pressure to participate.
WHEN GETTING CRITICISM: Make sure you are comfortable
with the process. If not, ask for more feedback in a confidential
setting. To this end -• Grouping and seating is flexible. If you end up in a group
and you are not comfortable with the membership, it is perfectly OK to get up and change.
• Participation in discussions is optional. You should not feel
obligated to express opinions at any time.
• If you record any information or take pictures (other than
note form), make sure that all people know that a recording
or photographic device is active. Not all participants want to
be “on the record” all the time.
2. Keep a child’s-eye view. This is the key to understanding
the magic. Try to look at each product through the eyes of a
child who will have little regard for public relations budgets,
cost, packaging, political context or size of publisher.
Remember .... a child can’t spell the word “hypocrite,” but
they know what one is.
3. Manage your bias. It is natural to have cultural, commercial and theoretical bias. This bias can help you, but it can
also blind you. You can’t get rid of it, but you can understand
and manage it. It helps to honestly disclose this bias when
evaluating products or talking to others about a particular
product.
General Definitions
Children— children from birth to 15 years. We must think
broadly about this, however, as children use and benefit from
products designed for adults.
4. Keep an open mind. Interactive media is changing rapidly, due to Moore’s Law. So think broadly and with an open
mind. Try to avoid negative thinking at the start of a thought
stream. Phrases to avoid include “I can’t work with that platform” or “we don’t use that hardware in our office.” This is a
time to think outside the box.
Interactive Media — the broadly defined category of "new" or
interactive media, or software that runs on hardware in any
form, such as a tablet, computer, game console (Nintendo Wii
U, DS, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, iPhone/iPod Touch), Internet
site, a smart toy with embedded software. The key word is
"interactive media" rather than “linear media.”
5. Support the group process. Give and take, don’t dominate the discussion, and don’t be afraid of healthy controversy or disagreement.
Materials in the Room
Please take care of all items as if they belonged to you. If you
notice a toy with low batteries, find the battery box and change
them. If you use one of the game consoles, return the software
and controllers for the next person.
6. Don’t sell (or if you do, at least do it honestly). Please avoid
PR fluff, hype or promoting your own materials. Participants
are free to put materials on the handout table for anyone to
take. This event is about evaluating, designing and creating,
and not about marketing and selling.
If you take some software or a book from one of the collections,
please make sure you put it back when you’re finished, with all
the internal materials intact. We cannot be responsible for any
lost items, but we’ll try our best to keep your items safe.
7. You may end up on YouTube. Many of the discussions
and presentations are being recorded; please keep this in
mind. Participation in any conversation or staged photograph is optional. We can’t control informal photographs
being taken by other participants, however. If you plan on
recording the sessions, please let us, and the speaker, know.
3
Dust or Magic 2014
The Story of Dust or Magic
nce upon a time (1996), the world’s oldest and
largest children’s book fair wanted to start a
prize initiative for “new media.” They asked
Children’s Software Revue if we’d create it for them.
We accepted on the condition that they would host a
juried competition that included a face-to-face meeting of editors, in a setting where each juror could
demonstrate a variety of products.
Early in the spring of 1997, a group of reviewers were
flown from around parts of Europe, Asia and the USA
to participate in three days of debate and product
demonstrations.
Participants included some of the top minds in the
interactive space -- people like Judy Salpeter from
The first Dust or Magic Institute. Speakers include Aleen
Stein, Mark Schlichting and Bernadette Gonzalez. You’ll
Technology & Learning, Dr’s. Ann Orr and Ellen
see a young Daren Carstens and Kelli Winters, too.
Wolock from CSR, James Oppenheim, Peter Scisco
(former editor of Compute!), Dr. Kyung Woo Lee from Korea, Thomas Feibel from Germany and
Caterina Cangià and Gigi Tagliapietra from Italy. From France, repeat jurors were Georgia Leguem
and Claude Combet; and from the UK came Pam Turnbull and Jon Smith (Editor of CD-ROM
Today, and today a producer for Travelers Tales, aka LEGO Star Wars).
In 2001, when the market for the software slowed, the Bologna New Media Prize ended. In an
effort to keep the spirited conversation growing, we decided to start an annual meeting to be
financed by participant tuition. We also wanted to consider the expanding range of children’s technology products, and to personally get to know others who where working in this space. Rather
than coming up with a prize, we decided to review the year.
The title “Dust or Magic” came with the blessing of Bob Hughes, author of the book Dust or
Magic: Secrets of Successful Multimedia Design. In the forward of his book, Bob referenced the
poem “An idea can turn from dust to magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.” (Matsuo
Basho, 1644-1694). The first Dust or Magic was planned for September 23, 2001, and the event
sold out. Unfortunately, the disaster of September 11 forced us to change our plans. So the first
Dust or Magic event actually was held in January of ‘02. Right away, it was clear that we had not
only captured the essence of those early juror’s meetings, but we’d improved upon it.
We, the media, could learn much more about the thinking behind each product without feeling
bribed or manipulated. The spirited debates have continued and the quest for the magic has
become a celebration. We are thankful to everyone who has helped make these events possible,
and hope it continues to influence the quality of children’s interactive media products for many
more years to come.
Warren Buckleitner, Editor
Children’s Technology Review
Dust or Magic 2014
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DM14 Agenda
Riverside Room at The
Inn at Lambertville
Station, 11 Bridge Street,
Lambertville, NJ.
Sunday November 2
1:00 AppFest setup
2:00 AppFest begins. Demo Givers take a balloon and write the name of the product you want to
demo. Children are welcome. Demo takers freely wander and explore.
5:00 pm Riverside Room- Welcome; 2014 Trend Report. AppFest participants are welcome to sit
in on this session providing we have space.
6:00 Dinner at the Lamberville Station Restaurant (Note: this is in the old train station depot
located by Bridge Street, with the train car attached).
Welcome and Introductions
8:00 Annie Murphy Paul: Intelligent Thoughts on Intelligence (Riverside Room)
November 3, 2014
7:30 Breakfast
8:30 Child Development Appled to Screens
9:30 Critic's fishbowl with Chris Byrne, Warren Buckleitner, Tonda Budge Sellers, Claire Green
and Robin Raskin; moderated by David Kleeman.
10:30 Demos, AppDance and Nice Touch
11:00 Jason Krogh, Founder and CEO of Sago Sago. Play testing, with specific examples of things
we caught and changed through the process.
11:30 Chris Heatherly, Disney
12:00 Group Photo, Lunch (Lobby)
1:00 Kate Wilson of Nosy Crow: What goes into making a story app? A Look Under the Hood
1:30 Chip Donohue Back to the Future: Lessons in App Design from Mister Rogers
2:00 Demos
3:00 Bus trip to Mediatech Foundation, 118 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822
1. Meet the testers.
2. Going Global -- Two Projects to Know. Global Literacy Project: Tinsley Gaylean from MIT, the
Director; and Stephanie Gottwald from Tufts, who is the Director of Content. From the Breteau
Foundation Lainey Franks. Moderated by Claire Green..
4:00 Demos in the community room
5:00 Bus leaves to the Inn.
6:00 Dinner (on your own)
8:00 Jesse Schell, The Tablet Has Landed... Now What?
10:00 Demos, free play and late night discussion.
12:00 Lights out.
“An idea can turn from dust to magic, depending upon the talent that rubs against it”
5
Dust or Magic 2014
Tuesday November 4, 2014
If you're staying in the Inn, make sure you checkout of your room by 10:00 AM. It is
OK to store bags in the Riverside room.
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 Dust or Magic Talk Series (20 minutes each; a great mind attacks a timely
topic of choice and we make a video for the world to see).
Barbara Chamberlin ”What are we even doing? Rethinking the impacts of
our work.”
Mark Schlichting, CEO Noodleworks. Animation Tricks and Character
Design Short Cuts: Creative tips on efficient animation design for children’s
products.
Chris Byrne WTF ??? It’s Not What You Think it Means.
Kate Highfield The view on Children’s IMM from the other side of the world.
Drew Davidson Who makes the magic? A look at the teams behind the products.
11:00 Stephen Gass: Get Out Your Lasers…. A Review Quiz on the latest
research, myths and what happened in the past 36 hours.
11:45 Evaluations
12:00 Lunch
12:20 option (for those who want to eat fast and dash).
Transbridge Bus #1 leaves to Newark Liberty, arriving 1:35 PM (for early
flights). Departure is from the Hess Station, 5 blocks from the Inn.
1:30 Dust or Magic limo bus departs to Newark Liberty International Airport,
arriving 2:45 PM
1:55 Transbridge bus departs to Newark Liberty Airport, arriving 3:15 PM
5:50 PM last Transbridge bus departs to Newark Liberty Airport, arriving 7:15
PM (departs from the Hess Station, 5 blocks from the Inn).
You can buy tickets from the Valparaiso Deli, Rt 165 & Rt 518, 609-397-1116
Dust or Magic 2014
6
Wi-Fi not up to speed?
Need some more coffee? The Number for the Front
Desk is (609) 397-4400
Or send a text to Warren’s Cell
908-797-3580
Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Chloé Benaroya , VP Consulting and Services Tribal Nova
Chloé Benaroya joined Tribal Nova as the VP Consulting and Services in May 2012. She has produced over
twenty children's interactive educational games, ebooks and web portals in her career, among them The little
Prince, Artus, Toupy and Binoo, Bayam and more recently Mini-TFO.Founding producer of the successful million account virtual
world for teens Woozworld.com, she also worked on interactive projects for ONE DROP, the Cirque du Soleil foundation, and
renowned museums such Le Louvre, le Musée de la Légion d'Honneur, le Musée de la Marine.
She is an Honors graduate from the Sorbonne - Paris.
Connie Bossert , President & CEO Fairlady Media, Inc.
Connie Bossert is president and CEO of Fairlady Media, Inc., an independent game studio near Raleigh, NC. Connie and her
husband James co-founded the company in 2009, and have produced more than 30 games for iPhone and iPad with millions of
downloads and counting. The company specializes in development of family-friendly and educational mobile games and has
partnered with companies such as Sesame Street, Houghton-Mifflin, Callaway Digital Arts, Sanrio, Hearst Corporation, and
American Greetings to create the highest-quality products in the market.
Connie holds a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from Penn State University. She has worked as a senior instructional
designer and professor, teaching courses in adolescent and child development. She is a self-taught graphic designer and illustrator.
As a parent of two young children, she applies her experiences with technology-savvy kids to the rapidly changing educational
games market.
web: www.fairladymedia.com <http://www.fairladymedia.com>
twitter: @FairladyMedia
email: [email protected]
Francois Boucher-Genesse , Co Founder Ululab
Francois Boucher-Genesse did a master’s degree in education in order to find the best ways to use video games as educational
tools. He realized through his research and consulting activities the tremendous potential games could have in education. He then
cofounded Ululab, hoping to contribute to this exciting new branch of the game industry. Ululab released their first title this year:
Slice Fractions.
Warren Buckleitner , Editor Children's Technology Review
Warren Buckleitner is an educational psychologist who reviews children's interactive media. He's been a preschool, elementary
and college teacher (currently TCNJ's IMM program). He is the founding editor of Children's Technology Review (www.
childrenstech.com). He speaks at education and library conferences, and contributes content to many books and publications,
including a decade of children's tech coverage for the New York Times. He holds a degree in elementary education from Central
Michigan University (Cum Laude), an MA in early childhood education from Pacific Oaks College, and a doctorate in educational
psychology from Michigan State University. He serves as a Sr. Advisor to the Breteau Foundation, and coordinates the KAPi prize at
CES and the BolognaRagazzi Digital Prize at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. In 2000, he started Dust or Magic (www.dustormagic.
com) and the Mediatech Foundation (www.mediatech.org), a non-profit community technology center in his town's library where
he serves as a Trustee. He is the father of two daughters, tries to play trumpet in a Dixie band, and wants to someday be able to
juggle like Jesse Schell.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Chris Byrne , Content Director TTPM
Chris Byrne has ”toy sense,” and he’s always willing to share his ideas, which is why it’s great when we can get him to Dust or
Magic. And this is his busy season.
Despite seeming like a kid, Chris has a 30-plus-year career in the toy industry. Currently, he is a partner in aNb Media, LLC and
content director for TimetoPlayMag.com. During his career, he has held a variety of positions with toy companies covering
marketing, media, operations, product development and creative. In 1988, he formed New York-based Byrne Communications and
is a researcher, analyst and consultant who has worked with a variety of Fortune 100 companies tracking kid trends, product
development and strategic marketing campaigns. He is regularly sourced by the investment community for insights into all aspects
of the toy and children’s products industries. He speaks at trade shows and for corporate events on the effective integration of play
into creative management.
Chris is widely published on the topic of toys and family life and in addition to his work with Time to Play he is editor-at-large
for the trade publications Toys & Family Entertainment and Royalties.
His latest book, “Toy Time” was published by the Three Rivers imprint of Random House in October, 2013, and his next book,
“Serious Fun: An Introduction to the U.S. Toy Industry” is due out from Business Experts Press in early 2014.
In addition, Chris is widely quoted in the media and appears regularly on local and national television commenting on toys and
demonstrating new products. His media appearances reached more than 120 million consumers in 2012 in just a three-month
period (October through December). He has appeared onLive! With Kelly & Micahel, Oprah, LIVE, Soap Talk, Today, Good Morning
America, The CBS Evening News, ABC Nightly News, FOX News, CBS This Morning, Good Day New York, CNBC, CNNfn, MSNBC, ABC,
The Motley Fool, National Public Radio, Bloomberg Television and Radio, and on countless other national and local market business
and consumer programs around the country and internationally.
In addition to his work in the toy industry, Chris is involved in several non-profit organizations benefiting children and literacy.
Visit www.timetoplaymag.com
Daren Carstens , President Carstens Studios
Daren Carstens founded Carstens Studios Inc., where he authors, designs, programs and develops educational products for
children. He has worked in K-12 educational publishing for 20 years, and his work has received many awards including the
prestigious international Bologna Children's Book Fair New Media Prize in the Best Educational Software category, 2010 & 2011
Parents' Choice Gold Awards - Parents' Choice Foundation, and 2010 & 2011 Editor's Choice Awards - Children's Technology
Review. Daren combines the rare talent of a thorough understanding of learning processes with the ability to bring creativity and
innovation to sound instructional products. In addition to creating and developing its own products Carstens Studios has partnered
with other companies including PBS, The Jim Henson Company, and Money Savvy Generation.
Barbara Chamberlin , Professor, Game Developer NMSU Learning Games Lab
Barbara Chamberlin oversees development and research at the Learning Games Lab at New Mexico State University, where
she is a professor. The Lab develops a wide range of learning tools — including games, apps and interactive sims — and does
extensive formative testing with users while developing products. She is especially enthusiastic about games for math and science
(such as mathsnacks.org and scienceofsoil.org), financial literacy, and active games. Her PhD is in educational technology from the
University of Virginia. She’s also a math and science nerd, museum fan, experimental cook (especially with chile… yum!), and a
mom of a 6 and 10 year old (who share her enthusiasm for math and science, museums, and eating in general, but not chile.) See
apps and games from NMSU’s Learning Games Lab and information about their testing programs at learninggameslab.org
Jayne Clare , President Teachers With Apps
Jayne Clare has been a Special Education teacher for the past 30 years. She puts the utmost value in motivating students
creatively and getting them excited about their own learning. She has always known the importance of integrating technology
across all curriculum and content areas. Jayne Clare’s passion is working with struggling learners; reading readiness is her expertise.
Jayne is co-founder of Teachers With Apps, an educational app review site. In addition, she offers her expertise in working with
developers achieve appropriate educational content for their apps via Jayne Clare Consulting. Jayne hosts the weekly Educational
App Talk, a Facebook Forum that discusses hot topics in the app world. She recently won the NSBA 20 to Watch Recognition Award,
which identifies emerging leaders within the education technology community who have the potential to impact, the field for the
next 20 years. Her undergraduate is in Art Education from Southampton College, she has a first Master’s in Special Education, and
second in Educational Technology, both from CW Post.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Chris Crowell ,
Chris Crowell is a nationally recognized educator who has taught kindergarten for the past 18 years in Flemington, New Jersey.
He has been a member of federal, state, and local curriculum development teams and has attained local, national, and
international recognition for his work in education including being honored in 2004 by the US Department of Education Teacher to
Teacher Initiative. He has his Masters in early childhood education from The College of New Jersey and his Bachelors in
communications from Seton Hall University. Chris is a Geraldine R. Dodge Fellowship Recipient, Rutgers Family Science instructor,
national and state soccer coach, and currently serves as President of Mediatech Foundation — a non-profit community technology
organization established to provide technology access to Hunterdon County residents while fostering creativity, learning, and
socialization. He likes kids, basketball, coffee, Mini Coopers and responsive, well designed apps that empower young children.
Drew Davidson , Director ETC at Carnegie Mellon University
Drew Davidson is a professor, producer and player of interactive media. His background spans academic, industry and
professional worlds and he is interested in stories across texts, comics, games and other media. He is the Director of the
Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and the Founding Editor of ETC Press and its Well Played series and
journal.
Drew helped create the Sandbox Symposium, an ACM SIGGRAPH conference on video games and served on the IGDA
Education SIG. He serves on many advisory, editorial and review boards as well as judge and jury panels. He is the lead on several
grants with Macarthur and Gates, and has written and edited books, journals, articles and essays on narratives across media,
serious games, analyzing gameplay, and cross-media communication.
Jens Peter de Pedro , Play Designer Toca Boca
Jens Peter, also known as JP or Jens, is a Play Designer at the digital toys studio Toca Boca. He is planning on presenting the full
version of his TED talk about gender and app design.
He is the master mind behind apps such as Toca Hair Salon, Toca Band, Toca Kitchen, Toca Train, and Helicopter Taxi. Jens
Peter has worked for organizations such as WGBH Boston, Swedish Television and The United Nations.
Jens Peter has a Masters in Interactive Telecommunications from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, 1999. He also
received a Bachelors degree from Stockholm University in Psychology, Education and Children’s Culture, 1997.
Jens Peter likes cheap food, playing basketball, rhyming and going for walks in desolate industrial areas. He lives in Brooklyn
with his wife and two daughters. Jens is pronounced Yens. Twitter: Jens Peter de Pedro @jenspeter
Matthew DiMatteo , Director of Publishing Children's Technology Review
Matthew DiMatteo is the Director of Publishing at Children's Technology Review. He currently is working with relational
databases to build CTREX.
He also is teaching Games I: Design and Architecture at The College of New Jersey as an adjunct professor in the
Interactive Multimedia department.
He holds a Master's degree in Entertainment Technology from Carnegie Mellon University, and has a background in game
design and digital media.
Chip Donohue, PhD. , Dean of Distance Learning & Continuing Ed. TEC Center at Erikson Institute
Chip Donohue, PhD, is the Dean of Distance Learning and Continuing Education at Erikson Institute in Chicago, where he is
leading the development of online Master’s degree, certificate and continuing education programs. He is also the Director of the
TEC (Technology in Early Childhood) Center at Erikson. Chip is a Senior Fellow of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and
Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College, where he co-chaired the working group that revised the 2012 NAEYC & Fred Rogers
Center Joint Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs serving children from
Birth through Age 8. In 2014, Routledge and NAEYC have co-published a book he edited, Technology and Digital Media in the Early
Years: Tools for Teaching and Learning. In 2012 he received the first Bammy Award and the Educators Voice Award as Innovator of
the Year from the Academy of Education Arts & Sciences.
Linus Feldt , CEO Filimundus
Leah Feuer , Product Manager Tinybop, Inc.
Leah Feuer is a Product Manager at Tinybop - a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, and artists building elegant,
educational iOS apps for kids around the globe. Throughout her career she has worked to weave together tech, data and design.
She has produce over 20 apps for big brands and startups alike.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Dan Flannery , Co-Founder Jumping Giant
Dan is a former preschool teacher and entrepreneur with a background in child development. My current venture, Jumping
Giant, is an audio house that specializes in original music composition, voice-over, and sfx for children's apps, animations, and
more. Side projects currently include educational consulting, curriculum development, and music programs at libraries and schools.
When I'm not at the studio, I enjoy foraging for wild foods and riding my bicycle. Feel free to say hello@ [email protected]!
Taylor Foley , Digital Product Manager Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Taylor Foley is the lead on consumer apps for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She develops enhanced ebooks and other digital
products in the kids, adult, and culinary spaces. She aims to create the best possible interactive experience to fit the target
audience—whether it's kids, teens, cooks, or adults.
Lainey Franks , General Manager Breteau Foundation
Lainey Franks is the General Manager of the Breteau Foundation (breteaufoundation.org), which is bringing digital educational
tools to the world’s underprivileged children. Lainey has over 14 years of international experience in strategy, marketing and
business development. She held senior management roles at Lonely Planet, where she played an important part in the transition
from print publisher to multi-platform content publisher, working with Apple, Google, Amazon and other digital partners. She is a
qualified teacher and has taught Mathematics at a secondary school in London. Lainey has a panel of young app-testers at home (3,
5 and 7 year old children), an MBA from INSEAD and a BA in Computer Science from Harvard. You can reach her
at [email protected].
Tinsley Galyean , MIT
Tinsley Gaylean is the Director of The Global Literacy Project (globallit.org) and is a Research Affiliate at the MIT Media Lab. He
serves on the Steering Committee of The Dalai Lama Center For Ethics and Transformative Values. Tinsley's education has spanned
both art and technology -- long before it was considered a good career move. He was the first person to receive his Ph.D. from the
Interactive Cinema group at the MIT Media Lab, where he worked to evolve cinematic storytelling techniques for use in interactive
experiences. In 1996, Tinsley founded Nearlife, leveraging the power of new technologies for corporate clients. Must of this work
involved Location Based Entertainment (LBE) and museum exhibits. Examples of this work are the large scale interactive table and
touch walls for: MoMA, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Liberty Science Center, Georgia Aquarium, and the new a interactive
experience for Cirque Du Soleil’s Beatles Revolution Lounge. Tinsley is an inventor and holds a number of patents, several of which
have been used in the development of new children's television projects. This work has included broadcast and online projects for
Disney, Warner Brothers, and Discovery Kids. The work for Discovery Kids received an Emmy nomination. His unique mix of skills
and experience allows him to develop unique concepts and experiences, often never done before, while also delivering the
technical means by which these ideas can become a reality.
Stephen Gass , President The GASS Company
STEPHEN GASS
President, The Gass Company
From about the second grade on, Stephen Gass wanted to be a doctor. During college, his interest turned to education. After a
few years teaching, the doctor calling returned. But, with just a dissertation to go to complete a PhD in child development, a job at
Sesame Street released his inner “Geppetto.” Stephen’s spent the last 30 years creating and marketing a wide range of children’s
products, both traditional and digital, including toys, books, games and video for kids between the ages of 6 months to 12 years.
Gass has been an innovator throughout his career: he launched an educational toy group at Coleco; led the creative efforts at
Scholastic’s and Nickelodeon’s first software groups; played on the original Noggin development team; served as President of
Sesame Workshop, Online; created and built eebee’s adventures, the multi-award winning infant brand to over 15 million views. He
is a member of the Education Committee of the board of trustees at PBS-affiliate, WNET/ Thirteen; a trustee of the Toy Industry
Foundation; an advisory board member of the NY International Children’s Film Festival; and a TechStars mentor. Currently, he
serves as the president of The Gass Company, a children’s media agency that provides creative, business and content strategy
services for clients including Sesame Workshop, Citibank, Discovery, American Museum of Natural History and MoMA.
Gass received a B.A. in psychology from New York University, an M.A. in developmental psychology from Teachers College,
Columbia University, and completed work toward a Ph.D. in educational psychology at The City University of New York.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Nathalie Gauthier , Co-Founder Seven Academy
Nathalie is one of the three co-founders of Seven Academy. She is a key player in the organization always on the lookout for
innovations that revolutionize children’s ways of learning. Prior to Seven Academy, she worked as an eLearning Consultant for
Miyagi, holds a Masters Degree in Design and Contemporary Technology from ENSCI, Paris, and a B.S. in Environmental Design from
UQÀM, Montreal. Contact: [email protected]
Stephanie Gottwald ,
Stephanie Gottwald, Ph.D. is the Director of Content and Deployments of The Global Literacy Project (globallit.org). She is
also the Assistant Director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts Universtiy.
Stephanie is a linguist specializing in the interaction between the acquisition of spoken and written languages. For the last 15
years, she has directed educational investigations into research-based solutions for struggling readers, including the development
and longitudinal, NICHD-funded, efficacy testing of the RAVE-O program, an evidence-based fluency and reading comprehension
curriculum. Stephanie coordinates the language and reading data from coding systems of raw input to analysis, as well as
contributes to the development of theory-driven apps.
Claire Green , President Parents' Choice Foundation
Claire helms Parents’ Choice Foundation, best known for the Parents’ Choice Awards program. In commemoration of Parents’
Choice Foundation's 30th anniversary, Claire cofounded Sandbox Summit.® Clearly, all things connect to Dust or Magic; Robin
Raskin made it possible for the inaugural Sandbox Summit® to be held at the 2008 CES; Scot Osterweil and MIT’s Education Arcade
have hosted Sandbox Summit for the past five years. In September 2014, Claire resigned from Sandbox Summit to concentrate
more fully on the PlayAbility Scale, nutrition labeling for toys and games. Claire serves on the selection committee for the National
Toy Hall of Fame® at the Strong National Museum of Play,® as a member of the Toy of the Year (TOTY) nomination committee for
the Toy Industry Association and beginning soon, as a judge for the KAPi Awards.
Steve Grosmark , Director of Development Artgig Studio
Steve joined Artgig Studio, a boutique interactive firm based in Westchester, NY in 2002. Before that, he worked at Sunburst
Technology, then a division of Houghton Mifflin Interactive, developing and producing educational tools and games for schools and
children. Over the last 12 years Steve has architected websites, games, enterprise web tools, and mobile applications for a variety
of clients. Steve has also worked on all of Artgig's own award-winning kids educational apps, including Mystery Math Town and
Marble Math – developed under the Artgig Apps brand. You can find examples of Artgig Apps on the website: http://www.
artgigapps.com
Colleen Hampton , Product Manager Tinybop, Inc.
Chris Heatherly , SVP/GM Disney Interactive Kids The Walt Disney Company
Chris Heatherly is general manager & vice president of Toys for Disney Consumer Products (DCP). He leads the North America
toys and electronics line of business and oversees product innovation and development. Previously, Heatherly was vice president of
Technology & Innovation for Disney Consumer Products. He joined Disney in 2002 and launched the company’s consumer
electronics business. Heatherly came to DCP from Frog Design, where he was a Chief Strategist, managing the cross-functional
strategic consulting practice for companies ranging from startups to global brands such as SAP, Dell, Ford, Target, and Nike. Prior to
that, he held several positions at Power Computing and Apple. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Jesse H. Jones School of
Communications, University of Texas at Austin.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Kate Highfield , Lecturer, Mathematics, Science & Technology Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie
Kate Highfield is a teacher educator from the Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. After
teaching for over ten years, Kate now works with student teachers, children and educators. Kate’s PhD focused on the use of simple
robotics in mathematics learning and examined the key role of metacognition in problem solving. Her current research and
teaching explores the use of interactive technologies for learning and play, with a focus on how mobile and touch technology can
be used as a tool to enhance learning.
Kate has been recognised as an exemplary educator at faculty and university level. She currently convenes a range of units in
Mathematics, Science and Technology (STEM) and Professional Experience and is a research supervisor for undergraduate and
postgraduate students. Kate also works as the research liaison for Macquarie University’s ICT Innovations Centre and is an engaging
and sought after presenter with experience with small groups through to keynote presentations at large conferences throughout
Australia and Internationally.
Kate has been interviewed by a wide cross-section of the Australian media and regularly presents for the Australian Council on
Children and Media. She acts as an educational consultant for a range of App development companies and was recently part of the
team awarded two national awards for the ABC Playtime App (AIMIA 2014).
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @kateytwit Web: http://www.katehighfield.com
Grant Hosford , codeSpark
Grant is the CEO and co-founder of codeSpark, a learning game company driven to ignite interest in computer science and turn
programming into play for young kids.
Previously Grant was a Sr. Director at Idealab, one of the most successful tech incubators in the world. Grant was responsible
for evaluating early stage ideas so the best could be turned into companies. Idealab has started over 125 companies since 1996.
Prior to Idealab Grant was a senor executive at several early stage companies, including eHarmony and ZAAZ, an awardwinning interactive agency. Grant has been using data to improve online marketing and business performance for 15 years.
Grant has a MA from The Fletcher School (Tufts University) and a BA from Claremont McKenna College.
Katya Hott , User Testing Lead, Project Manager BrainPOP
Katya Hott leads user testing initiatives at BrainPOP as well as project managing BrainPOP's GameUp. Before coming to
BrainPOP, Katya worked as an ESL teacher in Boston and was passionate about incorporating technology in her classroom. After
teaching, Katya received a Masters in Digital Media Design for Learning from NYU and spent three years as the learning content
producer for educational games at E-Line Media. Katya also co-leads the #EdTechBridge community on Twitter, with the mission of
bridging the gap between educators and EdTech entrepreneurs.
Azadeh Jamalian, PhD. , Co-founder, Chief Learning Officer Tiggly
Azadeh Jamalian is a PH.D student in Cognitive Studies in Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is
one of the main researchers and designers for the pre-kindergarten activities in MathemAntics project- with a research interest on
gesturing and its effect on early mathematical learning. Azadeh is also one of the primary designers and researchers for the Lit2Quit
game project, with a focus on emotional and cognitive responses to game play.
She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her master’s
project was about Boogie Bash- a pattern recognition mobile game for preschoolers, which was chosen as one of the top 10
projects in The Cooney Center Prizes for Innovation in Children's Learning competition. Azadeh has a bachelor of applied sciences in
Systems Engineering and a certificate in Liberal Arts from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
Bee Johnson , Creative Director Homer Learning, Inc.
Bee Johnson was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She studied Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her
illustrations have been featured by WNYC, Juxtapoz, Applied Arts, 3x3, and the Creative Review. Her select clients include The New
York Times, National Geographic, US Green Buildings Council, EBONY Magazine, and This Land Press. She recently illustrated her
first children's book, to be published by Ivy Press in the UK and is working on her second title currently. She is also the Creative
Director at HomerLearning, Inc., where she writes, designs, and art directs a team of artists and animators.
Sanj Kharbanda , SVP, Digital Markets Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Sanj Kharbanda (@sanjjk) is SVP, Digital Markets at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He is responsible for identifying cultivating and
growing new digital markets for Trade content. This includes: new format incubation, innovations in content delivery, managing the
digital ecosystem and new audience development. Beach, Books, Music, Technology, & Football (not necessarily in that order).
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Matthew Kicinski , Owner & President Artgig Studio
Matt founded Artgig Studio, a boutique interactive firm based in Westchester, NY in 2002. Artgig’s key employees first met
while working together at Sunburst Technology, then a division of Houghton Mifflin Interactive, developing and producing
educational tools and games for schools and children. Over the last 12 years Artgig has worked with various clients to produce
websites, games, enterprise web tools, and mobile applications. Artgig's own award-winning kids educational apps, including
Mystery Math Town and Marble Math, are available in the App Store – developed under the Artgig Apps brand.
You can find examples of Artgig Apps on the website: http://www.artgigapps.com
David Kleeman ,
Senior VP, Insights Programs & PlayVangelist
PlayCollective
Strategist, analyst, author and speaker — for a quarter-century, David Kleeman has led the children’s media industry in
developing sustainable, kid-friendly solutions. In May 2013, he broadened his focus, and is now developing a unique new global
kids & family "think tank” as Senior Vice President of Insights Programs and PlayVangelist for PlayCollective. PlayCollective is a
global company and network that employs a uniquely integrated mix of market research, strategic business planning, brand
building, and multi-platform product development to help organizations of all sizes establish meaningful life-long connections with
consumers in today’s fast-paced, non-linear, connected world.
From 1988-2013, Kleeman was President of the American Center for Children and Media, promoting the exchange of ideas,
expertise and information as a means for building quality. He remains advisory board chair to the international children's TV
festival (Prix Jeunesse) and a 2013 Senior Fellow of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media.
Kleeman travels worldwide seeking best practices in children’s and family media, technology and products; he has given
presentations on six continents. He writes extensively for trade and general press, including two book chapters and commentaries
for the Huffington Post.
Jason Krogh , CEO Sago Sago
Jason Krogh is the founder and CEO of Sago Sago, a company dedicated to creating the best apps for young children. Jason has
designed and developed interactive media for 15 years working with clients such as the National Geographic, Sprout, Disney Jr,
Vancouver Olympics and the Toronto Public Library. Jason is also the founder of the Zimmer Twins, an online storytelling platform
for kids. His most recent venture started after a particularly satisfying rant with Bjorn Jeffery of Toca Boca. In short, Sago Sago was
born out a shared passion for making the world more childish.
Allisyn Levy , Vice President, GameUp BrainPOP
Since joining BrainPOP in 2007, Allisyn Levy has played an integral role in the creation, launch, and continued development of
BrainPOP Educators, our online professional community of more than 400,000 members. Now, as Vice President, GameUp, she
leads outreach efforts for BrainPOP's online learning games portal, a collection of top, cross-curricular game titles from leading
game creators. Allisyn is a National Board Certified Teacher who spent 11 years as an elementary education teacher. She coached
an award-winning Lego Robotics team and has worked with students on an array of documentaries, animations, and public service
announcements. Her 6-year-old son enjoys being called for duty for occasional play testing. Come talk to Allisyn if you've got a
great game that needs to get in front of teachers and kids!
@allisyn
www.brainpop.com/games <http://www.brainpop.com/games>
Beth Marcus , CEO Playrific, Inc.
Beth Marcus founded Playrific in 2010 to provide kid-facing brands with economical and successful COPPA-compliant mobile
strategies and engaging, entertaining and educational apps. The publishing platform reflects Marcus’ vision of rapid, economical
app creation and launch, app store optimization, actionable insight and frictionless content refreshes.
Tech-veteran Marcus sold her first company, EXOS, creator of the SideWinder force feedback joystick, to Microsoft (over 10
Million product units incorporating this technology have been sold). With 30+ patents to her credit, Marcus is extensively
published and has guided more than 20 start-ups, several of which – such as LeapFrog and SmrtGuard – have been acquired by
public companies. She holds a Master of Science (SM) and a Bachelor of Science (SB) in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and has
served on its Mechanical Engineering Department faculty. She received a PhD in Biomechanics from the Imperial College, London,
where she was a Marshall Scholar. http://b2b.playrific.com/
Things I recommend for attendees: LearnLaunch http://learnlaunch.com/ (Boston area) and the LearnLaunch accelerator http:
//learnlaunch.com/accelerator/program/. Dust or Magic Attendees can receive an extension for application to the next cohort (see
me for details). Also recommended: a new app store optimization company we’re working with, Gummicube http://www.
gummicube.com/. I can introduce you to their founding team.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Ann McCormick , Founder Learning Circle Kids LLC
Ann H. McCormick, PhD founded and lead software design at the Learning Company for it’s first 16 products, including Rocky’s
Boots and Reader Rabbit.With her team, she created a new category of software and a leading national brand. Ann gave invited
presentations for the Special Office of the President (US), the LIbrary of Congress, Members of Parliament (UK), the Congress of the
Latin Americas (Brazil), and spoke at telecommunications companies (Northern Telecom, Pacific Bell, ATT) advanced labs (IBM,
Apple, HP) and for publishers and toy companies. She consulted to Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow and won grants from the Apple
Education Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, the and venture funds from Melchor
Venture Management, NEA, and Robertson Stevens. TLC went public and was sold for $660M.
Ann next founded Learning Friends, where she invited industry leaders to “build the future now” at the Nueva School where
young children built and played in their own virtual realities, learned C programming with “mentors by modem,” learned 3D graphic
design from Macromedia Fellow, Young Harvill. Supported by Apple, the Library Corp and 35 software companies, Ann worked with
Apple Fellow Bill Atkinson, consulted to Alan Kay’s group at Apple ATG and to government and industry leaders in 15 nations. She
developed prototype literacy software for urban illiterate African-American teen boys with US Department of Education SBIR
grants, consulted to Gravity, Inc, Tiny Planets, KidSource and other start-ups. She served on Boards of Odyssey Middle School,
Synapse School and was appointed Honorary Head of School for an international school in Beijing. She was awarded grants from
the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the US Department of Education and NSF. She raised venture funds from Mohr-David,
Greylock, Viacom, and Singapore EDB.
Ann is now President of Learning Circle Kids, LLC where she leads a team developing an iPad app, Reader Bee, for young
children going from not reading to reading. Ann earned her MA and PhD in the School of Education from the University of California
at Berkeley in 1972, where she gave the 100th Anniversary Commencement Address.
Jennifer McLean , Project Manager Cupcake Digital
Todd McMullin , Creative Team Manager Waterford Institute
James Miller , Project Manager - Product Development Vtech Kids
James Miller is a product developer at VTech Kids. He has recently managed the development of the Kidizoom SmartWatch and
produces eBooks and downloadable games for the InnoTab and InnoTab Max platforms. He is also director of the tasked-based
learning project for Seeds of Empowerment, a non-profit organization that is a spin-off of Stanford University’s School of Education.
James is also a 2nd year grad student at Columbia University Teachers College pursuing an MA in Computing in Education.
Annie Murphy Paul , Author
Annie Murphy Paul is a journalist and writer who covers how we think and learn—and how we can do it better. A
contributor to Time magazine and The New York Times, she also writes the Brilliant Blog, at www.anniemurphypaul.com. She is
the author of the forthcoming book Brilliant: The Science of How We Get Smarter.
Sandhya Nankani , Founder Literary Safari Inc.
Sandhya Nankani is the founder of Literary Safari Inc., which develops K-12 print and interactive content that aligns to 21st
century skills and standards and the CCSS. Her work blends her 15+ years of experience in educational publishing, international
media, and journalism and has been recognized by the Association of Educational Publishers. Literary Safari's recent
projects include ION Future, a STEM career education game; History Detectives Lab (HD Lab), an online game based on the PBS
series History Detectives; Nextpert, a suite of digital learning tools for teachers; and international low-literacy versions of What to
Expect When You're Expecting for Liberia and Bangladesh. In Winter 2014, Literary Safari will publish its first picture book app,
based on a Liberian folktale, How Plover Bird Came to Clean Crocodile's Teeth. This app is the first of what Sandhya hopes will be a
series of interactive folktales that introduce elementary-school aged children to the diversity of world literature and enable them
to--in the words of author Jane Yolen-- "listen, touch magic, and pass it on!"
Mathew Peterson , Owner Shiny Things
Mat Peterson’s love of apps and programming began as a child. The 29-year-old founder of educational app development
startup, Shiny Things, says he has been building apps since before they were ”sexy”, having built his first one before Apple had even
launched the App Store. Today he is focused on producing high-quality education products, designed to enhance the classroom
experience for both teachers and students.
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Robin Raskin , Founder Living in Digital Times
Robin Raskin is a recovering journalist who now organizes conferences and events on what it means to be “ living in digital
times”. An author, editor, magazine publisher, blogger, TV and radio personality, and consultant, Raskin says she’s never met a
media she doesn’t like. Raskin is the former editor of PC Magazine and Editor in Chief of FamilyPC. She’s been a columnist for USA
Today Online and has authored 6 books about parenting in the digital age. The current roster of events include :
Digital Health Summit http://digitalhealthsummit.com
Silvers Summit silverssummit.com
Sports and Fitness Tech Summit http://sportsandfitnesstech.com
MommyTech Summit http://mommytechsummit.com
Kids@Play Summit http://kidsatplaysummit.com
HigherEdTECH Summit http://higheredtechsummit.com
Last Gadget Standing http://lastgadgetstanding.com
Mobile Apps Showdown http://mobileappsshowdown.com
FashionWare http://fashionwareshow.com and Cloudbase 3.
Robin Rath , CEO Pixel Press
Robin Rath is the CEO and a co-founder of Pixel Press, a mobile technology startup that enables anyone to create their own
video game using nothing more than paper, a pencil and a mobile device camera. Robin grew up playing video games and building
websites and is passionate about technology that makes sharing stories and content in creative ways accessible and fun for all ages.
Robin lives with his wife Ashley and daughter Kate in St. Louis, Missouri and dreams of one day owning his own X-wing.
Dave Ringler , Digital Product Manager Highlights for Children
Dave has over six years of in-house and agency-based digital product management, marketing management and digital
project management experience. As the Digital Product Manager for Highlights for Children, Dave helps lead cross-discipline teams
in concepting, business planning and development of digital products ranging from websites and apps, to tangible play toys and
content marketing.
He joined Highlights in January, 2014 after a tenure with Resource , one of the largest privately held digital marketing agencies
in the country. Dave has helped deliver digital product and marketing solutions to brands of all shapes and sizes, including Pearson
Education, Otterbein University, Great Oaks Institute, Nestle Purina Cat Chow, Cintas, Nationwide Insurance and Paul Mitchell.
If you’d like to geek out with Dave, he’s always ready to talk about AR, 3D printing, wearable’s and form as function in apps.
Kenny Roraback , Director of User Experience Homer Learning, Inc.
Kenneth Roraback is the Director of User Experience at HomerLearning, Inc. where he designed the user experience of the
award-winning app, Learn with Homer. Kenny has also worked in UX design, web development, and digital strategy for
international nonprofits such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Eurasian Harm
Reduction Network. He has designed and moderated hundreds of usability tests for digital interfaces within the United States and
abroad with subjects 2 to 70 years old. Kenny holds physics and theater degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons.
Jesse Schell , Asst. Prof. of Entertainment Technology Carnegie Mellon University
Jesse Schell is CEO of Schell Games. Started in 2002, it’s the largest, most successful game development company in
Pennsylvania. As a leader in creating transformational games, they’ve produced innovative, transformational and award-winning
entertainment experiences Disney, SeaWorld, Amplify, Yale University, Lionel LLC and The Fred Rogers Company. Jesse currently
serves as Distinguished Professor of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center,
where he teaches game design. His critically acclaimed book, The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, captured Game Developer
magazine’s coveted “Front Line Award” for 2008. Jesse was also Creative Director of the Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio,
where he worked and played as designer, programmer, and manager for Disney theme parks and DisneyQuest.
Mark Schlichting , CEO NoodleWorks Interactive
Mark Schlichting is an advocate for play. He is also a pioneer of the multimedia industry, an expert in children’s interactive
design, is probably best known as the creator of Broderbund’s Living Books CD-ROM series. In 2000 Mark founded NoodleWorks
Interactive, a creative design and production company specializing in innovative design for children. In November 2011,
NoodleWorks released its’ first iPad app, a word toy called Noodle Words. In March 2012 Mark also joined Wanderful interactive
storybooks as their Chief Creative Officer to help with the redesign, update, and release of many of the original Living Books for the
iOS and Android platforms. His own (multilingual) storybook, Harry and The Haunted House was released in October of 2012.
15
Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Kabir Seth , Founder, Chief Storyteller Storied Myth
Kabir Seth is the founder of Storied Myth, a company focused on educating 5-10yr olds through entertaining E-Book Apps and
interactive Real-World Puzzles. The Storied Myth app contains a diverse set of characters that live in the fantastical world of
Pangea where they share adventure stories, cultural folktales, character and non-fiction stories. Every adventure story includes a
physical “puzzle” adventurers need to solve in order to advance the story. In addition, every story contains comprehension
questions that are tracked and shared with parents via a “parent dashboard”
Kabir grew up in Michigan with a left-brained father and a right-brained mother (the best of both worlds). He rediscovered his
creative side after years in a variety of corporate jobs. Storied Myth is a way for him to connect back to the wonderful world of the
Hardy Boys, Bernstein Bears, Encyclopedia Brown and countless other stories he read growing up.
Megan Smith , Senior Designer, Interactive Media Highlights for Children
Megan has been creating great stuff for kids since 2007, after earning her BFA in Visual Communications at University of
Delaware. Her publishing career began in print with National Wildlife Federation as the art director for Your Big Backyard (later
Ranger Rick Jr.) and Wild Animal Baby magazines. Her role there quickly expanded into the digital space, as she helped create
several apps, including What Did Snakey Eat? and the Ranger Rick Jr. Appventures series.
Megan has also worked as a freelance designer on several apps with No Crusts Interactive, including Williamspurrrrg, a
collaborative play app featuring hipster cats and her own cut-paper art, and Stride and Prejudice, an endless runner game with Jane
Austen's classic novel. In 2014, Megan joined Highlights for Children as the Senior Designer, Interactive Media. She currently lives in
Honesdale, P.A., with her chef husband, Zach, and their cat, Spunky.
Wendy Smolen , SVP Sandbox Events and PlayPublisher PlayCollective
Wendy is a recognized advocate and expert in the children’s toys and media arena. She is the cofounder of Sandbox Summit,
an idea forum that explores the intersection of play, learning and technology. Wendy has held senior editorial positions at Nick Jr.
Family Magazine and Parents. She has been widely interviewed on topics relating to 21st century kids and parenting, has written
and edited books and articles on parent and child interactions, and has consulted on branding and strategy for companies including
LEGO, A&E, and HaPE . She’s judged toys for the Toy Association Industry’s TOTY awards and the video awards for Kidscreen, where
she writes a bi-weekly blog. She is a member of Women In Toys’ Empowerment Committee, serves as a mentor for The Refinery, an
accelerator focused on women-led startups, and is a member of the Advisory Board of In This Together Media.
www.sandboxsummit.org
http://kidscreen.com/category/blogs/out-of-the-sandbox/
Aleen Stein , Founder and Owner The Criterion Collection
A founding partner and principal shareholder of the Criterion Collection, Aleen is also CEO and Publisher of Organa L.L.C., a
new media publishing company. Organa seeks to bring the best in children’s animation from around the world to American
families, and include art, science, culture and physical health to them. Its partners are mothers and grandmothers, working on
original apps, and welcomes partnerships with other creators.
She is a former Director of International Licensing for Scholastic, Inc.’s Software and Internet Group, based in New York, and a
founding partner and President of Voyager, an innovative publisher of interactive laserdiscs and software since 1984.
The Criterion Collection has become known as the "Rolls Royce" of home video. This world-renowned and critically-acclaimed
collection of important films with interactive "making-of" supplements has been credited with inventing the “added value” home
video market. She is known for her ground-breaking work in the new media industry, including executive producer of several
international award-winning CD-ROMs and DVDs. She has been publishing, creating and selling interactive titles for more than 30
years, personally contributing to more than 340.
Professional Awards:
Winner of special VIRA award for Lifetime Achievement in Home Video Publishing by Video Review Magazine, 1991
Winner of Le Premiere Prix Mobius de la Creation Artistique Multimedia, Paris (CNRS) 1993
Lifetime Achievement from Prix Mobius International Multimedia, Beijing 2001
Lifetime Achievement Award in DVD from DVD Entertainment
Conference & Showcase, 2002
www.organa.com
www.criterionco.com
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Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Bob Tedeschi , Columnist New York Times
Bob Tedeschi has written for The New York Times since 1998, when he began writing a weekly the e-commerce column that
ran for a decade in the business section. He has also been a columnist for the Travel section, the Real Estate section, and the
Sunday regionals section, and his stories have appeared in multiple other sections in the paper, as well as on Page One. Mr.
Tedeschi now writes a monthly column for the Home section on do-it-yourself home improvement projects, and from 2008 until
this summer he reviewed mobile technology and apps for the Personal Technology pages, as the creator and author of the Times’
weekly App Smart column. He has also dabbled in software development, as co-developer of Bobo Explores Light, an educational
iPad app for children that was one of three iPad titles this year to win a prestigious Apple Design Award at the annual Worldwide
Developers Conference. (Mr. Tedeschi wrote the app under the pseudonym Craig Fusco, and only revealed his identity to Apple
after the awards were announced, and after the company had selected the app for its iPad app Hall of Fame.) He is now pursuing
other app-development opportunities while on hiatus from technology reporting with the Times, and while contributing to
Children’s Technology Review.
Julie Thieblemont , Game Designer Tribal Nova
Julie Thieblemont works in innovative education application design, specializing in multi-media platforms. Julie obtained her
diploma in Education as administered by the French National Department of Education. Thereafter, Julie taught kindergarten and
elementary school for 3 years where she developed pedagogical practice and knowledge of the child audience. She then obtained a
Master’s degree in Communication and Children Studies from the University of Bordeaux (France). Following this, Julie accepted a
position at Tralalere, a company which develops educational applications and serious games. She then moved to Canada to work at
Tribal Nova, an Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company. Her role in pedagogical content and coherence has been paramount in the
design of the company’s innovative educational apps.
Scott Traylor , CEO, Founder 360KID
Entrepreneurial business leader and maker of forward thinking kidtech products, on a mission to see more product successes
happen in the consumer and classroom marketplace. Business advisor, research evangelist, former computer science professor,
data junkie, blogger & vlogger. Searching for the next new thing. California dreamer. If you share any of the same passions, let me
know. The password is "orange."
Sara Vitale , Project Manager Seven Academy
Sara is a Project Manager at Seven Academy. Though she is new to the team, her experience and education have allowed
her to make significant contributions to game development, research, and creation of educational content. Prior to joining Seven
Academy, she worked as a substitute teacher in Montreal, QC and spent the summer teaching Life Skills at the Umoja Center
Arusha, Tanzania. She has a Bed Kindergarten and Elementary from McGill University.
Hans Wagner , Owner Computer Explorers
Bob Wickenden , President Jersey Cow Software Co.
Robert Wickenden, President
Wick is one of the original founders of Jersey Cow Software Co., Inc. Wick has been designing interactive and educational
software for over 30 years. He designed the award winning language adventure game “Who Is Oscar Lake?” He is one of the
principal design contributors to highlightskids.com, a children’s web community developed in collaboration with Highlights for
Children. He is the chief architect of numerous online community infrastructures including highlightskids.com, Money U, the
Pocoyo project for the Hispanic Interactive Television Network and most recently Money Habitudes. He is currently working with
the COW team on a variety of tablet, smartphone and web-based projects.
Education: BFA, University of Vermont; MFA, Rutgers University 1976
Kate Wilson , Managing Director Nosy Crow
Kate Wilson is the founder and managing director of Nosy Crow, a four-year-old, multi-award-winning publisher of children’s
books and apps. She comes to app making with a background in children’s publishing: before setting up Nosy Crow, she was the UK
publisher of US books from Goodnight Moon to The Hunger Games and Judy Blume’s Forever, as well as working on UK bestsellers
like The Gruffalo and Horrible Histories. She’s interested in children’s literacy, in building businesses for the long term and in cake.
17
Participant List
2014 Fall Institute
Keli Winters , Director of Technology Products Evan-Moor Educational Publishers
Keli Winters is the Director of Production at Evan-Moor Educational Publishers. Keli has been with Evan-Moor for 10 years,
working with a team of Editors and Designers toward achieving the goal of creating innovative K-6 supplemental teaching materials.
She works closely with various departments to shape the technology vision for the Evan Moor including technology that is
integrated with print products, standalone technology products, and Evan-Moor's internet presence.
Lorri Wyndham, Preschool Curriculum Coordinator Computer Explorers
Paul Zdanowicz , Creative Director Tiggly
Kiersten Zimmerman , Early Education and Research Lead VizuVizu
18
Child Development 101
for the Developers of
Interactive Media
An Overview of Influential Theories of
Child Development, Applied to Practice
his is a handout packet for the designers of children’s interactive media
(IM). It is designed to accompany the talks and lectures that are part of
the Dust or Magic Institute. Designing IM that works with children
depends on a variety of factors, including a solid knowledge of the capabilities
and learning patterns of the intended audience, in this case children from 0 to
15 years-of-age. There are three parts:
Part 1 covers basic child development theory, especially motivation and Piaget’s
stage theory.
Part 2 provides an developmental, year by year overview.
Part 3 includes essays on various aspects of design.
“An idea can turn from dust to magic,
depending upon the talent that rubs against it.”
Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉), from the forward of the book by Bob Hughes
First edition, 1996. Revised June 2014
Parts by Ellen Wolock, Ed.D, Ann Orr, Ed.D. and Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D.
© Active Learning Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Reproduction in part or in whole without written permission is strictly prohibited.
Printed in the United States of America.
Children’s Technology Review is a trademark of
Active Learning Associates, Inc. 120 Main Street, Flemington, NJ 08822
Internet image references: 16mm projector -- (www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/ cinimage.html, flashlight (cartalk.cars.com/Store/
Car-Kit/list.html), slide projector (www.gpc.peachnet.edu/~ecoway/ equipinfo.htm, Jean Piaget (www.piaget.org). Other
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Contents
Part 1. How Children Learn ..............................3
Intrinsic Motivation Factors: I WANT to play! ......................................................................................3
Piaget: Constructivism, and his Theory of Cognitive Development ......................................................4
Other Influential Theories ......................................................................................................................6
Behaviorism ..........................................................................................................................................6
Constructivism......................................................................................................................................6
Social Learning Theory ........................................................................................................................6
Social Constructivism ..........................................................................................................................6
Enhancing Feelings of Control ............................................................................................................6
Information Processing Theory............................................................................................................7
Bloom’s Taxonomy................................................................................................................................7
Definitions ............................................................................................................................................7
Howard Gardner’s Theories of Mind ......................................................................................................8
The Marshmallow Study ........................................................................................................................8
Literacy Theory at a Glance ....................................................................................................................9
An Amazing History (of Literacy and Technology) ..............................................................................16
The BolognaRagazzi 2013 Winners ......................................................................................................18
Maria Montessori ..................................................................................................................................16
Part 2. Developmental Stages ........................18
Birth to 18 Months ................................................................................................................................18
18 Months to 2 1/2 Years ......................................................................................................................18
2 1/2 to 3 Years ......................................................................................................................................18
3 to 4 Years ............................................................................................................................................19
4 to 5 Years ............................................................................................................................................19
5 to 6 Years ............................................................................................................................................19
Taxonomy of Touch ..............................................................................................................................20
Child as a Tree ......................................................................................................................................22
Part 3. Application ........................................23
Capturing the Magic of Interactive Media ..........................................................................................23
Contributors to Magic; Contributors to Dust ......................................................................................25
Engagement as a Variable ....................................................................................................................25
Eight Lessons for Structured Activities ................................................................................................25
Instructions on Giving Instructions ......................................................................................................27
The Five Ingredients of Active Learning ..............................................................................................27
Digital Play-Doh ....................................................................................................................................27
The Waterline Principle ........................................................................................................................28
How to Build Feelings of Ownership ....................................................................................................28
Pondering Pokémagic............................................................................................................................29
Seven Rules for Making Solid Web/Toy Connections ........................................................................30
A Code of Ethics for Children’s IM Publishers ....................................................................................33
Why Tap Zoo is a Morality Fail ............................................................................................................35
A Generic Evaluation Form ..................................................................................................................36
To Help You Remember ........................................................................................................................36
Sketch pads ............................................................................................................................................37
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Part 1: How Children Learn
Four Ingredients of Intrinsic Motivation
The efficiency of children’s learning is increased when they have a stake in the task. It is commonly believed that intrinsic
motivation plays a critical role in the degree to which a child will become engaged with an activity. But what is “intrinsic
motivation?” Several factors have been identified by motivation theorists (Weiner, 1986, White, 1959; Maehr, 1983; Stipek,
1986; Lepper, 1973 to name a few) as being central to the development of intrinsic motivation attributes in a learner's behavior. These factors can be used as a framework for understanding a child's actions when he or she is using IM or for assessing
the overall quality of the IM experience.
1. Enjoyment
3. Interest
Children choose activities that they like to do, and avoid
activities that are frustrating, static or boring.
Implications for interactive media design:
When designing an activity, make sure the child finds initial
success within the first 5 to 20 seconds. Sign-in screens
should be intuitive; the first activities easy and fun. Nothing
kills enjoyment faster than failure, in any form. Also, don’t
underestimate kids. Some designers think that children
don’t pay attention to fine details because they are too
young (“don’t worry ... these are just little kids”). Put yourself in the child’s shoes— would you want to play the activity
you are designing? Walt Disney understood that the process
of creating a successful children’s film is just as difficult as
that of creating a film for adults. Disney’s films appeal to all
ages, stand the test of time and are watched over and over
again. Similarly, the early success of titles like The Living
Books or Toca Tea Party can be tied in part to their clever
use of animation and humor. When interactive media is easy
to use and respectful of children, kids are more likely to use
it, and enjoy it.
Children are more likely to engage in an activity when their
interest has been sparked.
Implications for interactive media design:
Children love surprises so remember that “variety is the
spice of life.” Make sure that each play offers a surprise, or
has some sort of open-ended element. Get to know as many
real live kids as you can. What are they interested in? Fads
come and go, but kids always want interactive media with
characters they can relate to, good story lines, quality music,
humor, and familiar items and themes. Mix in a surprise,
and you have increase the chance that you’ll support intrinsic motivation.
4. Feelings of Success
Children develop feelings of competence if they think they
have a reasonable chance of success.
Implications for interactive media design:
It is the developer’s responsibility to provide children with
materials and activities that are at or near their developmental level. This, of course, refers to program content, but
also to its design as well. There are several components of
this. “Minimum User Competency” or MUC means that the
challenge should be in the activity itself, not in the physical
operation of the program (non-intuitive icons, reading
required when the target audience is preschool, etc.)
“Motivation Inertia” means that you make sure your interac2. Control
tive media includes elements that build on previous success,
allowing greater challenge that is tailored to the child’s abiliChildren avoid activities in which they feel they have little
ties. Pacing and leveling is also critical— too fast, and the
or no control. Good interactive media increases children’s
feelings of control by providing an environment where their child builds a failure history rather than competence history.
Too slow, and the interest decreases. Teachers have learned
actions have impact.
that one of the most effective punishments is “time out”,
Implications for interactive media design:
because children hate to wait, yet that’s exactly what some
Make it crisp. Send instant, snappy control messages (such
interactive media design does. If extrinsic reinforcers are
as an action or audio cue) with each touch or mouse
used such as “nice job” or “try again,” make sure they
click. A responsive interface, measured in microsecdon’t slow the pace of the activity, especially when
Memorize
onds, increases feelings of control. You don’t grab
there is a timed element.
the child's attention with music, video or animation, these 4 factors
if it is at the cost of the responsivity. Good interactive
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
media allows many opportunities for child input.
Carolyn Handler Miller’s “Seven Kisses of Death” has a
Why are apps like Wheels on the Bus (by Duck Duck Moose)
lot of overlap with these four factors.
such favorites? Because every action the child
makes results in something happening on
See also High/Scope’s Five Ingredients of Active Learning.
screen. The child is leads the way, not the
interactive media. Finally, good interactive
Annie Murphy Paul’s “Brilliant Report,”
media also always leaves an intuitive “back
http://anniemurphypaul.com/blog/ explores motivation
door” or “go back” icon that is in a consistent
and children.
place on every screen. Once a child understands that he or she can reverse a choice or
decision, they are more likely to explore further
or try a harder challenge.
3
Jean Piaget
Constructivism
The research and writings of Jean Piaget (1896-1980), have had
an enormous impact on the field of cognitive development and children’s interactive media design. Piaget’s ideas can help you understand the way children think and learn. I like to think of Piaget’s theories in two general clusters: Stage Theory (his description of a set
of discreet stages through which children proceed over time), and
Processes (his explanation of a set of processes that help move a
child from one stage to the next). A basic understanding of Piaget’s
theories can help the interactive media designer create more developmentally appropriate interactive media, aka “Magic.” Make sure
you search on “Jean Piaget” in both Wikipedia and YouTube for
some great resources. See also “What if Jean Piaget Visited the
Jersey Shore at http://youtu.be/22APMOH6cik
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Birth to 2 1/2 years.
(a period of sensory input and physical actions)
Piaget described the ages of 0
Sensorimotor children think
to 2 years as the Sensorimotor
like a flashlight—where the
Stage. All learning is done via
beam shines is where they
think. The rest of the world
physical exploration of the envidoesn’t exist.
ronment. As the child interacts
with people and things, pleasing
reactions are eventually noted, making the
action more likely to be repeated. In the
later portion of this period, the child
begins to actively experiment, trying out
various actions and reactions in a more
purposeful manner. By the end of this
period, the child has acquired an initial
set of concepts dealing with space,
objects and causality.
✓ Babies initially think that objects out
of sight aren’t there, but later
understand that the object doesn’t
really disappear (like in peek-a-boo).
✓ Children learn through the direct manipulation of objects, using all senses (touch,
taste, sound)
✓ Children learn through the repetition of actions and imitation.
✓ Children understand simple cause and effect.
Learn more about Piaget, his life
and his work at www.piaget.org. A
good book on Piaget for novice
readers is The Piaget Primer: Thinking,
Learning, Teaching by Ed Labinowicz
(Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley
Publishing Co., 1980).
Ages 2 1/2 to 7 years
A period of representational, prelogical
thought
From approximately age 2 to
age 7, Piaget described the child as
being in the Preoperational Stage.
Preoperational children
Language acquisition is a major goal, think like a slide projector.
as is “object permanence” or the idea They can typically hold distinct thoughts in mind, but
that objects continue to exist even
have trouble mixing them, or
when they are out of sight. This is
understanding that they can
the first building block of memory
affect one another.
and higher order thinking skills.
Piaget also believed that children at
this age fail to understand that the mass of an object is
unchanged even when something is done to it. For example,
if you take a short glass of milk and pour it into a taller, narrower glass, children in the Preoperational Stage will think
that the taller glass contains more milk.
✓ Children begin to represent experiences through play and
communications.
✓ Children are generally egocentric, less able to take another’s perspective.
✓ Children consider the current
condition of what they see.
For instance, a small
banana cut into lots of
little pieces is “more”
than a big banana cut
into just a few pieces.
✓ In the early period of this
stage, expressions may
be taken literally, e.g. keep
an eye on the ball.
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Concrete-Operations
Formal-Operational
Ages 7-12 (a period of focused logical
Ages 12-17
thought)
(a period of unlimited, logical thought)
From about 7 to 12 years, the
Formal-Operational thinking is
child is described as being in the
said to begin around age 12. Here,
Concrete-Operational Stage, a perithe adolescent begins to use
od characterized by a more mature
abstract logic, and no longer relies
understanding of the world and
on concrete objects to form his
Like a computer controlled DVD
objects around them. They underthinking. Learning can occur
player, formal operational thinking
Concrete
operational
kids
stand that you can do things that
through verbal reasoning, and by children can quickly skip from one
think like a motion picture
idea to another, hold multiple conchange appearance of an object,
taking the perspective of others.
projector; a step up from
without changing the essence of the distinct “slide by slide” proPre-teens/teens in this period for- trasting ideas in memory, and evaluate the relevance of different ideas.
cessing. But they still have
object. For instance, children at
mulate their own hypotheses
trouble jumping, or mentally
this age understand that a certain
about causes and solutions. They
juggling different ideas. This
amount of liquid has the same vol- is why they rely on concrete
are now able rely on abstract symbols to learn.
ume regardless of how it looks, or a materials.
✓ Preteens/teens can rely on symbols to understand and
ball of clay has the same mass even
learn.
after you smash it into a patty. This kind of thinking
✓ Preteens/teens understand complex concepts like densiforms the basis for scientific exploration and
ty.
Can
you name the
thought (kids at this age love science), but they
✓ Egocentrism may disappear completely with the
two stages on disstill rely upon concrete objects and experiments
capacity to think and reason beyond own beliefs.
play in “Charley Bit
to form their ideas.
✓ A sense of fairness and equality supersedes adult
My Finger?”
✓ Children are tied to their direct experiences,
authority.
but can consider and coordinate more than one
dimension.
✓ Children understand time, space and number. Children
can conserve, understanding that objects are the
same if their original state was equal, e.g. a small
banana is smaller than a large banana, no matter
how it is sliced.
✓ Children can take another’s perspective.
✓ Children in this period still learn best through concrete experiences.
The Art of Confusion: Equilibration vs. Disequilibration
Your job as an IM designer is to confuse children. But in the right way, and not in a way that has unintended consequences.
How do children move from one stage to the next? Piaget argued that children “build”
knowledge via a cycle of repeated and expanded interactions with their environment.
Piaget described this process as having two mechanisms. One, he referred to as assimilation. When encountering something new in our environment (which is the prerequisite to
learning), humans first try to incorporate that new thing into our existing mental framework. Accommodation is the complement to assimilation. Accommodation occurs when
we have to adjust our existing mental framework in order to make room for that new
“thing”. Piaget said that these two processes are occurring all the time, back and forth as
we experience (learn) new things in our environment. When children encounter something new, they are slightly off balance, experiencing what Piaget called disequilibration.
The child naturally seeks equilibration, or a balance between interacting factors inside
and outside the child.
Real world examples are easy to find. Learning a difficult sport, such as golf (trying to sink a putt, or hit a drive down a fairway),
water skiing or snow boarding all have definable moments of assimilation, accommodation and equilibration.
Interactive media developers gently nudging the child from equilibration to disequilibration to equilibration, and so on.
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Social Learning Theory
Other Influential Theories
The work of Albert Bandura (b. 1925) gave rise to the social
learning theory. Bandura emphasized the social aspects of
learning, for instance, the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes and reactions of others. In
other words, Bandura claims that much of what we learn is
attained by watching other people. Bandura sees learning as
a continual, reciprocal interaction between cognition, behavior and environmental influences. The learner’s attention,
memory and motivation are seen as key determinants of
learning. Interactive media that models desired
responses or that provides children with opportunities to see other kids learning and doing can be said
to draw from social learning theory.
Behaviorism
Behavior can be explained in terms of observable responses
to environmental stimuli. Influenced by the conditionedreflex experiments of Pavlov, behaviorism was introduced in
1913 by J.B. Watson who emphasized stimulus-response laboratory techniques. B.F. Skinner took things up a notch by
documenting responses to stimuli and rewards in both children and animals; one outcome was the concept of mastery
learning, which was applied in the 1950’s as “teaching
machines.” Edward Thorndike was another important proponent of behaviorism; his work looked at the role of rewards
and consequences and the technique of breaking tasks into
small parts to be learned. Interactive media that is linear and scripted or that relies heavily upon external
rewards draws from the behaviorist perspective.
Slot machines and gambling apply reinforcement
theory very effectively.
Social Constructivism
Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist and philosopher in the
1930's, is most often associated with the social constructivist
theory. He emphasized the influences of cultural and social
contexts in learning and supported a discovery model of
learning. Vygotsky believed that learning and development is
a social and collaborative activity that cannot be "taught" to
anyone. It is up to the student to construct his or her own
understanding in his or her own mind, while the teacher acts
as a facilitator. Vygotsky maintained that learning should
take place in meaningful cultural contexts. Simulation programs like SimCity are perfect examples of social constructivism, as are online games which facilitate the communication between two or more players. Vygotsky’s concept of the
“zone of proximal development” is a useful idea for interactive media developers. This “zone” has been defined as the
distance between a child’s independent problem solving and
Constructivism
This school of psychology asserts that children actively construct their own knowledge from prior experiences — a
process of fitting together new experiences with old to create
a new reality. The theories of Jean Piaget (1896-1980) have
been used to support constructivist curricula which include
the open classroom movement, whole language, and others.
The idea that the child is an active, not passive, learner is key
to this theory. Interactive media that is child-led using
open-ended components or virtual manipulatives
draws from the constructivist theory.
Enhancing Feelings of Control
Both clippers have the same function, but the one on the
right seems easier to use because of the exaggerated rubbery handles. So it gets used more than the one on the left.
Here are some dos and don’ts when it comes to children’s
app design.
Do
• Use rollovers and other “tangible” techniques to foster
feelings of empowerment. Things like eyeballs that follow the cursor (ask Moshi Monster’s Michael Acton
Smith about that one).
• Make the stuff on the screen that catches your eye have a
function. The biggest resource you have is a child’s
immediate attention (or the first slide, using the preoperational metaphor).
• Provide pointers to the hot spot.
• Use crisp audio to amplify a child’s smallest action.
• Use “hot spice” that is related to the task at hand.
• Provide status indicator metaphors that have meaning to
a child (e.g., climbing a set of stairs, getting higher in a
tree to get to the treehouse, helping a dog get to a bone).
• Make it clear when it is “your turn.”
• Let a child interrupt the narration or animation.
• Make sure a child can get out of whatever the get into.
Don’t
• Clutter the screen with nonfunctional, “dead” art. Save
the frosting for the movie.
• Underestimate the role of sound in the design.
• Let your narrator go for more than a sentence or two.
• Parrot back instructions.
• Let decisions about licensed characters get in the way, or
diminish child control.
• Use reinforcements that have no relation to the task.
With IM design for children, it is easy to kill two birds with
one stone.
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his capabilities of problem solving while under adult guidance or
the guidance of more capable peers. The “zone” is where you want
to be when teaching a child— just slightly beyond what he can
already do by himself. The same goes for interactive media activities, you want them to be challenging, but not overwhelming, and
you want to give the child enough support while doing the task that
he succeeds at learning something new. Programs that track a
child’s past performance and automatically offer slightly
more challenging activities are using the concept of “zone
of proximal development”.
Information Processing Theory
Definitions
Lev Semyonovitch
Vygotsky was born in
1896 in Byelorussia
(Soviet Union). He began
his career as a psychologist in 1917 and only pursued this
career for 17 years before
his death from tuberculosis in 1934.
Based on the work of George Miller and others, the Information
Processing theory of learning maintains that children are actively
processing, storing and retrieving information (much like a computer) and that teaching involves helping learners to develop information processing
skills and apply them systematically to mastering the curriculum. Two major principles of this theory are that short term memory (or attention span) is limited to seven
chunks of information and that processing information in sequential steps is a fundamental cognitive process. CAI (computer assisted instruction) interactive media uses
these principles. Tasks are broken into sequential steps, connections between new
and old information are highlighted, retention strategies are suggested and there is
ample opportunity for repetition and review of information. Developers of interactive media designed to teach memorization of facts, reading, etc.
should explore this theory further as its concepts can be easily integrated
into learning games and activities.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
In 1956, a group of educational psychologists led by
Benjamin Bloom found that over 95% of the test
questions students encounter require them to think
only at the lowest possible level...the recall of information. Bloom identified six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of
facts, at the lowest level, through increasingly more
complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order which is classified as evaluation.
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Understanding
Knowledge (facts)
1. Knowledge: define, list, match, order, name,
repeat, memorize, recall.
2. Comprehension: describe, sort, classify, report, review, identify, review, translate.
3. Application: demonstrate, illustrate, solve, employ, use.
4. Analysis: categorize, appraise, calculate, compare, contrast, distinguish, examine, question, test.
5. Synthesis: compare, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up.
6. Evaluation: assess, defend,estimate, judge, predict, support, value, test.
Interactive media has much to contribute to “higher order” thinking,
through simulations such as Sim City or Oregon Trail, where children
must continually evaluate and synthesize information related to a long
term task. Other activities such as programming in HTML or creating
with a database or spreadsheet are also examples of these skills.
—
* Adapted from: Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The
classification of educational goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York ;
Toronto: Longmans, Green.
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intermittent reinforcement— a type of reinforcement schedule in
which the praise or reward
is given only once in a
while (like a slot machine).
Of all the reinforcers, this
one is the most powerful
when used in software.
minimum user competency— the lowest level (entry
level) skill a child must
possess in order to be successful with an activity. A
menu that requires reading
raises the MUC, for example.
responsivity— one of the
variables considered to be
most related to engagement. An example of
responsivity in software is
an immediate response to a
mouse click or key stroke.
zone of proximal development— or “ ” is an especially useful idea for software developers. This
“zone” has been defined as
the distance between a
child’s independent problem solving and his capabilities of problem solving
while under adult guidance
or the guidance of more
capable peers. The “zone”
is where you want to be
when teaching a child—
just slightly beyond what
he can already do by himself. A “smart” character
that suggests a new activity
based on previous performance is one example.
Howard Gardner’s
Theories of the Mind
Gardner on April 15, 2013 at MIT
Howard Gardner was a student of a student of Jean Piaget. His mentor was the
Cognitive Scientist Jerome Bruner; who was a student of Piaget’s. His greatest contribution is his 1983 theory of multiple intelligences, which he wrote about in Frames of
Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. His idea provides a framework for
helping curriculum designers expand the definition of intelligence.
The Seven, and later, Nine Intelligences
When it Comes to Apps, There are Three Types of
Learners
Originally there were these seven.
1. Logical-mathematical
2. Spatial
3. Linguistic
4. Bodily-kinesthetic
5. Musical
6. Interpersonal
7. Intrapersonal
Gardner has largely remained quite on technology, attributing most tech-related behaviors to logical/mathematical.
However, he is collaborating on a book called “The App
Generation” in which he identified three types of learners:
1. App dependence = You do what the app lets you do.
2. App enablement = The app lets you do things that you
couldn’t do otherwise, like make a puppet show or song.
3. App transcendent = I’m not going to be limited by any
app. I’m going to make my own app.
These two were added later
8. Naturalistic
9. Existential
See Howard Gardner’s Sandbox Summit talk at
http://youtu.be/g4i4RifZzWk (recorded by Scott Traylor).
Exercise: Think up a profession associated with each intellegence.
Two tweetable quotes from this talk:
“I think all Amercian Education Thinking is a footnote to
John Dewey,” and “In the struggle between Dewey and
Thorndike, Thorndike won.”
Five Minds for The Future
In 2006, Gardner described the “minds” that children will
need to “thrive in the world during the eras to come.” The
book, called Five Minds For The Future provided these
examples:
1. The disciplined mind
2. The synthesizing mind
3. The creating mind
4. The respectful mind
5. The ethical mind
The Marshmallow Study
The famous and much quoted Marshmallow study (e.g., see Galinski, 2011) was conducted by Stanford’s Walter Mischel at
the Bing Preschool in 1988. It attempted to measure a child’s ability to exhibit behaviors associated with delayed gratification. The idea was that if you could had the ability to delay gratification as a young child, it could have big implications as
you grow into an adult.
Procedure: Preschoolers were led into an empty room and offered a treat of choice (Oreo cookie, marshmallow, or pretzel
stick). They were told that they could eat the treat, but if they could wait fifteen minutes they would get a second treat.
Children responded very differently. Some just ate the marshmallow, while others waited, making up games to help them
resist temptation. The video was often very humerous.
Preschool children who delayed gratification were described more than 10 years later by their parents as adolescents who
were significantly more competent. A second follow-up study, in 1990, showed that the ability to delay gratification also correlated with higher SAT scores.
8
Literacy Theory At A Glance
Learning your letters is hard stuff. An “A” and an “N” look slightly different, but they
also carry hundreds subtle attributes which become appearant when combined with
a “T” to make a word like ANT. Mix them up and the same letters turn into TAN. In
one of the first comprehensive reviews of literacy research Edmund Burke Huey
(1908) wrote one of my favorite quotes:
".. to completely analize what we do when we read would almost be the acme of a
psychologist's dream for it would be to describe very many of the most intricate
working of the human mind, as well as to unravel the tangled story of the most
remarkable specific performance that civilization has learned in all its history." See
The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading.
SOME ADVICE
Watch: Technology, Literacy and the Mind
by Marilyn Adams at EETC
http://youtu.be/3WJgzuwIIm4
Read: Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to
Read: Thinking and Learning about Print.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press
Take a developmental view. A child’s capacity with reading and writing varies incredibly, day by day or year by year, which is
why Piaget’s stage theory applies. Remember that any theory can find a champion in technology. Constructivists have whole
language and apps like Doodlecast; behaviorists have phonics apps like the Bob books. Neither are right, neither are wrong.
You should be fluent in both bodies of discourse.
RESEARCH on the effects of the iPad
on reading pedagogy is as slippery as
the iPad’s screen, in part because apps
can vary so widely. Look for studies of
specific apps and the activities within
apps. Also of use: ethnographic studies
that watch how children use technology
in general. These can greatly inform
your work. It is safe to say that “the
iPad effect” opens new opportunities
for reading, writing and literacy in general that are largely unstudied; other
than:
a) Children seem to like iPads, and
b) There’s a LOT of story-related content being created.
MY FAVORITE LITERACY EXPERTS
include my former teacher at MSU,
Taffy Raphael, now at the University
of Illinois at Chicago (see http://tigger.uic.edu/~taffy/) who helped me
greatly. Here’s a paper that I wrote for
this class:
http://childrenstech.com/?p=11691
Also good to watch: William Teale at
the University of Illinois (watch
http://youtu.be/sg9ED-Fdsks) and his
wife, Junko Yokota. They’ve been
exploring eBooks recently and have a
deep history in traditional history theory. See Junko speak:
http://youtu.be/5FGbG2Vq6T4.
Also Nell Duke at University of
Michigan and Nonie Lesaux at
Harvard; plus Marilyn Adams.
KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
Marilyn Adams defines literacy as “the
process and product of gaining concious, reflective awareness of our
knowledge, thought and language.” In
her 2011 talk at EETC she reminds us
that humans have have been “visually
representing” for 30,000 years, but it is
only within the past 6,000 years that
“pictograms” were used to tell stories.
The tablet is only 3 years old.
LITERACY TERMS TO KNOW
Here are some terms from reading theory discourse. Define each and be ready
to share:
Representation:
Oral reading:
Emergent literacy:
Fluency:
Phonetic Awareness:
Scaffolding:
Sounding out:
Phoneme identity:
Print Awareness:
Contextual clues:
Labeling/labels:
Invented spelling:
Encoding:
Reciprical reading:
Writing:
Text to speech:
Zaner-Bloser:
Speech to text:
D’Nealion:
Recording:
HWT:
Print awareness:
A “print rich” environment:
Word awareness:
Whole language vs. Phonics
Silent reading:
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LIT REVIEW
Tseng, K. H., Liu, C. C., & Liu, B. J. (2012, March) found that tablet-based e-book readers can facilitate child-parent
collaboration and afford variety forms of interactions. In particular, the storytelling activity on such tablets helped the parents provide different guidance including dialogic reading strategies and those related to story structure, helping the children to reflect on the book read. The result of this study also suggests that a persistent platform that can record and demonstrate the reading experience is a critical element to facilitate participatory reading among children Educators may find it
useful to apply such approach in other reading context.
Stewart, S. M. (2012) did a doctoral dissertation called Reading in a Technological World: Comparing the iPad to Print at
Bowling Green State University and used a control/experimental group and found that “children who read the e-book exhibited progress in the meaning and reading of the words supported directly by the computer compared to the control group.
No such progress was observed for words without direct support. No differences appeared in the progress between the two
age groups and no interaction was found between age and type of word support.”
Korat, O., & Shamir, A. (2012) found that as readers encounter children's literature in new formats and modes of delivery, the basic processes of reading, sharing, discussing and analyzing texts will change. Because of these changes, new
instructional approaches and resources will be required.” They have created a pedagogical approach called Reading
Workshop 2.0. They calle it Direct and Indirect Teaching: Using E-Books for Supporting Vocabulary, Word Reading, and
Story Comprehension for Young Children.
10
Lessons in App-Craft
One night, a prosperous publisher was dreaming up an exciting new app ...
So began the talk by John Cromie of Touch Press that you can
watch at http://youtu.be/R82og144EG8.
John’s story, called “the publisher, the app, and his budget”
describes how a grand app idea can end with a sadly if it is
approached with traditional thinking. His talk was one of two,
behind-the-scenes presentations on what Cromie calls “app-craft”
given at the first ever Dust or Magic Bologna Masterclass, held
the day before the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. A second presentation approached the topic from a fiction angle, given by Kate
Wilson of Nosy Crow. Wilson also provided a generous look into
the Nosy Crow creative process. Note that the notes in this article
are loosely transcribed from the talks, and should not be taken as
direct quotes from either speaker without their permission.
Non-Fiction Case Study: Touch Press
JOHN CROMIE is the co-founder and chief technology officer at
Touch Press. He’s been making CD-ROMs for many years which
has prepared him well to lead the team of engineers at Touch
Press. Some main points: • If you have a craft, you must also have a medium (a potter has
clay, for example). App-crafters have a new and mostly unexplored medium that has really come into being in the last 12
months, thanks to instantly responsive multi-touch screens
with no lag; high speed solid state drives and always on connectivity, not to mention all sorts of sensors and a compact
form. What we do with these devices isn’t television, books or
the web. It’s something that is new and unique.
• Go native. While there are a lot of app development environments, like Unity, that you can choose, the Touch Press solution is to use the native SDK so that nothing stands between
your creative team and what is possible on that platform.
Anything that gets between the ideas and the possibilities
presents a new set of constraints.
• The biggest enemy to an app-crafter is an attitude of “it’s good
enough, lets get it out the door.”
11
http://youtu.be/R82og144EG8
• As the technology improves, we, as a larger culture, are also
evolving in our expectations of what apps can do, which
explains why the notion of skeuomorphism (making screen
objects resemble real objects) is starting to fade for the first
time. We need to start thinking about an “app” as a much
broader thing.
• Understand your medium. A carpenter understands wood and
a set of tools, and the limits of what wood can do. The same is
true for app makers.
• Interactions between people and apps can be intimate experiences, and this type of special interaction must be understood
in the design process.
• Every app is an original work even though it may be based on
existing content.
• App-craft requires a creative team with multiple levels of
expertise, and each team member must work in sync with the
others. This includes knowing each person’s limits, and understanding when to back away from a task that someone else
might be better qualified to handle. The best attribute for a
team member is a passion for both the content and the audience. In other words, a bird lover is likely to make a better app
about birds.
• Passionate engineers are those that try their best to come up
with a viable answer to the question “what if;” for example,
“what if we added another language” or “what if we could put
every Disney film on a single screen.” It’s also someone who
never admits “it’s good enough.” • Creative teams work incredibly hard, under inspirational leadership and they hate the word “impossible.”
• Sweat the detail. (Cromie showed a globe with hand painted
tiles, where you could see the brush strokes, as an example).
• Make apps for “all ages.” A two year old child can enjoy spinning a responsive globe, or watching text sparkle.
• Save some room for polish, and tidy up the loose ends. Polish
is what you do when you’ve done everything you plan to do,
and you have some time left. This is time that needs to be built
into the budget.
told and retold over the
years. The idea of giving the
girl a choice in the path she
takes to get to Grandma’s
house came from came
from one of the classic
early versions of the
story. Finding these
things takes research.
• Nosy Crow infuses fiction with real elements.
The clouds in Jack and the Beanstalk come
from photographs of real clouds; and a well where Jack finds a
key is made from stones that were photographed at a castle in
North Wales.
• An iPad screen is roughly the size of one page of a board book.
That’s not very big, and can feel very limiting to a publisher
who is used to a large format printed page. That’s why Nosy
Crow has implemented several page expanding features, such
as the ability to scroll or zoom. We also use motion driven 3D
effects to help to make a child feel welcome.
• We have two levels of writing. One has the main story, with a
beginning, middle and an
end. On top of that, we float
non-linear writing which
consists of conversations
between the characters that,
if we’re doing it right,
increase your understanding of the characters, but
won’t interfere with the
story.
• Imaginative engagement
already exists in a book. Our
app design invites them further into the experience.
• Like Touch Press, we prefer
to use native tools to
increase our control over
the medium. It’s harder, but
we’ve been able to create a box of code with each app that gets
better and better.
• It is so important to test with children. We keep lists of the
bugs to fix on a collaborative list. We’ve learned that left and
right handed children touch the screen differently, and we’ve
had to adjust such things as which direction characters enter a
scene.
• Making an app is a collaborative and collective process, rather
than based on a single individual’s talents (Wilson frequently
seconded Cromie’s message about the need for creative teams
working together). The work is anonymous in a lot of ways,
and that’s quite an interesting concept.
Fiction Case Study: Nosy Crow
KATE WILSON, Managing Director of Nosy Crow, is a passionate
champion for reading, and the role that reading can play to
empower a child. Her enthusiasm was baked into every aspect of
her talk; and she started by reminding the group “there are no
experts, only explorers.” Nosy Crow is a 15 person company that
has published 100 print books and 12 apps that have inspired the
field of children’s appmakers with their uncompromising quality.
Some main points: • Fairy tales are extraordinarily robust, which is why we like to
turn them into apps. You can bend them and you can twist
them, whether it’s in a book, film or app -- and they don’t break.
There’s a good reason they’ve been going for 100’s of years.
• Today’s children come to an iPad with an expectation about
screens, and reading must not be the most boring option for
them. We’re trying to create new kinds of reading experiences
that present different types of reading opportunities in a nonlinear way.
• Making our apps is not like a relay race, where one person
hands off a job to another. The process is fluid and dynamic,
and requires a lot of give-take and revision.
• When I design, I try to empower the child. How scary should we
make it? That type of decision affects the level of complexity
and the interaction, and it must be just right for the intended
audience. • Nosy Crow apps start with original source material. Little Red
Riding Hood began with a close look at ways the story has been
12
The Art and the Science of the
Children’s eBook
by Warren Buckleitner
Throughout the ages, children’s storytellers have tapped into the state-of-the-art to practice their craft.
Whether it was achieved with charcoal drawings and shadows from a torch, or color ink in the case of
Beatrix Potter, the goal is always the same: to educate and delight a child. Today’s state-of-the-art technology comes in the form of a slim glass tablet with day-long batteries, multi-touch screens and the ability to access the Internet. Gone are keyboards, wires and complexity. A 21st century child has two kinds of bookshelves: one
with traditional printed books, plus a virtual bookshelf that is in the cloud. These titles are stored in a virtual closet managed
by iTunes, Google Play or Amazon, or perhaps in one of many content management services that are popping up. These stores
reach across borders, permitting a storyteller’s ideas to flow around the world at the speed of light, often in your choice of language. These are exciting times.
The BolognaRagazzi Digital Award was established in 2011 to identify best practice in this emerging category of commercial
products, on a global scale. The six winners serve as guideposts for others. But the prize initiative digs up a lot more than just
a list of winners. As we made our journey through this year’s entries, we made some notes on what worked or didn’t work. If
you’re in the digital storytelling business you can learn from someone else’s mistakes. We also made a video (for 2013, at
http://youtu.be/Ea0VL0-Jiw4, for 2014, at http://youtu.be/bAHkW4SYaFU) in which we discussed the entries. eBook, Defined: “Narrative Driven Interactive
Media”
and Klaas Verplancke, Illustrator, Author & Lecturer, Brugge,
Belgium.
How many products were considered? For the 2014 edition,
there were 258 entries from 37 countries. All entries ran on
either Android, Kindle or iOS.
How many winners? There were two winners (one fiction,
one nonfiction), four mentions (two fiction, two nonfiction)
and ten finalists (five fiction, five nonfiction). The winners
and mentions were included a short list (either the top ten
or top 20).
We understand that an “eBook” can be many things to different people. For the purposes of this prize, we define an
ebook as “narrative driven interactive media” or an interactive work based around some sort of story. We didn’t consider products with no story involved. We also didn’t consider non-interactive products, such as digitized printed
books presented as PDFs or on e-readers. This year, we
broke the entries into fiction and nonfiction.
Why a Product Didn’t Win
FAQs about the Prize
In many contests, it is common to end by issuing a press
release and some trophies, and then start thinking about next
year. Not with this one. We are equally interested in understanding these fascinating products from an objective vantage point. We want to know -- and share -- what’s working
and what’s not. So we want to be just as clear about what
counts as dust as well as what gets the prize. In that spirit,
here are some common attributes of the many non-winning
products we encountered.
Who can enter? This is a free, public, annual contest sponsored and paid for by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
and organized by Children’s Technology Review. Any author
or publisher can enter, and there is no entry fee. Only
recent products are considered (within the past year).
Who picks the winners? For 2014, the Jurors were Warren
Buckleitner, Editor, Children’s Technology Review (USA),
Chris Meade Digital Director of if:book, London (UK); Cristina
Mussinelli, AIE (Italian Publishers Association) Milan, Italy;
• Sprinkled with hot spots, as in “it’s been sprinkled” with
animated hot spots that may not support to the story. Said
Chris Meade “there were a lot of things being trotted out
that were nothing more than some illustrations for you to
jab.” THE LESSON: Make sure the interactivity “does work”
for the narrative.
http://youtu.be/bAHkW4SYaFU
• Static graphics. Worse from a child’s point of view, are
items on the screen that look like they should do something,
inviting a child’s curious touch, but responding with stillness. THE LESSON: If you put a balloon in an illustration,
make sure you can pop it.
13
• Page flippers is a term that came up more than once in the juror meeting, as in “it’s just
another page flipper.” It came to stand for old thinking in a new age. Page flippers were very
common in this year’s entries. Sometimes they even had their own paper rustling sound.
Such a navigation choice is an instant flag that says “not very innovative.” THE LESSON:
Think outside the page. • Free. Free products were treated with a healthy dose of suspicion. We’d ask “what’s the
catch?” Some free products act like a spring-loaded snake, reading to jump at you with an
offer or a distracting web page. THE LESSON: If you have a “free trial” version, keep the inapp purchases away from young children.
• Noisy. Achieving a psychological balance between screen and child initiation is an art that
is instantly violated when sound can’t be controlled. Jurors noted many apps that start like a
three-ring circus, throwing music, sound effects and moving graphics, and removing a child’s
ability to control the experience. THE LESSON: Make sure you have a mute button.
• Anonymous. Sometimes it was hard to find out who made the app. THE LESSON: Make
the answer to the question “who made this app” easy to answer.
• Nothing new. Many ebooks blend together into a collective mush of medium quality stories with limited features and perhaps a jigsaw puzzle, a coloring page or a game of concentration. There’s so much more the medium can do. THE LESSON: try to stay a step ahead on
the innovation wave. It’s far easier to get noticed.
• No help for the emerging reader. How does the ebook help a child who can’t read? We
were impressed by labeling strategies, closed captioning options, and touch and hear techniques to help a child build a bridge (or a scaffold) toward becoming a reader. THE LESSON:
create hooks for success for all developmental levels.
Attributes of Winners
Each other juror might have his or her own list of winning attributes; these are mine.
• Innovative. Thinks outside the page; ideas haven’t been done before. Said André
“Imagination and authenticity count for a lot.”
• Narrative. The value of a good story can’t be understated.
• Pulls the child into the story. There are many ways to pull a child’s ideas into the experience, using the camera, for example.
• Beautiful. Today’s tablets have clear, bright screens that are good vehicles for delivering
high quality experiences.
• Technically sound. No bugs, snags, crashes or delivery worries.
• Social. There are opportunities for more than one player to participate, simultaneously.
• Made by a real person. Good apps make it possible to learn more about the people behind
the work. See, for example Identikat.
• Well crafted. The animation and sounds dance perfectly with the story.
• Text scaffolding. Helping readers of all levels participate with the language by decoding
the print. See We are Alaska.
• Work on various screen sizes. We saw some titles like the Nutcracker that were designed
with small or large screens in mind.
• Ethical. Priced reasonably, with commercial links and/or prompts for additional content
kept behind a firewall to protect children from frustration and wasted playtime.
• Scary. See iPoe or Midnight Feast.
2014 Winners and Mentions
Fiction
WINNER Love, The App by Niño Studio (Argentina). It was easy to love this app - tremendous
digital imagination and inventiveness applied to a book which celebrates the textures and trickery of paper, giving life to the vulnerability of the story.
MENTION Midnight Feast, Slap Happy Larry (Australia). Evocative, sinister and strange (fortunately you can turn down the scariness level for younger readers) this is a story to linger over
and take into your dreams, full of surprising changing perspectives.
MENTION Jack and the Beanstalk by Nosy Crow (UK). Jack's magic beans spouted a magical
app, full of innovative interactive design elements that stretch the medium. Hunt for the Golden
Goose, outrun the giant, and mend a broken mirror image, of yourself.
14
Comments from the
Judging Form.
Here were some of the notes I
jotted down as I reviewed the
entries. Not all were deal
breakers, but they were marks
against making to the winner’s
list.
• Clumsy design: e.g.,
pages flip in the wrong
direction.
• Not responsive.
• I’ve seen this before. This
design was clearly influenced by Toca Tea Party
with no attribution.
• Good story, amazing
graphics, but it is hard to
operate the catapult.
• Instructions are confusing and unnecessary.
• Loads too slow.
• Background music loops,
over and over and over
again.
• Crashed.
• Starts with a wordy
introduction.
• Contains ethnic stereotypes.
• Evil. This is a “free” catalog designed to tease
children, and trick them
into an in-app sale.
• Contains links to web
content in the main
menu.
• Feels like a template,
with sprinkled hotspots
• Not reversible.
• Asks you to rate this app
before you play it.
• Pages get turned accidently.
• Lots of beautiful looking
art that just sits there.
• Yet another page-flipper.
• Clunky mechanics get in
the way of the narrative.
• Horrible narration.
• Ending makes no sense.
• Who made this? The
author/illustrator/publisher are not clearly
identified.
Non-Fiction
WINNER - Pierre et le loup (Peter and the Wolf) by Camera
Lucida (France) is a well crafted celebration of crisp music and
graphics; raising the bar for mixing storytelling, information
and musical play. This is an extraordinarily well-thought visual
mix of motion media, animation, typography and graphic design
that is full of surprising extras.
MENTION ABC Actions by Peapod Labs (USA) Crystal clear
images bring language action to life at a child’s fingertips; we
loved the multiple navigation paths and the ability to dynamically change between the two available languages English and
Spanish.
MENTION Double Double by And Then Story Designers (USA).
Simple drawings and basic animation with elegant, funny and
intelligent results, based on a simple idea.
esting facts with non-page, non-linear, up/down, left/right
tab-based navigation format. Noteworthy feature: the bookmarks that signal a different navigation path; and the interactive growth scales, where you get to stretch your foot.
13. Jack and the Beanstalk by Nosy Crow (UK) is yet another
outstanding fairy tale from Nosy Crow. Noteworthy feature;
the interactive mirror puzzle.
14. Love - The App by Niño Studio (Argentina) combines a
strong story with compelling illustrations. The story has a
surprising twist as it reveals itself to you.
15. Midnight Feast by Slap Happy Larry (Australia) reminds us
all that touch screen storytelling isn’t exclusive to the very
young.
16. Petting Zoo by Fox & Sheep GmbH (Germany) is a textbook
example of interactive animation; with visual surprises that
morph from screen to screen, challenging the definition of
page. 17. Pierre et le Loup (Peter and the Wolf) by Camera Lucida
(France) puts visual and auditory quality of the highest calibre at a child’s fingertips. In this case, it’s a symphony
orchestra. Noteworthy feature: The augmented reality
exploration of the orchestra.
18. Red in Bed by Josh On (USA) is a playful exploration of the
primary colors, and the role they play in what a child sees.
19. Rules of Summer by We Are Wheelbarrow (Australia) is a
huge download, for not a lot of content. But the idea of
pinching and pulling out of a picture is unique, landing this
app on the finalist list.
20. Sneak a Snack by Mario Brodeur/U.n.I Interactive (Canada)
is comprised of 3D pages that can be moved or swiped, your
choice.
Shortlist (Top 20 for 2014)
Here are the top 20, including winners and mentions, in alphabetical order. Note that comments are CTR’s and do not reflect
the opinions of the jurors.
1. 1000 Adventures by Dada Company (Spain) employs a creative “touch countdown” meter on each page, which
increased engagement and helps children know when it’s
time to move to the next screen.
2. Amico Ragnolo by SmallBytes Digital (USA) is a Spanish language book with excellent illustrations, although the responsivity could be improved.
3. Byron Barton by Oceanhouse Media (USA) combines clean
graphics with Oceanhouse Media’s fantastic text scaffolding.
4. Disney Animation by Touch Press (UK) is one of the most
breathtaking non-fiction apps of all time. Download this
app, if you have room.
5. Double Double by And Then Story Designers (USA) shows
how to use a multi-touch screen to present a simple idea, in
a surprising way.
6. Droles Animaux by Goodbye Paper (France) is a wonderfully illustrated, zany app with enough interactivity to bring an
element of surprise to the letters.
7. Easy Studio by 3 Elles Interactive (France) turns a child into
the animator by way of a well-designed set of tutorials and
animation tools.
8. Facciamo (Let’s Face It) by Topipittori Isotype.org
Semidigitali (Italy) is a delightful collection of interactive
forms that can be mixed and matched to make numerals,
faces and relationships. Take note of the way the unveil
technique is used to uncover hidden images.
9. Fun With Colors The Discovery App by Bastei Lübbe AG
(Germany) brings the primary colors to life by way of
refreshingly unique illustrations. Noteworthy feature: The
“color snake” feature that chases your finger, as you scribble.
10. Gekke Dieren by Querido Children's Books (Netherlands)
lets you mix and match animal parts, and record a sound.
The illustrations are particularly strong, and manage to go
together, despite coming from very different types of animals.
11. I Love My Dad by SnappyAnt Play Limited (Australia) combines delightful illustrations and a meaningful story; though
limited interactive design.
12. This Is My Body by Urbn: Pockets (Germany) mixes inter-
15
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori once said: “Never give more to the mind
then you give to the hand.” So how does the iPad fit into
this thinking?
In the fall of 1913 an important visitor from Italy came to the
stage at Carnegie hall. But it wasn't to star in an opera. It
was to lecture about education, at the invitation of two of her
big fans: Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. After
an introduction by none other than John Dewey (can you
imagine that pressure?) Dr. Maria Montessori, the 43-yearold doctor-turned-teacher described her new teaching methods for working with the “idiot” children in the Roman
slums. She apparently struck a chord. According to the New
York Times coverage of her visit, 1,000 people had to be
turned away at the door (http://bit.ly/92w6w2) all eager to
hear her plans for "the eventual perfection of the human
race." Maria Montessori died in 1952, but if she were alive
today, she would probably be astonished by how her methods have grown and multiplied.
FAMOUS MONTESSORIANS. Graduates of programs bearing the Montessori name include some of the most famous
pioneers of the information age: Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com,
Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Jimmy Wales of
Wikipedia and Will Wright of The Sims. (For a good discussion of Will Wright’s Montessori education, see Brian
Crecente’s article on Kotaku, at http://bit.ly/8uiER). All
attended Montessori schools, and have mentioned the value
of the experience. But she'd be shocked by the number of
times her name shows up on schools -- and more recently
apps, that vary widely in quality.
garten"), years before Montessori opened her school.
The Google/Montessori connection is particularly interesting, in part because of Genia Brin, Sergey Brin's mother.
Since coming to the United States, Mrs. Brin has helped create a Montessori school -- the Alef Bet Montessori school in
Rockville MD. So it’s only fitting that you can find a tribute
to her service on her son’s video sharing service: YouTube
http://bit.ly/dspD2z. Today, when Sergey Brin gives a talk,
he seems fond of mentioning his and Larry’s Montessori
past, at http://bit.ly/d4DeFA. One can’t help but notice the
similarities between a Montessori learning environment and
Google's campus, where employees are encouraged to pursue
personal interests like tending bees or planting gardens, and
are served a nutritious carrot smoothie during the morning
break.
A HOT BUTTON ISSUE. Among Montessori groups, the use
of technology-based materials like the iPad is debated. One
important Montessorian who doesn’t seem afraid of the iPad
is Virginia McHugh Goodwin, the Executive Director of the
Association Montessori International/USA
(www.amiusa.org). She told me in a phone interview that
"Montessori would appreciate the deep, intuitive connection
the iPad fosters between content and user, taking working
with knowledge to another level.”
Other clues can be derived from Montessori’s book, "The
Montessori Method" which you can read at
(http://bit.ly/MNO4D). You’ll find plenty of evidence that
Montessori was a bit of a geek. She wrote about the promise
of Roentgen Rays (later renamed X-rays) in 1912, and accurately predicted "wonderful things
from the Marconi Telegraph" (aka
the radio).
During a visit I made there last fall, I spotted a life-sized
replica of a T-Rex skeleton, and was inspired by the
replica of SpaceShipOne: the first manned aircraft
to leave orbit and land safely, hanging in the lobby.
While these cool toys may seem unrelated to
search engines, they are very much related to play,
and how people learn.
She was also a consummate game
maker, constantly fiddling with
innovative materials like sand
paper to perfect a new self-teaching
gadget. Because she’d always put a
child’s interests ahead of any formal
curriculum, it’s a safe bet that she
would’ve encouraged young Sergey
Tapping into the power of play was part of
Montessori’s magic, but she was hardly unique
with the idea. It was central to the theories of
Johann Pestalozzi and his student Friedrich
Fröbel (the guy who coined the word "kinder-
16
The power of a theory: Montessori on Italy’s 100 lire note, and a KLM jet bears her name. Images from WikiMedia Commons
Brin's play with a Commodore 64. Said Goodwin, "Maria
Montessori would view the iPad— and devices like it— as a
tool for tomorrow’s mind."
So when Montessori wrote that education was "seeking the
release of human potentialities," it is easy to imagine her
including an iPad in her modern arsenal of materials. Let me
recap the “pro iPad” reasons:
• Montessori was a scientist who was future-centric. She
understood that she was living in a changing time, and
that children needed to be exposed to modern materials.
She was in the business of preparing children for their
future, to live to their full human potential, so she
would’ve wanted them to embrace, and feel empowered,
by every element of their environment, including technology.
• She would be discriminating about the types of apps she
loaded on her iPads. She’d look for non-commercial apps
that promote active learning, are self-correcting, are multileveling, don’t talk too much and empower children.
Another word Montessori used frequently was “didactic”
as in “didactic materials,” or working toward one right
answer; a feature found in many better designed apps.
• In designing apps, she’d compensate for the iPad's sensory
limitation of just sight and sound, using apps in concert
with real, concrete experiences. She would use the iPad to
supplement and extend traditional experiences rather than
to replace them. After the trip to the Apple orchard, she’d
give each child their own apple, to hold, smell and taste.
Only then would she read a story about the apples, or let
them “pick” the abstract apples on a multi-touch screen.
SOME WORDS OF CAUTION
Before you rush out and purchase every child an iPad, consider Goodwin’s (and my) words of caution. Mine are
based on a close reading of Montessori’s book and a review
of hundreds of apps. Goodwin’s have been printed in the
essay following this article:
• Keep an open mind about this issue. iPads are like
chameleons— they take the form of the app they are running. Some apps match a child and your learning philosophy; others don’t. Like anything new, it must be observed
and studied to maximize the strengths and minimize
downsides. As a scientist, Montessori was trained to systematically study various techniques, use what works, and
discard the rest.
• Keep things in balance. She'd urge modern parents not to
upset the balance of diet, exercise and the development of
17
the senses through exposure to real wood, sand and water.
Technology-based experiences can supplement this mix.
For example, the camera on the new iPod Touch is an
ideal tool for capturing observations on a field trip.
• Screens are abstract. Said Goodwin “She'd (Montessori)
remind us that any screen is an abstract, two-dimensional
object that is removed from reality." In other words, the
movements of a virtual fish in the Koi Pond HD app ($1.99
The Blimp Pilots, LLC, www.theblimppilots.com) might
fool your cat, but one sniff tells you they're not real. What
app could replace the smells and sounds of a real pond?
• Technology tends to be expensive and quickly becomes
obsolete. You can buy a lot of chromatic silk frames and
sandpaper letters for $500, and anyone knows that iPad
2.0 will be “newer, better, faster and cheaper.”
• Don’t sugar coat the learning. She'd like apps that are simple and stripped "of all that is not absolute truth," sans
licensed characters, long musical introductions, or links
that steer a child toward the iTunes store. Because she
frowned on the notion of shaping a child’s behavior with
external prizes and punishments, she'd recommend apps
where the process, in itself, is rewarding. She might ask
“What type of society exposes its young to manipulative
tricks with commercial motives?” Montessori would probably insist that every children’s app should have a “no
candy lane” mode, that perhaps costs a few lire/EU more.
It's been 97 years since Maria Montessori gave her famous
Carnegie Hall address on how to teach hard-to-teach children. We have no shortage of hard to teach kids today, but
it's nice to hope that we have better materials.
Keep learning. Watch Sergey Brin talk about his Montessori
education. http://youtu.be/3OCAdXjlLBA
Part 2:
Developmental Stages
he following pages offer descriptions of children’s “ages and
stages”, and what children can do on the computer at what
age. Also presented are some general developmental milestones that children display during their early years. These age
estimates and developmental attainments are based on several
instruments used to track young children’s growth. While this compilation will help you get a sense of what children can do at each age level,
keep in mind that individual children acquire skills at different rates.
Knowledge of children’s developmental abilities is particularly important when designing interactive media for younger children (below age 6). Many aspects of interactive media will be affected, such as menu design, content, reinforcement messages and so on.
Birth to 18 Months
To babies, a computer or an iPad is little more than a busy box. They love to
look at the colors on the screen, hear
the sounds from the speakers, mouth
the screen or mouse cord and wap at
the keyboard. Don't expect young
babies to make the connection between
their movements of the mouse or keyboard and events on the screen.
18 Months to 2 1/2 Years
While the computer is still viewed as an
electronic busy box, at about 18
months, children begin noticing that
they can have an effect on the
screen. They can’t use a mouse, but
they can use a touch screen. This is an
age where they start understanding
that they can drive the actions.
Attributes of this developmental period
include:
✓ Can recognize pictures of objects.
✓ Can identify body parts on self or on
a doll.
✓ Can place individual shapes on
“form board” type puzzles.
✓ Can use a pencil to imitate a vertical
line.
✓ Can match objects by color.
✓ Can match objects by simple shapes.
✓ Can understand the concept of
“here”.
✓ Can remember a missing object if it
is presented and then taken away.
✓ Begins to categorize objects according to function (e.g. places all of the
spoons together).
✓ Enjoys and remembers nursery
rhymes.
✓ Enjoys taking things apart and putting them together again.
✓ Has limited attention span.
✓ Can name 1 to 2 colors.
✓ Enjoys copying activities of parents
and siblings.
✓ Generally plays along side of peers
rather than cooperatively with peers.
✓ Is able to answer simple questions.
✓ Usually speaks in short but complete
sentences.
✓ Understands the concept of “now”.
2 1/2 to 3 Years
These preschool years are the first real
years of independent computer or
tablet use. Children can now start and
exit from apps, or manipulate the
mouse expertly, providing they've had
plenty of time to practice. Kids at this
age typically want to share the fun with
a friend. Ebooks work well at this
stage, as do simple adventure programs
with strong lead characters.
Age 3 to 4 milestones include:
✓ Recognizes most colors.
✓ Can identify simple shapes (e.g.
square, circle, triangle).
✓ Understands the concepts of “same”
and “different”.
✓ Can play independently for extended
periods (approximately 20 minutes).
✓ Begins to play cooperatively with
peers.
✓ Enjoys and remembers a favorite
song.
✓ Can follow two simple directions in
the correct sequence.
✓ Can complete a 4 piece puzzle.
✓ Can copy a cross (+).
✓ Can draw a circle.
✓ Build towers of 10 or more blocks,
and can build simple bridges.
✓ Can recognize many letters.
✓ Counts to ten.
✓ Shows some understanding of oneto-one correspondence (when counting, each number represents an
object being counted).
✓ By age 4, can use a pair of child-size
scissors to cut on straight, thick
lines.
Age 2 1/2 for many children is a real
turning point when it comes to technology. Children can sit for a bit longer
(we've seen kids who can sit for as long
as 60 minutes), but many have the fine
motor control to use a mouse independently. Now they can easily negotiate well designed menus and they know
how to swipe and use the home button.
They especially love singing along with
the music, while watching events on
the screen.
Keep in mind that the fine motor skills
needed to use a touch screen or a
mouse develop at different rates. Also
remember that technology use is a
often a very social activity for young
children .... they love sitting in a parent’s lap to experience the activities
together, for example. Attributes of
this developmental period include:
✓ Can describe the functions of objects
(e.g. “What do you sleep on?”).
✓ Asks “why” and “how” questions.
✓ Can anticipate consequences and
understand the impact his or her
own actions can have (e.g. understand the relationship between clicks
of mouse and actions on the screen).
✓ Can recognize several colors.
✓ Knows the sounds that animals
make.
✓ Can count to 2.
✓ Engages in simple fantasy play (driving vehicles, cooking meals, feeding
baby, etc.)
18
3 to 5 Years
These guidelines are no substitute for time on a
playground.
Age 4 to 5
✓ Understands the concept
of “today”.
✓ Makes fine size discriminations (e.g. can order objects
according to size, can match
objects according to
length).
✓ Makes broad classifications according
to type (e.g. animals,
foods, clothing).
✓ Understands the
sequencing of events
(e.g. First we go to the
store to buy a cake mix, then we will
bake it, and after dinner we will eat
it).
✓ Begins to comprehend simple logic
puzzles (e.g. If I cut an apple in half,
how many pieces would I have?)
✓ Independent play is longer (45 minutes or more).
✓ Plays cooperatively with peers for
extended periods.
✓ Abstract thinking is becoming more
advanced. For example, children this
age can often comprehend the concept of “opposite”. They can also
complete simple analogies (e.g. Birds
like to fly, fish like to _______).
✓ Uses some irregular past tense of
verbs (e.g. ran instead of runned, left
instead of leaved, fell instead of fall),
but still over generalizes rules of
grammar.
✓ Can play simple organized games,
while remembering the rules (e.g.
musical chairs).
✓ Enjoys pretend play with themes
familiar to child (going to work, taking care of pets or babies, etc.).
✓ Can build relatively complex structures with blocks or LEGOs (houses,
etc.).
✓ Fine motor skills are increasing. For
example, by age 5 many children can
operate difficult wind-up toys, or use
a key.
✓ Can follow 3 simple directions in the
appropriate sequence.
✓ Can answer questions about a short
story.
✓ Can draw a person with 5 parts (e.g.
head, hair, legs, arms, eyes).
✓ Can recognize letters and associate
some letters with their sounds.
✓ Demonstrates understanding of one
to- one correspondence.
✓ Can complete puzzles with 8-12
pieces.
✓ Can copy a square.
✓ Can cut on curved lines.
✓ By age 5 can write own name.
✓ Can recognize numerals from 1 to
10.
✓ Can choose objects that have a similar characteristic, and express why
they are similar.
5 to 6 Years
Kindergartners and 1st graders can use
pull-down menus to launch programs
themselves (some will even install them
for you!). They can also use the computer for simulations, creativity and
even for reference. With some help,
they can go onto the Internet to
research a topic of interest, such as
dogs, cats or that special pet lizard.
This is a time when solid computer
activities can play a valuable role in
supporting and building school skills.
By this age, children know where the
keys are on the keyboard, and can hunt
and peck their own names. But don't
expect them to be able to type yet... formal typing skills will come much
later.
✓ Understands the concepts of tomorrow and yesterday.
✓ Understands the concepts of morning and night.
✓ Knows his or her birthday month.
✓ Can tell time (on hour) around age 6.
✓ Associates most letters with their
sounds.
✓ Begins to recognize simple words.
✓ Knows both upper and lower case
letters.
✓ Can match simple words with each
other.
✓ Can answer “why” questions appropriately.
✓ Waits for turn while playing or while
waiting for adult attention.
✓ Can follow the rules and directions
of a classroom.
✓ Continues to engage in pretend play
with themes familiar to child.
✓ Can adeptly use tools such as scissors, hammers, screwdrivers, etc.
✓ Can use scissors to cut out magazine
pictures.
✓ Can use visual details to determine if
two pictures are the same or different.
✓ Can copy a triangle.
19
I agree. My
best stuff came
from watching my
own two kids.
✓ Can color pictures within the
lines.
✓ Can write numerals from 1 to 10.
✓ Completes 10
to 15 piece puzzles.
✓ Can solve simple addition and
subtraction exercises (If I had 4 apples
and added 1 apple, how many would
I have?).
7-12 years
Upper Elementary age children have
the ability to read and write, and they
are ready to start exploring their world.
Socializing with friends can be very
important during this time. Technology
skills -- such as the ability to search or
create and post videos can vary from
child to child.
✓ Can use and benefit from and use a
smart phone.
✓ Virtual worlds like Club Penguin,
and Virtual Pets like Webkinz can
be appealing.
✓ Like to collect with games like
Skylanders or Pokémon.
✓ Services like YouTube, Google and
Facebook become very interesting.
12-up
Middle and high school children use
technology in many forms, in home
and at school.
✓ Can understand variables, function
keys and multi-step processes.
✓ Technology can greatly enhance or
amplify a specific interest (such as
music).
✓ While they may not choose to, a
child can learn to use a wide variety
of devices.
✓ A smart phone is a highly desired
object, although many families can’t
afford the data plan.
✓ Texting and social media can be
very important to communicating
with friends and members of the
opposite gender.
A Taxonomy of Touch
"Nothing lowers the age bar or makes interface invisible like touch capability. Hopefully
the iPad will represent the best from both our old Touch Window and the Koala Pad, and
go forward from there. Remember what was new and amazing about both of those?)
Donna Stanger, Former CEO, Edmark, Corp.; March 2010, two months before the release
of the iPad.
A perfectly flat, glassy surface is magical all
by itself. It doesn’t exist in nature… and
when it's covered with fog or a slippery oleophobic coating, it gets even more interesting
to your fingers. If you have an iPad nearby,
Formal
Operational
Concrete
Operational
Preoperational
Sensorimotor
lay your palm over it and pretend to be a
baby. Now, layer 786,432 responsive pixels
just a few millimeters below the surface, and
Penelope (7-months) likes the free
you have a puddle of control unequaled in
Pianooohh! app on her mom’s iPad.
any previous computing experience.
As a result, all of the thousands
of ways you could fail with a
Table 1: A Taxonomy of Multi-Touch Interaction Styles, by Stage
mouse and qwerty keyboard
have dissolved into just a few
Age and Intentional Touch-Related
Motion/Voice Examples
dozen with the iPad, and a new
Stage
Behaviors
Behaviors
pipeline of interactivity has
arrived.
• Mouth
• Jolt
Look for apps that deliver high
Birth The Minimum User
• Bump/Swat
• Shake
cause/effect ratios. These are
24
Competency (MUC) has
• Kick
• Feel the vibration also called “busy box” apps,
months
dropped from around 2 1/2
• Jab/poke
from the iPad’s
“interactive play doh” or ratyears (for the mouse) to around
• Smear
speaker
tles. These experiences can
• Grasp
• Rock
empower a child, letting them
12 months (for the iPad). Don’t
• Swipe, dig or scoop
• Blabber
bang on a keyboard
take my word for it. Simply go
• Swipe directionally (up, down, left
• Lean (whole
http://bit.ly/bMgr2l, pop bubto YouTube
bles, or make waves in a pond.
or right), e.g., to turn pages or
body)
(www.youtube.com) and search
Show children where the
change photos.
• Sit
on “baby” and “iPad.” You’ll
“change app” button is, so they
• Single tap/ single touch with coin• Throw
find the work of hundreds of
can get out of what they get
sized icons
• Single word comproud parents who understand
into.
mands
that their baby is doing something rather remarkable. Back
•
Scribble
http://bit.ly/aXqFur
or
fin•
Tilt
to
steer
(like
This
is
the
age
when
a
child’s
2 to 5
in the good ‘ol days, you videoger paint.
a steering
motor abilities start to catch up
• Touch and use BB-sized icons
wheel)
with his or her cognitive abilitaped your child’s first steps.
• Slide objects (with thumb or finger)
• Align camera
ties. They can find and touch
Today it seems it’s your child’s
• Flick and throw (skeet ball, a shootviewfinder
smaller icons, do dot-to-dot
first app.
ing gallery)
puzzles and control things by
I’ve sorted through hundreds of
• Trace
shaking or tilting the screen.
videos and tried to put them all
• Cut or slice
They start to employ their
in a single playlist at
• Alternate hands (e.g., on a piano
emerging temporal and spatial
http://bit.ly/9vM6Ui. They
keyboard)
thinking abilities in their iPad
were captured in October of
• Press and hold (e.g., as a timer fills)
interactions.
• Double tap
2010.
This presents new opportunities for children's interactive
• Spread out (with thumb and index
• Balance (tilt) like
By the time they are reading,
5 to 12
media developers; nothing
finger, going in different directions)
a plate
children are ready to fully
short of a new era in comput• Pinch in (with thumb and index fin• Jump to hop,
explore the iPad’s multitouch
ger)
while throwing a
screen, working in concert with
ing, as the user interface
• Press soft, press hard
ball (with a tap).
the microphone and
becomes increasingly invisible.
• Rotate
accelerometers.
The implications for design are
• Hit the target
profound, however it requires
• Push a magnet (like herding cats)
Prior experience will increase
some understanding of how it
• Two or more combination moveconfidence.
works. One way to do this is to
ments, like tilt and shoot.
watch the app-happy kids play,
through Piaget’s developmental
• Isometric rotation (both fingers
• Children can start
12 - up
filter. Using this method, I cremove the same distance, in the
to use the comated a draft taxonomy (Table 1)
same or opposite direction).
pass, and conIf your goal is to develop
• Simultaneous rotation, such as with
ceptualize the
of touch-related behaviors.
a proficient iPad user,
a compass (hold thumb in one
accelerometer.
Besides watching the videos
space, and rotate other finger).
provide plenty of
(Table 2), I also tested approxi• Augmented reality camera based
exposure to a variety of
mately 200 children’s iPad
applications such as a virtual planeapps, noting the required inter.
apps
tarium http://bit.ly/17w96B
active behaviors.
20
Table 2: YouTube Multi-Touch Examples, by Age
MONOTOUCH VS. MULTI-TOUCH. Touch
screens have been around for many years and
have been implemented well in the Leapster and
Nintendo DS. Multi-touch is a very different psychology, however. While both require fine-motor
dexterity of the variety that has been well-documented by penmanship researchers, there is a different set of rules at play with the iPad screen.
The iPad’s uncanny ability to tell the difference
between a child’s palm, mouth or each finger,
working in concert with the microphone and the
motion detection accelerometer make it well suited for a detecting a range of otherwise undetectable behaviors.
UNDERSTANDING THE IPAD’S LIMITATIONS
While the iPad is amazing, it isn’t the perfect children’s computer. Here are some problems we’ve
noted:
• Young children move— a lot— and can become
confused by features like automatic screen
rotation. It helps to turn the lock button on.
• If you have more than a dozen apps, finding a
specific one can be frustrating for a child
because the icons look similar. The anticipated
folder feature (in the next iOS) can help. It
would also be nice if the default size of the
thumbnail could be changed in size.
• It is possible for children to get into complex
apps or features such as the keyboard (when
searching). There’s also your email, the app
store, YouTube or your browser. You can hide
and lock these features in the Settings. Go to
Settings/General/Restrictions and make a pin.
• The iPad can be heavy and slippery. It helps to
use a silicon shell (reviews at
http://bit.ly/bNcqGt) that fit snuggly around
the iPad, increasing the grip and serving as a
cushion, just in case.
• Plugging in the cable for charging could be
much easier. It has to be facing up, and finding the port (“which end?”) is confusing.
• The volume is hard for children (and adults) to
find and understand.
WHAT’S IT ALL MEAN? The key to unlocking
the power of the iPad for children is to watch how
they use it. Stay tuned for some pretty amazing
children’s apps in the upcoming year as more children’s developers figure out how to better tame
the full potential of multi-touch screens. These
will undoubtedly expand beyond the iPad to the
iPod Touch, Microsoft Surface and Android-based
devices. Besides being good for children’s interactivity, the iPad effect is important for adults and
busy teachers who don’t have time to fuss around
with a mouse and keyboard. All they have to do is
reach out and touch.
A (Rough) Developmental Listing of Multi-Touch Interaction Styles
During the First Two Years of Life
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=26B41EECB4B6D86F
1 month
2 months
3 months
4 months
5 months
6 months
7 months
8 months
9 months
10 months
11 months
12 months
13 months
1 year
14 months
15 months
16 months
17 months
18 months
19 months
20 months
21 months
22 months
23 months
24 months
21
2 years
Raising a Child With Technology: The Tree Metaphor
SUN symbolizes unconditional love. Every child needs to feel like they are the center of the universe at some point— that their
ideas are valued and that there is a place for them in this world. Without sun, everything dies.
WATER symbolizes interesting materials to explore. For a young sapling, water is essential for the roots to grow. Boredom, or
not enough water, leads to withering roots. Increasingly, developmentally appropriate technology options can get and hold a
child’s interest; and resources like YouTube and Google provide an answer to any question.
TRUNK symbolizes a solid foundation for the challenging times that
lie ahead. In this model, there are
three parts to the trunk: spiritual,
mental and physical, and each
needs plenty of water, sun and time.
TRUNK symbolizes a solid foundation for the challenging times that
lie ahead. In this model, there are
three parts to the trunk: spiritual,
mental and physical, and each
needs plenty of water, sun and time.
BRANCHES symbolize the knowledge domains, of the variety that
you can find in Howard Gardner’s
multiple intelligences or on any
school curriculum chart. Branch
growth is stimulated by exposure to
interesting things over time. The
older a child gets, the more developed the branch structure. The
wonderful thing about raising a
young child is that you have no idea
how they will turn out. Some children may have a strong musical
ability while another might have
physical or mathematical aptitude.
Many parents want a child that is
well rounded, with a variety of skills
and competencies, while others
seem most interested raising a master athlete or a virtuoso musician.
BUDS symbolize accomplishments, large and small. Each accomplishment, from “I can walk” to “I can play guitar” grows into
a LEAF, which gives back to the tree, making a thicker trunk and a more diverse branch system. Leaves need a continual supply of sun (love), and water (new challenges) in order to return each season.
FRUIT symbolizes life accomplishments, large and small. For psychologist Abraham Maslow (Maslow’s hierarchy) the “fruit”
might mean reaching a state of self actualization; when an individual accomplishes their life dreams. Fruit is commonly celebrated, on shows like American Idol (musical fruit), or the NCAA Finals (athletic fruit). Less obvious fruit might include making a friend, paying taxes or helping a neighbor in need—the small things that can hold a society together.
Where did this come from? I started using a tree metaphor for human development when I was a consultant at the
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation; like Stone Soup; many people have contributed ideas to the tree parts. This
model has limitations. For example, because it considers a single individual, it doesn’t help us think about the influence of
culture (see Vygostky) — that a “tree” is part of a forest. But for a single child, I’ve found it to be useful. I’ve since added
Maslow (in the trunk) and Gardner (in the branches). By Warren Buckleitner.
22
Part 3. Application
Capturing the Magic of
Interactive Media
If you want to design great interactive products for kids, it pays to have a kid.
Many amazing products can be attributed
to parenthood. This was the case with
Shelley Day. Shelley, a new mom, wanted
to find new ways for her son to play with his
favorite homemade bedtime stories about a
little car named “Putt Putt.” Putt-Putt became the “vehicle”
that helped Humongous Entertainment become a $60 million dollar company.
It’s all about knowing and understanding kids. For Craig
Hickman, who single handedly programmed the first version
of Kid Pix, design success was born out of wanting to
improve current products for their own children.
Mark Schlichting, the head designer of the Living Books
shared this story of how he became captivated by interactive
technology. “I’m a parent of three boys and I’d bring home
what I thought was good educational software title. Then my
sons would play with it once, maybe twice and that was it.
Around the same time, one of my older boys and his friends
rented a Nintendo game console. In the course of three
hours they were up to the 52nd level of play. I thought to
myself ‘Look how motivated these kids are to figure this out.
There’s an incredible amount of critical thinking going on,
but in an environment with no content. Wouldn’t it be great
to use this natural draw to technology to deliver real learning
through play and exploration?’” Schlichting’s Living Books
went on to become a standard-bearer of quality, loved by
children, parents and teachers alike for their emphasis on
good stories and entertaining exploration. (From: A
Conversation with Mark Schlichting, CSR March 1999).
Kid Pix, the classic children’s drawing program, was born out
of frustration when programmer/photographer Craig
Hickman saw his three-year-old son Ben struggling to use
MacPaint. “I was surprised at how quickly he got the knack
of using the mouse and how easily he was able to select tools.
The problem was that he didn't have total control of the
mouse and would occasionally (like every five minutes or so)
pull down a menu and bring up a dialog box that he couldn't
dismiss without being able to read. Everything was fine as
long as I was in the room, but if I stepped out for a few minutes I would come back and find Ben kicking on the floor in
frustration. This was not what I
had in mind for his introduction
to the computer.” (http://pix-
Imagine your app as a “dinner date.” Some
dates talk way too much, can’t be interrupted, or don’t remember things you’d already
discussed. Other dates tune in.
elpoppin.com/kidpix/index.html). Thanks to Ben, Hickman
went on to design Kid Pix, a rich, open-ended draw and
paint program rating high in child control. Since
Brøderbund’s first publishing of the of the interactive media
in 1991, Kid Pix has been translated into dozens of languages
and used by over ten million children around the globe. By
playing with and observing children— programmers, product
managers, CEOs and even reviewers can learn some powerful lessons. To borrow from Bob Hughes’ book on interactive
media, Dust or Magic, (Addison Wesley) some of the stuff is
pure magic, while some is nothing but dust. Here are some
of the ingredients of “magic” interactive products.
A “Magic” Product...
Is easy to set up. Complex installation and registration
routines on Windows computers have damaged the industry.
Anything more than “Put the CD in the drive” should be outlawed. Hit Clips (by Tiger) exemplifies “ease of use”. Even
the batteries are pre-installed. Just open the package, push
the button, and it works.
Lets kids “accidentally” succeed. Children, like grownups, want control! Early success in a program is like that
great golf shot— it keeps you coming back for more. The program must provide the most direct path to what Hickman
calls “the prime directive.” Take the typical racing game. You
want to race cars, right? But some racing programs put roadblocks in between you and the racetrack, in the form of layers of customization menus. Let me race the car. Give me the
preferences if I want them.
Overdelivers and undersells. Few products build customer loyalty faster than interactive media. Parents and
teachers can see the difference a well designed program
makes for a child, and this builds an emotional bond to the
product.
Wants to please. Each program takes a child into its own
little world, with its own set of rules, and a distinct emotional climate. We tell designers to imagine their program as a
“dinner date.” Some “dates” talk way too much, can’t be
interrupted, or don’t remember things you’d already discussed.
Responsive. Author Bob Hughes offers another way to look
at an interface, using a good dog as an analogy. Most computer interfaces are like “stuffed dogs”-- static, they don’t do
anything. Other programs or toys are like hyperactive puppies—with so many wriggling, flashing icons, they look like
the Las Vegas strip. A “good dog” interface is alert, alive and
“ready to help,” but it doesn’t detract from your attention.
Developers forget that children are very tuned into subtle
messages that they get from the program. Tiny delays in the
action, non-intuitive icons, or sluggish reactions to a click
can convert feelings of control into irritation.
23
Capturing the Magic, continued.
Consistent. Any experienced teacher can tell you… when children
know the rules, they settle down and child management issues
decrease. A good interface establishes the “rules” early on, and keeps
them the same throughout. Want to make a child stop playing?
Make an icon that works only after the narration has stopped.
Worse, make the same icon do different things, or put two “exit”
icons on the same screen. Hughes calls programs that change themselves around “Gestapo Interfaces” and compares the experience of
trying to use a poorly designed app or web site (of which there are
no shortage) with talking to a paranoid schizophrenic, where the
rules can change at any time. “Do I click, or don’t I click? How do I
get back to that screen I was playing a few minutes ago? Where’s the
undo? ARGGGH!”
Helps kids know where they are. Most interactive media uses
some kind of “space” and that space needs to make sense to a child.
One of the simplest approaches is to keep everything on one screen,
like the classic video game Space Invaders. Other tried-and truetechniques include an hub and spoke structure, with different activities radiating out from a consistent menu screen. Getting back to the
hub is as simple as hitting a “home” button. Many think this is the
magic of the iPad. Maps are another useful navigational tool.
Programs like School Zone’s On Track series keep a constant navigation strip on the bottom of the screen. In this case, the strip is made
of footprints, each one representing a screen of progress. The longer
a child plays, they more footprints are filled in. Once they get to the
edge of the screen, they’ve completed the book. They define the
space, define the goal, and have a visible reminder of progress.
Doesn’t talk down to kids. A wise Mississippi preschool teacher
once told me that “a young child can’t spell hypocrite, but they know
what one is.” The same goes for interactive media interfaces. Even
very young children can sniffing out play value. Media pioneers such
as the late Walt Disney understood that children can be the harshest
critics.
Looks and sounds good. Kids respond to (and deserve) good art
and music and original full-strength storylines.
Follows play patterns. We call it “riding the horse in the direction it’s going.” Why are RPG (role playing games) so successful?
Because children love to pretend. RPG games are natural extensions
of what kids are already doing. Programmers and designers should
spend some time at the playground. Things you notice there can end
up as important elements in your products. Hickman writes “When
Ben built something out of blocks, he enjoyed knocking his structure
down almost as much as he did building it. Getting rid of the picture
should be fun.” Hence Kid Pix’ exploding firecracker eraser, one of
the greatest (and most controversial) menu tools ever created.
Breaks the rules. A good interactive designer lets a child interact
with a product in surprising or unexpected ways; another another
hallmark of good play. Let a child solve a pattern puzzle backwards,
or pile up thousands of stickers to create some on-screen chaos.
These tell children that they have control of this world.
Offers social experiences. Kids like games they can play together
(ask Traveler’s Tales or Nintendo). They also like activities where
they can share their progress on leaderboards or by saving a picture
(see Toca Hair Salon). Club Penguin’s success is based on making it
easy for children to type simple constructed messages, or play games
with strangers.
24
Contributors to Dust
It’s not accurate to classify children’s interactive
media products into either “dust” or “magic.” It’s just
not that simple. Few apps, toys or games are actually
1 to 2 stars; most actually fall into the 3.5 to 4.2 star
range (per CTR’s scale). Only a dozen or so per year
really stand out as 4.7 to 5 star, “pure magic.” Here
are some factors commonly related to dust.
___ Frustration in the first five seconds. Hard to
start, download or install.
___ Offers “faux control” mechanisms (things that
look like hot spots or triggers don’t do anything). Sometimes called “phantom icons.”
___ Sluggish; less than crisp.
___ Mixes selling with editorial.
___ No sound control.
___ Talks too much. Narration “pushes.”
___ Not personally meaningful. Contains symbols
or abstractions are not part of a child’s experiences.
___ Sacrifices ease of use for “cool” design — puts
the frosting over the cake.
___ Talks down to kids (e.g., sugary narration).
___ Too hard, or too easy.
___ Lacks interactivity.
___ Poor navigation — not easy to get out of what
you got into.
___ Laggy.
___ Compares poorly with the current state-of-the
art; or comparably priced products.
Contributors to Magic
___ Clear picture menus that with print labels that
are easy to find and touch.
___ Multiple ways to do the same thing.
___ One layer menus that provide direct access to
activities.
___ Limited wait times
___ Quick, clear response to keystrokes
___ Interruptible routines (e.g., opening sequences)
___ The ability to handle “machine-gun” inputs
without buffer problems.
___ Online help via clear speech in the context of
the problem.
___ Icons that are large, understandable to children
(meaningful) and easy to select.
___ Picture-driven printing and saving routines (not
text-driven).
___ Parents or teachers should have options for disabling the printing routines or links to social
media services.
___ Feedback/help that goes beyond simple reinforcement messages such as “nice job” or “try
again.”
___ The program may narrow the options (to
increase the chance of success on a second try)
or provide a hint to coach the child along.
Engagement as a Variable: AKA “Warren’s Dissertation”
T
A Study on the Effects of Praise and Reinforcements on Engagement
here is an established body of
research that has examined the
interaction style between humans
and children. Some studies measured
behavioral outcomes, such as various
aspects of the educational effectiveness
of the interaction. In the famous "waittime" study, Mary Budd Rowe (1974)
observed that the average time teachers
waited between asking a question and
taking further action to elicit a
response is about one second. When a
student responds to the question,
teachers wait, on the average, less than
one second before reacting to the
response. Rowe called these two time
periods-- the period between asking the
question and acting further, and the
period between the student's response
and the teacher's reaction-- wait time.
By asking teachers to increase their
wait time to between three and five seconds, she observed a 300% increase in
the length of students' explanations
(Rowe, 1974). Teacher/child interactions have been documented in intrinsic motivation literature (see Ames,
1990; Brophy, 1981; Lepper, 1985;
Smilanski, 1968; Stipek, 1988 to name
a few). Directly related to the study
described in this dissertation is the literature that considers the quality and
quantity of a child's engagement with a
given task, as influenced by an
adult/child interaction style. This relationship has been documented by
Gerald Mahoney and James
MacDonald (2003) with a population
of young children with and/or at-risk
for developmental problems. When
children and parents or caregivers participated in two types of interactions
(didactic and responsive), a positive
relationship was identified between a
responsive interaction style and children's social and linguistic development (Mahoney & MacDonald, 2003;
Wolock, 1990; McWilliam et al., 2003).
I was interested in looking at these
relationships in an interactive media
context. A computer classification
activity was created that was modified
to simulate two contrasting teaching
styles, similar to the Mahoney &
MacDonald technique. The first style,
called "high computer control"
attempted to simulate a teaching style
where the teacher carefully introduced
each problem, and provided frequent
praise and encouragement throughout
www.childrenssoftware.com/dis/dis.menu.htm
Question: Are there observable differences in child behaviors in two
versions of the same software sorting activity, one with a high level of
instruction and reinforcement (high computer control), the other with
relatively few instructions and reinforcements (high child control)?
Answer: Designers and evaluators of interactive media products for children should pay careful attention to the degree
to which the implementation of control mechanisms such as
reinforcements can have substantial effects on children's
interaction with the software.
the experience. As a result, the child
had less control over the flow of events,
making the experience less responsive.
The second style, called "high child
control" presented the identical sorting
experience with the instructions, praise
and encouragement turned off. As a
result, a child experienced more control
over the events, resulting in a more
responsive overall experience. Control
was varied by changing the quantity of
instructions and reinforcements. The
engagement of the child was measured
by counting observable child behaviors.
These included 1) the number of tasks
completed, 2) the number of clicks, or
attempts to influence the instruction
flow, and 3) the length of time the child
chose to spend with each condition.
The study population was 38 preschool-aged children. The Results in
Brief The measures revealed some
interesting, statistically significant (p <
.05) relationships.
MORE ACTIVITY: Children in the high
child control treatment were more
active, completing more tasks (mean =
64 vs. 20; p < .05), clicking the mouse
more times (mean = 129 vs. 73; p <
.05), and getting more tasks correct
(mean = 41 vs. 16; p < .05). Children
rated both experiences highly, and
spent about the same amount of time
with each condition. Children in the
high child control setting performed
more mouse clicks (129 vs. 73) and had
lower accuracy rate for problems (68%
vs. 85%), in about the same amount of
time. In the high computer control set-
HCI Bibliography : HumanComputer Interaction Resources
http://www.hcibib.org/kids
The HCI Bibliography is for designers, producers,
researchers, and practitioners of interactive media for
children and adolescents.
25
ting, there were more clicks per task
(mean = 4.07 vs. 2.09; p < .05), and
children had a higher accuracy level
(mean = 85% vs. 68% respectively).
MORE CORRECT ANSWERS Children
attempted over three times more problems (64 vs. 20) and more than twice
as many correct answers (41 vs. 16) in
the high child control condition. While
no significant differences were found
by gender or session administration,
the age of the children did matter in
terms of the amount of time spent with
the task.
MORE CLICKS: Children clicked more
in the HICHILD setting, but had fewer
wasted clicks than in the HICOMP setting. For the purposes of this study, a
click is defined as the two part motion
(and up and down stroke) when children choose to interact with the interactive media interface. The click was
easily counted due to the distinctive
sound associated with stroke, as well as
the visual clues provided by screen
events. In the high child control setting, children clicked more (mean =
129.08 vs. 73.68 respectively; p < .05)
over the same amount of time as the
high computer control setting. This
outcome has more meaning when
interpreted in the context of the number of problems completed in each setting. In the HICHILD setting, children
attempted more than three times
(320%) the number of tasks (63.8 vs.
20.4; p < .05), resulting in a click per
task ratio nearly two times (194%) that
of the HICOMP setting (4.07 vs. 2.095;
p < .05). To conclude, when responsivity was increased, children were much
more active, clicking more frequently;
and more of those clicks were related in
some way to an intended outcome
Engagement as a variable, continued.
(from the perspective of the interactive
media designer). In the HICOMP treatment, the added narration and reinforcement statements seemed to create
a barrier to child's activity and problem
solving effort.
YOUNGER CHILDREN STAYED
THAN THE STRUCTURED ACTIVITY
LONGER THAN THE OLDER CHILDREN
The ANOVA revealed some notable
findings when the entire group of children was divided by younger and older
age groups. The 14 younger children,
aged < 50 months on average chose to
stay with the experience longer than
the 22 older children (p < .05) regardless of the experimental condition. An
explanation for this may be the challenge level, which started with three
objects to sort, based on one attribute,
and increased to five objects and three
attributes. Because most of the problems were geared toward the middle of
the age group (46 to 52 months), the
older, more competent children more
quickly exhausted the novelty and challenge available in the experience than
the younger group, resulting in a loss of
interest, and less time on task. For
designers, this helps illustrate the
importance of having a fluid challenge
level that either automatically adapts to
the child's ability level, or that lets the
child have some control over the challenge setting.
CHILDREN TRIED MORE PROBLEMS
IN ONE CONDITION. In the HICHILD
condition, the children were 317%
busier, attempting 63 problems in
approximately the same amount of time
spent in the HICOMP condition with
only 20 problems solved (p < .05).
When children experienced a more
structured and controlled interface with
a high level of narration and direction,
they showed a decrease in activity, as
measured by number of problems
attempted. Anecdotal observations supported this observation, with more fidgeting, yawning, and placing head on the
table during the HICHILD situation.
Another observation relevant to this
topic was that the HICOMP treatment
work was more accurate, with a higher
percentage of correct answers (84.95%
vs. 67.97% respectively; p < .05). When
there was increased activity, there was
a decrease in accuracy. When the sum
of correct answers, however, was compared between the two conditions, during the HICHILD condition children
ended up with 393% more correct
answers -- 41.0 vs. 16.1 (p < .05).
Interpreting the significance of this
finding is dependent upon the theoretical framework and associated instructional objectives of the interactive
media designer. If the end goal is for
the learner to solve a higher number of
correct answers and increase the
amount of experimentation, the
HICHILD setting is the preferable
design. If higher accuracy regardless of
the number of problems is the only
goal, the HICOMP setting is the preferable option. 4. The older group of children chose to spend less time in the
HICHILD setting than the younger
group of children. When the population
was grouped into two parts by age (over
50 months and under 50 months),
there was a significant and interesting
difference in the amount of time the
two groups choose to stay with the
activity. Regardless of the experimental
condition, the younger group stayed
longer than the older children (p < .05)
although the HICHILD setting held
them longer. (610 vs. 442 seconds,
whereas the HICOMP setting was 573
vs. 567 seconds). 5. Children rated both
experiences highly, but anecdotal
observations seemed to indicate that
children generally preferred the
HICHILD treatment over the HICOMP
treatment. A formal measure of the
child's feelings about each treatment
was attempted using a Likert-type
scale. There were no significant differences between the two groups (4.65 for
HICHILD, 4.58 for HICOMP; p > .05).
When children were asked "how did
you like it?" immediately after a treatment, they would say either nothing or
that they liked it, by touching one of the
smiles faces. It was hypothesized that
children would rate the HICOMP expe
rience lower than the HICHILD setting.
This was not supported by the survey
ratings. Additional information was
gathered less systematically, by observing children's reactions when their turn
came up to play the second trial. In
general, they would respond enthusiastically to the idea of coming back to the
room to play the game some more,
regardless of the first condition they
experienced; high or high computer
control. Nine of the children, generally
older, were able to verbally compare
the HICHILD and HICOMP treatments
after the second session. From these
videotaped conversations, it was possible to determine that these children
had more positive things to say about
the HICHILD experience. In order to
more accurately understand children's
reactions to each treatment, additional
exposures to both the HICHILD and
HICOMP treatments would be necessary, over a longer period of time. It is
likely that children would have a more
discriminating attitude toward between
the two treatments after the novelty of
the experience is reduced.
CONCLUSION This study helps connect the established principles of
human/child interaction to
computer/child interaction, including
the role of external reinforcements and
the level of responsivity of the interaction. The results of this study suggest
that designers and evaluators of interactive media products for children
should pay careful attention to the
degree to which the implementation of
control mechanisms such as reinforcements can have substantial effects on
children's interaction with the interactive media.
26
T
Eight Lessons for Structured (Didactive) Activities
he following elements of the
Cookie Critters experience
appeared to make a difference in
the quality of the child’s time with the
Cookie Critter’s activity. These non-systematic observations were taken as
notes during the each administration
session and while coding the tapes.
1. Include a brief, ten second "launching
experience." The importance of providing a launching event, or an "anticipatory set" (Hunter, 1982) that could get
a child's attention (Gagné, 1977) and
then provide a clear path for the child
Classification of Mouse
Clicks Listed by Frequency
During the Cookie Critters
Activity
This is an attempt to classify the types of mouse
use observed in this study.
1. Double Stroke, Intentional Clicks. This click consisted of one complete down and up stroke while on
the intended target. For example, the child sees a
cookie, moves the cursor to it, and clicks. This
type of click was more common in the older group
of children (>50 months) who were more likely to
have prior mouse experience. This type of click
was common in both HICOMP and HICHILD settings.
2. Single Stroke, Intentional Clicks. Approximately 1
in 5 children used "drag and drop" or "hold and
go" (Strommen) single stroke clicks in both the
HICHILD and HICOMP settings, even though the
activity used a "sticky mouse" making this technique unnecessary. A child using this type of click
would first position the cursor over the target
cookie, and then make one downstroke, holding
down the mouse button, and not letting it come
back up until it was over the target critter. This
type of click requires the coordination of both fine
motor and gross motor movements simultaneously. It was interesting that some children switched
to this strategy in the HICOMP setting, from
intentional clicks, after they learned that they
could not speed the events along. Perhaps this
was out of frustration.
3. "Hurry Up!" Unintentional Clicks. This click resulted
when a child attempts to influence the temporal
sequence of events on the screen by clicking the
mouse. Commercial early childhood software
activities that allow children to "click through"
introductions or screen events may reinforce this
behavior. This clicking behavior was observed
only in the HICOMP setting.
4. "Rapid Fire" or "Machine Gun" Unintentional Clicks.
This technique refers to when child sends a continuous stream of clicks, sometimes in a short
burst and other times for longer sequences. The
child's thinking seems to be along the line of "I’ll
just keep clicking until the computer hears me." It
was also a way to keep busy, perhaps creating a
simulated feeling of control in the HICOMP setting. This was rare in HICHILD settings, much
more common in the HICOMP setting when children did not have as much control.
to take the next transaction in the
interaction played a key role in a child's
initial reaction to the Cookie Critters
activity. In both the HICHILD or
HICOMP treatment, a short, one sentence phrase such as "click a cookie"
that is spoken as the clickable cookie is
highlighted on the screen, advertised
what was needed to do in order to get
started. When the launching instructions were toggled off, or when they
were set on the maximum setting, the
younger children seemed more likely to
become lost or distracted.
2. Insure quick success for every child,
regardless of developmental level.
Approximately five of the 41 children
were resistant to participation. This
may have been due to some past unsuccessful experience with a computer
activity, but it is important to note that
approximately 12% of this particular
sample seemed to feel strongly that
computer activities were not something
for them. When the first few screens
and the introductory sequence were
short, clear and easily bypassed, children seemed more likely to experience
some degree of "accidental success."
There was one flaw that was identified
in the Cookie Critter’s activity that
affected ease of use for several children.
The first screen starts with an inchwide round target with the printed
word "start" on it (Figure 10). In order
to unlock the activity screen, children
are required to hit this target, which
implies that they will know that the
button means start. While this is logical
to an adult who can read, a preschool
child can’t, so there is no indication
what to do. One way around this bottleneck would be to make the screen so
that any click, regardless of where the
cursor is, advances the program to the
next screen.
3. Incorporate dynamic, or "living" features
that are driven by, or respond directly to the
child’s actions. In the starting screen in
Figure 10, for example, children would
be more likely to become engaged early
on if the eyes in word "Cookie" followed
the cursor around the screen. Dynamic
animation properties such as these,
that follow the initiation of the child,
seem to be effective for increasing initial engagement.
27
4. Use humor carefully and intermittently.
Children seemed to respond well to
events such as when the critter burped
after eating a correct match, and
"bonk" sounds when cookie did not
match. These small events worked very
well to support children's engagement.
5. Opt for context sensitive "roadside assistance" in place of lengthy segments of spoken instructions. Ideally, interactive
media products designed for young
children could be able to sense outlier
behaviors, such as series of errors, and
respond appropriately. This assistance
cannot disrupt the current activity; for
example, by launching a new path with
a help sequence. It needs to happen out
of the way, while respecting the child's
current problem solving space.
6. Put children in the role of being in control.
In this case, it was being able to be in
charge of feeding the cookies, determining which cookie was able to eat,
and which wasn’t.
7. Capitalize on a children's initial motivation. Each child started both HICHILD
and HICOMP experiences with some
level of motivation. It is up to the
designer to determine how this motivation will be spent. This study illustrated
that this motivation can be either used
for more accurate responses and less
activity, or more activity with more correct answers and more mistakes,
depending on quantity of the reinforcements and instructions. In the case of
an activity like Cookie Critters, it is a
question of the instructional design priorities.
8. Provide a meaningful context, from the
perspective of the child, not an adult. The
first administration session used a version of Cookie Critters with a visual
progress tracking feature turned on.
This made it possible for children to see
how many problems they had solved,
and how many more they had to do
before the next challenge level. This
technique has been used successfully in
apps like Math Park and Tap Zoo.
Select Articles on Design by Warren Buckleitner
Here are some articles on design that appeared as columns in KidScreen or Children’s Technology Review.
Instructions on Giving Instructions
When it comes to designing children's interactive media, former US President Harry Truman might have been on to
something when he said, "I have found the best way to give
advice to your children is to find out what they want and then
advise them to do it." Unfortunately, too many of the products I review were designed by people who've forgotten this
free advice.
In countless kids apps, the first few screens are filled with
introductions, non-descript login icons, or other control-sapping hoops. Instructions aren't inherently bad things. On the
contrary, when it comes to assembling a bicycle or baking a
cake, they can be lifesavers. But when it comes to interactive
products for young children, excessive instructions can just
gunk up the works.
In fact, interactive product designers should take their cues
from decidedly non-digital but skilled instruction givers - the
people who design children's rides for amusement parks. The
Big Rigs ride, found at the Waldameer Amusement Park in
Erie, Pennsylvania, is a good example. While standing in line
at a nearby roller coaster, I noticed a chorus of goose-like
honks pealing through the park at five-minute intervals.
Curious about the noise, I wandered over and watched a
batch of eager kids climbing into a train of double-decker
truck cabs.
Each truck was equipped with two steering wheels and two
horns with rubber squeeze bulbs.
There were no instructions or helpful early childhood educators waiting with a mini-orientation. However, instantly, the
children started busily exploring the controls with wide eyes
and busy hands. Most tested the steering wheel first. Kids
over age four seemed to know it wasn't functional, but quickly learned the air horn was no fake. A squeeze made the sharp
goose-like honk. Better yet, if you squeezed harder, you got a
louder sound. And if you squeezed it several times, several
honks followed. And nobody said stop! Soon, another chorus
of honks filled the air, as each child signified their understanding of the task: "I'm an active learner, I'm alive, this is
my space, and I'm in control."
Contrast this with the WordGirl maze game
(http://pbskids.org/wordgirl/index.html#/games/game_4/).
The activity would be better if it just showed a maze and didn't assume children need to be told to use the arrow keys something they probably picked up from Webkinz long ago.
Besides, if they can read that much text, they probably don't
need practice matching words, right? To make matters worse,
the same instructions are parroted at each level.
The dos and don'ts
There are many types of interactive media, so there's no one
way to give instructions. That said, here are some general dos
and don'ts for incorporating directions into a children's interactive media product:
28
• Don't incorporate directions.
• If you do, keep them Twitter-sized, and remember that children have limited buffers. "Click to start" is better than a
mini- lecture on the QWERTY keyboard.
• Do embed the instructions in the activity, but get children
busy doing something like popping balloons or spinning a
steering wheel first. If nothing is happening, then provide
an "over the shoulder" instruction, such as "Try the arrow
keys to move." If you front-load kids, they just tune out.
• Don't parrot. In a sorting game, it's okay to state "Sort the
shapes" the first few times. But after the third prompt,
disable the feature.
• Don't assume ignorance as the default condition of the end
user. The world's most successful interface, Google, has
no instructions, yet it is used successfully by millions of
children every day, including preschoolers who aren't supposed to know how to type or read. Google replaces
prompts with white space.
• Make every first level a tutorial, but don't call it a tutorial.
• Support the traditional "I read the instructions" type of person by including a complete set of text-based instructions
(e.g., the user's manual) in the help icon on the first
screen - it's fine to lecture here.
• Kid test. The younger the children, the more they differ
from one another. If your interface works consistently for
20 kids, you're likely to get similar outcomes with
200,000.
Finally, remember that all of us, no matter how old we are,
want to honk the horn.
By Warren Buckleitner, from the Jul 27, 2009 issue of KidScreen Magazine.
Five Ingredients of Active Learning
makes a big honking noise, and the wipers seem glued to
your fingertip when you slide over them. The first approach
assumes toddlers are too young to understand these relationships, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Julia Child understood the magic of butter - a substance that
can pull together diverse ingredients to create a delightful
culinary sensation. And if there's a butter-like equivalent in
the creation of children's interactive media, it's active learning. While active learning may be harder to taste than butter, it can have an equally transformative effect on multimedia ingredients.
• Choice In approach #1, children are given no choice in the
pace or version of the song or the ability to stop and start
over. In the second game, children get to choose the song
version or language, and complete silence is also an option.
And if you have an iPhone, it's possible to record personal
vocals in the dialect of your choosing.
Years ago, early childhood curriculum designers at the High
Scope Educational Research Foundation, where I trained
teachers, distilled active learning into five components materials, manipulation, choice, language and support.
While we had teachers in mind, these key points work nicely
with kid's interactive experiences. To illustrate, let's examine
two similar, but differently designed activities. One is made
with active learning in mind, the other without. Can can tell
which is which? (Warning: this will require some active
learning on your part.)
• Words As recognized by cognitive scientists like Robert
Gangé and Jerome Bruner, for a young developing child,
language facilitates cognition. In other words, if you want to
get a child thinking, get them talking. The Sesame app talks
at children, while the Duck Duck Moose one gives children
the option to talk as they listen to different forms of language.
• Support Both activities make it impossible to fail.
However, the second one does a better job of supporting a
child's natural instinct to poke, slide and touch - minus the
lecture. As such, a child is better-supported from a developmental perspective.
First, watch this three-minute video
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0wcBcPc4xE) OK.
Now we're ready.
Approach #1: Wheels on the Bus from Sesame
Workshop (available at Sesamestreet.org/game).
The activity opens with Elmo saying, "Let's play silly songs.
Elmo the bus driver is ready to play. This song is, `The
Wheels on the Bus.' When you hear the music, press the
key." But which key? And if Elmo is ready to play, you're
probably asking why can't I just push the keys? Did you
notice how you can't control the pace of the song, and how
the actions on the bus are pre-scripted? It makes this a flavorless experience.
The lesson here? In the quest to craft the perfect interactive
beef bourguignon, good ingredients like popular licensed
characters, funny writers and famous narrators certainly
can't hurt. But when they're bathed in active learning, a
child is much more likely to come back for seconds.
Buckleitner, Five Ingredients of Active Learning, The
KidScreen, Oct 1, 2009
Digital Play-Doh and the Principle of
Accidental Success
This activity suffers from "TV writer's disease," according to
veteran digital designer Erik Strommen. "The dialogue was
written as if for TV, not for interactive media, so it's longwinded and not very focused or directive," he says.
Can you recall peeling the lid off a fresh container of PlayDoh? Remember that distinct smell and feel of the fresh
stuff squeezing through your fingers? Once you started, it
was hard to stop - it's even rumored that some kids may
have had a taste or two.
Approach #2: Wheels on the Bus from Duck Duck Moose
Design (available in the US at the iTunes app store). The
only instructions for this iPod Touch/iPhone app involve a
silent finger, suggesting where you might touch the screen to
open the doors or move the wipers. This activity exemplifies
the ingredients of active learning much better than the first.
If ever there was a material that delivers on the promise of
an immediate no-fail experience, Play-Doh is it. You can roll
it, squish it and poke it full of holes. Mistakes are easily
reversed by rolling it back into a ball, and your ideas can be
can be saved forever when you put your project on a shelf to
dry overnight. It is the ultimate interactive play substance,
and failure is not an option.
Now let's examine both games through the active-learning
lens. It'll help to run each experience through the following
checklist to find out just how tasty it is.
• Materials How much content is there to explore? In the
first experience, there is just one version of the song and few
surprises from page to page. The bus always does the exact
same thing. Contrast that with the second approach, where,
along with a variety of versions of the song, there are multiple things to click on each page - there's just much more to
actively manipulate.
• Manipulation You have the content, but what can you do
with it? Manipulation encompasses both little things, like
rolling over an icon to see what's highlighted, and big things,
like the ability to change the background graphic, record
your own song, or start a giant bus rolling. The slightest tap
Now consider the first screen kids encounter on their
favorite website, toy or app. Besides Play-Doh's strange salty
flavor, do they have similar attributes? Do they have what's
become known around our office as the "accidental success"
factor that mirrors that of the famous molding compound?
It's what we look for in every interactive children's product
we review. Here's our checklist.
29
Accidental success defined
A good product has to meet many requirements, but few are
as essential as accidental success - especially when it comes
to interactive devices and software designed for kids.
• Is it responsive? If you jab it, do you get something?
• Can you operate it with your elbow? Try this. Close your
eyes and start touching things. Can you do something
right, or more accurately, non-wrong?
• Is it smart? Can it tell if you are simply guessing and provide help as needed?
• Does it require reading? Could a non-reader succeed within the first few screens?
• Is it reversible? Can you get out of anything you get into?
• Does the first level ensure success for even the youngest
child?
• Could your cat make it work?
With checklist in hand, it's now time to look at two examples. Both apps are designed to give children a musical experience. One exceeds the criteria for accidental success, while
the other is
cluttered with
instructions.
Go, Diego,
Go Musical
Missions
The music and
the main menu
are certainly
nice, but the
activities are
frustratingly
didactic in this
iPhone/iPad
app designed for Nickelodeon by Chewy Software. There are
six songs, including "Jingle Bells" and "Mary Had a Little
Lamb" each set in a different environment (i.e. the Savannah
or the Arctic). The instructions are excessive and Diego talks
too much. Also, the notes on the flute don't line up with the
notes on the musical staff, which is confusing. One child in
our review group even noticed that you can get through a
level faster by randomly pressing notes instead of acting on
Diego's clues. (Available at www.nick.com, US$1.99.)
Magic Piano
Ideal for children, adults or cats (according to YouTube),
Magic Piano turns the iPad's multi-touch screen into a
twistable, turnable, resizable piano keyboard. In default
mode, it starts with the press of a key and emits a clear note.
At any time, you can switch to a different keyboard layout,
or squeeze stretch the keyboard to add or subtract keys. You
can also play chords, just like on a real piano. An interesting
and somewhat spooky feature of the program is the duet
mode. If your iPad is online, you can play a tune with someone else who is
also connected
to the net. In
the "world"
mode, you can
see where the
songs are being
played on a
map of the
globe. A control
panel lets you
control such
things as auto-
sustain and pitch mapping. If you're looking for an excuse to
purchase an iPad, Magic Piano just might bend your arm.
(Available at www.smule.com, US$0.99.)
To be fair, it is not entirely accurate to compare such differently designed experiences, especially when one has the
advantage of featuring a popular licensed character.
However, it is fun to think about how to redesign Go, Diego,
Go Musical Missions, mixing in a dash of accidental success.
And if you need reminding what I'm talking about, go out
and pick up a fresh eight pack - of Play-Doh, peel back the
lid and enjoy a sniff.
Buckleitner, From the Oct 2010 issue of Kidscreen
The Waterline Principle: What it
Means for Children's Interactive
Design
When I was doing teacher training for ECE classrooms, I
came up with the "waterline principle" to help teachers visualize material access. This means that you set up an environment for children where everything they can reach is "on
limits" rather than “off limits.” You create an imaginary line
that represents the tallest child's reach. All toys and
materials that are above that line should be out of site, and
out of mind, as to not tease a child with choices they can't
have. Everything below the line should be fair game for use.
What does this mean for children's interactive designers?
First, designers need to take a global look at their experience, starting with the packaging and installation and ending with the exit routines. Most trouble happens when starting or ending an interactive experience.
Typing in a registration code or reading an acceptable use
policy is above the complexity waterline. Preferences such as
network settings or your computer's clock are the equivalent
of your classroom's supply closet. You don't want children to
be playing in there. So they need to be out of site, and
beyond a child's line of site. If you have preferences, say for
changing players or for adjusting the sound, you need to
make sure they are usable by the intended audience.
Otherwise, you open the possibility for frustration.
Instead of the tallest child, think about the most bored and
curious child. They're the ones that are likely to test the limits of your interface.
How to Build Feelings of Ownership
in an Interactive Space
Everyone wants to attract kids to a website, or keep them
interested in a new video game. The secret? You just need to
employ the FOO factor. Instilling FOO (a.k.a. Feelings of
Ownership) in children within their first few minutes of
using a game, website or interactive application may be one
of the most important keys to digital success. It works like
magic. Just ask game designers Shigeru Miyamoto of
Nintendo or Will Wright from Emeryville, California-based
Maxis. Neither are strangers to the concept of FOO - or
money. Not sure where to start? Keep the following in mind.
30
Pondering Pokémagic
• Can you turn up, or turn down the music or sounds, or is
there an obvious "mute" button?
• Can you pause the game at any point?
• Does the program ask for your name upfront, and then use
it at various points in the game (e.g., on a bill board in a
racing game, or hidden in an I SPY puzzle?)
• Let kids choose the gender and ethnicity of their individual
digital characters.
• Give the child a variety of "skins" or customizable elements
to choose from. For example, if the game or environment
provides users with a room, give the kids the ability to
click on the walls and toggle between different wallpaper
designs. Also, make sure one is white, in case they don't
feel like having any designs pushed at them.
• On-the-fly control. If there's music playing in the background provide a radio icon so kids can choose the channel, just like Grand Theft Auto does in the adult digital
space.
• A space of one's own. One of the most compelling things
about Club Penguin is that it lets kids have their own
igloo, where they can store their stuff. Kids come to
depend on having a place to sock away meaningful items,
so it's worth building that into an application, even if it
isn't the focus. Note that if you let them collect stuff, make
sure you don't use it as blackmail to get their parent's to
subscribe. See the Code of Ethics.
OK class, it's time to learn about effective interactive design.
Today's case study? Pokémon.
I was reminded of the power of the Pokémon brand recently
when I spotted three style-conscious high school boys, each
with a red-and-white Pokéwalker pedometer hanging off
their belts. These guys are supposed to be too old for
Pokémon, but apparently they didn't get the memo.
The gadgets, which are included with the recently released
Pokémon SoulSilver and Pokémon HeartGold video game
titles (US$40 apiece for Nintendo DS and DSi), are part of
the property's interesting recipe for creating interactive
design that works.
And adhering to the recipe is
what's helped the Pokémon franchise hold up so well against the
continual ebb and flow of video
game technology. It also helps us
understand why there's a
Pokémon store in Rockefeller
Center in New York City.
Of course, the best way to understand why Pokémon works so well
is to cough up 40 bucks and play it
yourself. But if you don't have the
time or money, start by watching
the first 12 minutes of one of the
new Pokémon demo spots filmed
in real time
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ2YWmdHzQ8).
Kids aren't always good at articulating what they need to
adults, so let me try to translate for them. TVs, books and
movies are your (the producers) space. Interactive media, on
the other hand, is as much MY space as YOUR space. Please
give me some.
Miyamoto's Mii avatars populate the millions of Wiis
installed in houses across the globe and represent the underlying philosophy of the revolutionary console-every player is
instilled right off the bat with FOO on every game. Instead of
filling the grandstands with animated characters in Mario
Kart, for example, kids get to see their best friend's Mii
avatar cheering them on. They feel part of the game.
Now consider these eight ingredients.
1. Success, right up front: All DS Pokémon games start the
same familiar way. The MUC (Minimum User
Competency), in this case reading, is well-matched with
the task at hand. All introductory videos can be skipped,
and it is possible to experience success in the first few
seconds of the game.
2. Hooks to a child's life (a.k.a. meaningfulness): Pokémon
games let players explore towns, talk to mentors, have
friends and take care of pets, which start out weak and
become stronger with the player's help. And the fight
against bad guys could be pulled right out of Carl Jung's
archetypal playbook.
3. Free exploration: Pokémon takes place in maze-like sets
of connected villages, and players can go where they
please, using a map for help. So Pokémon provides
structure, within which players can exercise creativity they can always get out of whatever they get into and
there's no single way to play the game.
4. Feelings of ownership: The Pokémon players I interviewed while reviewing this title described their
Pokémon experience as "mine." This sensibility is
engendered right at the outset. Children enter their
names at the start and they're then embedded into the
game's dialogue. This tried-and-true technique is
applied with mastery here. Kids can also customize their
persona, play as a male or female and give their
Pokémon creatures silly (or serious) nicknames.
Wright has famously applied FOO to SimCity and the bestselling social game The Sims, which includes a powerful set
of face and body editors. And Maxis is looking for lighting to
strike again with Spore. This month, the company started
giving people a sneak-peek with the Spore Creature Creator,
a 300MB mini-application available as a free download from
www.spore.com.
Maxis is also giving would-be users some free server space to
share their creatures with others. Wright has ensured that
people will fall in love with Spore by entrusting them with
the tools they need to create a creature at the very start of
the relationship. But the best part of FOO is it's royalty-free.
No one entity owns the concept. And it's not new. Remember
Mr. Potato Head, Play-Doh, Lego and sandboxes? All are
high in FOO.
Buckleitner, W., FOO fighters instilling feelings of ownership yields big returns. KidsScreen Magazine, August 2008,
p. 28)
31
5. Surprises: You never know what is going to spring out of
the grass, or when it will happen. This element of surprise is enhanced by the knowledge that there's a special
Pokémon creature waiting for the player at the end of
the game.
6. Collectibility: A big part of the Pokémon experience is
accumulating items that represent the game experiences.
Critics might call it consumerism (see a child's collection
of Pokémon swag at http://bit.ly/94m89Q) or digital
trick-or-treating, but the idea of collecting pulls kids in like magic.
7. Emotional attachment: As players progress, they bond
with their little critters, which travel from screen-toscreen and continually get stronger. They also get messages like "You're really good" and "You treat your
Pokémon with such kindness." There's a lot of positive
energy in Pokémon. It makes players feel like family.
8. Real-world skills: Any teacher knows a child becomes a
better reader by reading, and Pokémon's game script is
presented via myriad bite-sized sentences that must be
read in sequence to participate fully in the game. There
are also graphs to read and interpret, plus numerical
quantities - up into the thousands - to compare and contrast. Spatial memory is exercised while reading the
maze-like maps. Socially, Pokémon competence can earn
bus-stop credibility and give children an excuse to trade,
negotiate and gossip. Finally, the Pokéwalker counters
criticisms that video games can't promote the pursuit of
fresh air and sunshine.
al penguins are noisy, social creatures - just like the real
animals and kids themselves, for that matter. SeaPals
World (www.seapalsworld.com) is based on a line of
plush sea creatures who come to life in a virtual fish
tank that can be decorated in a multitude of ways. And
they never die!
Rule 3 - Load quickly. At 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon, I
launched Club Penguin in four seconds. Webkinz loaded
in five. Compare that with the 25 seconds I waited for
BarbieGirls.com to get up and running. Kids simply
don't have that kind of patience.
Rule 4 - Make it social. What's the point of going online if
you can't toss a snowball at a friend? Future collaborative options could include pair vs. pair or teams vs. team
play, cooperative modes, and webcam or microphone
connections à la Nintendo's Animal Crossing for the
Wii. Also smart are virtual versions of existing games
with perceived educational value, like checkers, hangman and story-creation templates.
Rule 5 - Make a great first impression. Getting started on
the right foot doesn't include posting a "coming soon"
sign. Our kid testers were disappointed with Russ
Berrie's Shining Stars (www.shiningstars.com), for
example, because they were expecting a Webkinz experience. Instead, there was little to do other than register a
star. While the US$15 plush toys are well-made, my
research found the web companion isn't.
Rule 6 - Don't paint yourself into a hardware corner.
Remember the Barbie Girl device? It was a Barbieshaped MP3 player that Mattel hoped would sell like
Webkinz since it similarly doubled as a key to premium
features at www.barbiegirls.com. It didn't work. Today
the site has fallen back to the tried-and-true velvet rope
subscription model. Anyone knows that plugging a USB
device into a Windows computer can be like spinning a
roulette wheel - it might work, or it might require a 40minute call to tech support.
Rule 7 - Get them busy right away. When I was a preschool
teacher, I'd start a group activity by giving every child an
impossible-to-fail activity like squeezing a ball of clay.
The electronic equivalent might be finding hidden items
on the first screen, or turning the cursor movement into
a micro-game. At Moshi Monsters (www.moshimonsters.com) the monsters' eyes follow your cursor. A bit
creepy for us grown-ups, sure. But it's a very effective
way to tell a young child "you're in charge."
Seven Rules for Making a Solid
Web/Toy Connection
The meteoric rise of Webkinz and its related virtual world
should remove any doubt that younger children spend a lot
of time online and that parents are willing to pay for their
kids to have these experiences. A bumper crop of Flashbased virtual playgrounds have come to market in the 18
months since Webkinz started attracting attention, but the
novelty window has closed on those looking to enter the
space.
Kids have become much more discriminating when it comes
to online content, especially when it involves a cash transaction. After all, there's always a free option just a click away. If
you're looking to build a virtual world and attract loyal paying visitors, it helps to understand the rules of this game and
avoid others' mistakes. It just so happens that I've dipped
into my reviewer's notebook and pulled out seven rules to
follow that can make for a solid toy/web marriage.
From Kidscreen, October 1, 2008
Rule 1 - Think outside the box. Does the world really need
another version of Bejeweled or a frustratingly safetyconscious chat system? What's in demand today are
sites that let kids explore and do things they could only
dream of doing, like owning a horse
(www.bellasara.com), steering a pirate ship
(www.piratesonline.com) or building amazing structures
Rule 2 - Make a bridge to the online world that makes sense.
Online play spaces are symbolic representations of the
toys. Children must make the object/symbol connection
in a flash. Club Penguin works for me because the virtu32
A Code of Ethics for the Publishers of Children's
Interactive Media
Make interactive products that you’d want your own children or grandchildren to use.
If you care about young children, a look at the ten random hours of young children (ages
3-8) using online content would make you livid. Some sites behave like a manipulative
salesman working an angle. Of course not all sites children’s sites are like this. But the
reality is that in the unregulated wild west environment of online content, hits = money,
and webstats don’t care about age. When this thinking drifts into preoperational and concrete operational thinking, trouble can begin.
When we started collecting video footage for the report the Consumer Reports WebWatch
study “Like Taking Candy From a Baby: How Young Children Interact with Online
Environments” (Buckleitner, 2008) we didn’t have a title, and we didn’t know what we’d
find. Once we watched the footage, collected by parents in ten homes, the hard-edged title
was necessary and accurate. The study confirmed that the digital world offers a wealth of
opportunity for young children to play and learn. But even in this small sample of 10 families there were repeated examples of attempts to manipulate children for the sake of commerce. Some sites such as Millsberry.com, EverythingGirl.com, M&Ms.com and Hasbro
MonkeyBar TV, for instance, appear to exist solely to extend a brand name, or to influence
the purchasing decisions of busy parents.
Publishers of children’s Internet content need to be reminded they are dealing with an audience that “thinks different.”
Considering how easily millions of adults are regularly fooled by offers of “free credit
reports,” deceptive advertising, and “order before midnight” commercials, it is unreasonable and irresponsible to subject children to the same hardsell tactics. Publishers of children’s Web sites need to understand there’s more at stake than simply making money.
Publishers of interactive media need to better consider the developmental level of their
audience. In addition, they should disclose the publisher, author and studio information.
It’s hard to imagine buying a children’s book without being able to find out who’s the publisher, author or illustrator. Yet many children’s Web sites bury this information or don’t
list it. Prices for services should be displayed at the start of a transaction, not the end.
The time remaining in a game should be displayed on all main screens in a way that
makes sense to a young child. In addition:
· Keep free trials free. Publishers shouldn’t require a credit card for a free trial. If there
are “hidden” fees, don’t hide them. Disclose them clearly.
· Don’t use free trials to entice children into buying subscriptions. Club Penguin regularly
displays subscription only items to children playing on free accounts. Our observations
demonstrated an instance in which a child clicked on a common object in the game
environment which led to the following message: “Oops, you’re not a member, but we’d
love to have you become one.” Sites should only display “free” options in free trials.
· Don’t try to cover up or play sleight of hand with junk food ads. Our observations noted
pictures or graphics proclaiming healthy themes like “get exercise,” or “eat healthy
foods,” juxtaposed with junk food ads. This tactic, probably designed to neutralize concerns of parents, is confusing and misleading. Child obesity is a serious health concern
in the United States and other countries. Be open about these kinds of ads, avoid
manipulation and disclose nutritional value of advertised foods. Don’t dress them up
with pictures of broccoli stalks.
See the complete study at:
http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/dynamic/families-reports-kidsonline.cfm
See the Moms With Apps Banner Program, at
http://momswithapps.com/privacy-icon/as one way to
clearly mark apps with
33
A Code of Ethics for the
Publishers of Interactive
Media for Children
• I will not sell development,
e.g., “smarter, brainy kids,”
without specific references to
valid studies.
• I won’t hold a child’s past
work or experience hostage,
as an incentive to renew a
subscription or purchase an
additional product.
• I’ll understand the difference
between informing and selling,
especially when embedding
brand names and/or including
in-app sales techniques.
• I won’t exploit a tired, flustered parent for my own profit.
• I will identify (with name and
affiliation) the authors, writers
and developers who created
my product.
• I will disclose costs in clear
language at the start of the
consumer/publisher relationship.
• I’ll read and abide by the
Consumer Reports WebWatch
guidelines.
• If I sponsor a contest that will
involve the public school system (e.g., students, teachers,
classroom time that is funded
by public money) I will not use
products with indirect costs
(a) require an additional subscription or (b) tease or tempt
children with add-on content
that costs money after the
school year ends. I will also
make sure that every child has
equal access to the same set
of tools and content.
• I will not confuse marketing
with educating.
• My product or service will
treat every child the way I’d
treat my own child or grandchild.
Technology changes quickly. If
you want to add a suggestion,
send me an email or edit the
page directly, and please identify
your contributions.
Citation: Buckleitner, W. (2011),
A Code of Ethics for the
Publishers of Interactive Media
for Children, online at
http://bit.ly/eo9cui
Why Tap Zoo is a
Morality Fail
A pretend* letter from
Daniel Terry and Harlan
Crystal, who published
Tap Zoo, currently one of
the top Grossing Apps.
Psssst. Hey you. Wanna make some ca$h? A LOT of cash (like $millions?). Here’s what you do, and we promise, no laws or bones will be
broken. First, find yourself an innocent slightly bored 5 to 7 year old
kid with an iPad or iPod touch. Now come up with an item that kids
can’t resist. We’ve had good luck with cute looking animals— stuff that
makes a kid say “awwww!”
Now make a free app with an icon that has kid appeal. That’s your lure;
design it carefully. It needs to shout “come play with me!” You can copy a
game (we used the Zoo Tycoon and FarmVille) and offer up a pair of free
gorillas. Make it a snap to download and get started. You need to get the little
kids invested and feeling like they own the zoo at the beginning. This is very
important. If you want ideas for roping in a child, visit a casino and watch
some compulsive gamblers. You can learn how to trick a little kid into wanting
to keep playing. For example, every four minutes or so, we deliver a little bit of
pretend money, making them think they can buy more animals if they stay
with their zoo. It’s like a digital M&M, and those little suckers fall for it! After they are lovey dovey with their gorillas, it’s time for the big tease.
Show them other peoples zoos, teaming with tigers, penguins, sea turtles,
monkeys -- or perhaps even “the Big Castle!” It’s mean but it works. You can’t
have supply unless you have demand, right? Associate the cool stuff with an
order form, so those penguin-loving kids start getting on their parents. You
see, a six or seven year old kid is too young to understand abstract things like
passwords and credit cards. To them, its just part of the “get mom to give me
stuff” game that every child is born with. And stop thinking of
this kid as a person. She’s your mule to get to mommy’s bank
account. The best part of this whole robbery is that you’re going
to have Apple driving your getaway car! They keep a cut, but
they also cut the checks. Apple is like is your Swiss bank
account. Make sure you use a currency system that sounds fake and
harmless. Don’t call it “dollars” because that could tip off mom
or dad. We use “stars” and one of our competitors, CapCom’s
The Smurfs’ Village, uses “Smurfberries.” Another thing you
don’t want to do is to tell the parents that a simple, functional
zoo might cost well over $400, about the cost of a dish washer.
Keep these dirty little secrets as hidden and cryptic as possible.
Also, sell a lot of starter items for just $.99, to numb them up, so
a parent will think, “well, that isn’t much, OK, squirt, here’s my iTunes password, now keep quiet.” Believe me, kids are great
at getting that password. We’ve seen four year olds do it.
The buying part needs to be really thought out carefully. Make it so that when the kid touches the “Buy Stars” you tease
‘em with a model zoo, teaming with animals and then deliver them to iTunes as quickly and as frequently as possible. Sure,
they’ll see the “Do you want to buy one Vial of Stars for $0.99?”warning, and they might hit “cancel” but non-readers have
fair chance of hitting “OK.” Here’s another great trick. Sell stars by the barrel for $99.99! To a kid, a barrel sounds like more
fun. Finally, make sure all sales are final. No refunds. How much money can you make? We’re over a $million bucks A
MONTH! Dude, it’s so easy, it’s like stealing candy from a baby!
Sincerely,
Daniel Terry and Harlan Crystal, Co-Founders of Pocket Gems (www.pocketgems.com)
34
A Generic Evaluation Form
Title __________________________________
Publisher ______________________________
Copyright Date __________________________
Publisher’s Phone/URL______________________
Price __________________________________
Platform ________________________________
Ages __________________________________
Teaches ________________________________
Instructions: Spend a few hours testing all aspects of the interactive product, preferably with a child, making note of key
strengths and weaknesses. Then use this instrument, and calculate your rating.
I. Ease of Use (Can my child use it with minimal help?)
V. Design Features (How smart is this program?)
Always SE Never NA
Always SE Never NA
1. ___ ___ ___ ___ Skills needed to operate the program are in range of the
child
2. ___ ___ ___ ___ Children can use the program independently after the first
use
3. ___ ___ ___ ___ Accessing key menus is straightforward
4. ___ ___ ___ ___ Reading ability is not prerequisite to using the program
5. ___ ___ ___ ___ Graphics make sense to the intended user
6.___ ___ ___ ___ Printing routines are simple
7.___ ___ ___ ___ It is easy to get in or out of any activity at any point
8.___ ___ ___ ___ Getting to the first menu is quick and easy
9.___ ___ ___ ___ Controls are responsive to the touch
10.___ ___ ___ ___Written materials are helpful
11.___ ___ ___ ___ Instructions can be reviewed on the screen, if necessary
12.___ ___ ___ ___Children know if they make a mistake
13.___ ___ ___ ___ Icons are large and easy to select with a moving cursor
14.___ ___ ___ ___ Installation procedure is straightforward and easy to do
___ ___ ___ ___ TOTAL EASE OF USE
1.___ ___ ___ ___The program has speech capacity
2.___ ___ ___ ___Has printing capacity
3.___ ___ ___ ___Keeps records of child’s work
4.___ ___ ___ ___"Branches" automatically: challenge level is fluid
5.___ ___ ___ ___A child’s ideas can be incorporated into the program
6.___ ___ ___ ___Sound can be toggled or adjusted
7.___ ___ ___ ___Feedback is customized in some way to the individual child
8.___ ___ ___ ___Program keeps a history of the child’s use over a period of
time
9.___ ___ ___ ___Teacher/parent options are easy to find and use
___ ___ ___ ___ TOTAL DESIGN FEATURES
VI. Value (How much does it cost vs. what it does? Is it
worth it?)
Considering the factors rated above, and the average retail price of
software, rate this program’s relative value.
Poor...................................Good
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
II. Childproof (Is it designed with child-reality in mind?)
___ TOTAL VALUE
Always SE Never NA
1.___ ___ ___ ___Survives the "pound on the keyboard" test
2.___ ___ ___ ___Offers quick, clear, obvious response to a child’s action
3.___ ___ ___ ___The child has control over the rate of display
4.___ ___ ___ ___The child has control over exiting at any time
5.___ ___ ___ ___The child has control over the order of the display
6.___ ___ ___ ___Title screen sequence is brief or can be bypassed
7.___ ___ ___ ___When a child holds a key down, only one input is sent to the
computer
8.___ ___ ___ ___Files not intended for children are safe
9.___ ___ ___ ___Children know when they’ve made a mistake
10.___ ___ ___ ___This program would operate smoothly in a home or classroom setting
___ ___ ___ ___ TOTAL CHILDPROOF
Adding Up the Scores
Step 1: Count the totals under each column.
Step 2: Assign point values, as follows:
Always = 1 point each
Some Extent = 1/2 point each
Never = 0 points each
NA = Not counted
III. Educational (What can my child learn from this program?)
You can use this formula
(X + (Y/2)) x 100 = S
n-Z
Always SE Never NA
1.___ ___ ___ ___Offers a good presentation of one or more content areas
2.___ ___ ___ ___Graphics do not detract from the program’s educational
intentions
3.___ ___ ___ ___Feedback employs meaningful graphic and sound capabilities
4.___ ___ ___ ___Speech is used
5.___ ___ ___ ___The presentation is novel with each use
6.___ ___ ___ ___Good challenge range (this program will grow with the
child)
7.___ ___ ___ ___Feedback reinforces content (embedded reinforcements are
used)
8.___ ___ ___ ___Program elements match direct experiences
9.___ ___ ___ ___Content is free from gender bias
10.___ ___ ___ ___Content is free from ethnic bias
11.___ ___ ___ ___A child’s ideas can be incorporated into the program
12___ ___ ___ ___The program comes with strategies to extend the learning
13___ ___ ___ ___There is a sufficient amount of content
___ ___ ___ ___ TOTAL EDUCATIONAL VALUE
Where
X = Total of checks in the “always” column
Y = Total of checks in the “some extent” column
Z = Total of checks in the “NA” column
n = Number of items in a category (such as Childproof)
S = Score for a component of the program (as a percent)
Step 3: Get each Component Score, or S, add them up, and use the formula
below to calculate the overall star rating.
______Ease of Use
______Childproof
______Educational Value
______Entertainment Value
______Design Features
______Overall Value
______ ÷ 6 = (______ x 5) ÷ 100 = ______ stars
IV. Entertaining (Is this program fun to use?)
Comments:
Always SE Never NA
1.___ ___ ___ ___The program is enjoyable to use
2.___ ___ ___ ___Graphics are meaningful and enjoyed by children
3.___ ___ ___ ___This program is appealing to a wide audience
4.___ ___ ___ ___Children return to this program time after time
5.___ ___ ___ ___Random generation techniques are employed in the design
6.___ ___ ___ ___Speech and sounds are meaningful to children
7.___ ___ ___ ___Challenge is fluid, or a child can select own level
8.___ ___ ___ ___The program is responsive to a child’s actions
9.___ ___ ___ ___The theme of the program is meaningful to children
___ ___ ___ ___ TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
Please note. Permission is granted to use this instrument for educational use, e.g.,
teacher training. All other uses or adaptations must be done with permission only.
Please contact CSR at 908-284-0404. © 2002 Children’s Technology Review
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To Help You Remember
Easy to use
Five Elements of a
5 Star Product
Educational
Entertaining
Features
Overall Value
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iPad Mini
Kindle Fire HD
Nice Touch: Making a Menu Do Double Duty as a Progress Reporting
Mechanism
How can you work progress reporting and navigation into the same icon?
Consider Room on the Broom, and app by Stormcloud Games. In this case,
I’ve just completed the easy level of the frog game, and I’ve earned a small star.
(Small = easier). The size/difficulty relationship is also interesting.
This technique fosters self reflection and self evaluation. It also gives a child an
“at a glance” idea about how much content is left in the activity.
I propose that this might foster feelings of control, which has been show to
increase engagement.
Nice Touch: Unveiling
One of the menu items from Room on
the Broom (and App for iPad) by
Stormcloud Games
There’s nothing better than a hidden surprise. Rather than giving children the full richness of a page all at once, let them
uncover it. The Monster at the End of this Book is the best example.
Another is Alphabeasties Amazing Activities (shown below).
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iPad 1
39
iPod Touch 5, iPhone 5
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