Joint Media Engagement and Bidirectional Television: “Nana, Do You Want to Try?”

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Fandom, TV, Transmedia, and Enabling Texts: New Media and Learning

Abstract

Bi-directional television, programs that engage viewers through physical responsiveness, provides a new medium for joint media engagement that incorporates in-room contexts. This could hold promise for younger learners, particularly as children’s media research has demonstrated how intergenerational screen time and instructive mediation can result in positive outcomes. This case study investigates the experiences of two children and their caregivers as they engage with an episode of Kinect Sesame Street Television. The findings demonstrate that meaningful interaction between a caregiver and child are supported by (though not a requirement for) physically interactive designs. In addition, the study shows that as young viewers gain expertise in this genre, instructive mediation may be initiated by the adult OR child.

Author

• Meagan K. Rothschild, University of Wisconsin - Madison