The Ready To Learn Transmedia Experiment: A Five-Year Journey From Vision to Reality

• In Event: Transforming Early Childhood Education With Transmedia: Findings From the Ready To Learn Initiative (2010–2015)

Abstract

Objective:

To provide context for and insight into the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) vision for the role of transmedia in the 2010 - 2015 Ready To Learn (RTL) initiative, and to discuss how the three RTL projects have implemented that vision in a changing media and technology environment. The implications for transmedia in young children’s learning in policy and practice will also be discussed.

Theoretical Framework:

By 2009, a growing body of evidence indicated that young children learn better when they have well-planned and coordinated experiences with content, characters, and narrative across media platforms at home and in formal and informal learning settings, a form of media engagement known as transmedia storytelling. Consequently, in its 2010 Request for Proposals (RFP) for RTL, ED called for proposals to push the envelope on transmedia storytelling, primarily in the domains of literacy and numeracy for underserved children. ED encouraged projects to explore the value of connections across media platforms as opposed to independent TV and digital media experiences, the relative value of media use in different home or educational settings, and the value of mediated versus unmediated engagement with the content.

Methods:

Observations based on direct personal engagement with the RFP development process and five years of experience managing the RTL projects in a changing policy, practice, and technology environment.

Data Sources:

Meetings with leaders in the field of children and media, RTL project products and research reports, and meetings and discussions with RTL project teams.

Results:

Each of the three RTL projects implemented a different vision of transmedia. Over the course of the five-year grant period, each project responded to changes in the media environment, the explosion of smart devices such as phone and tablets and their rapid adoption by low-income families. These responses affected the type of content produced and its method of delivery. Each projects’ research team responded agilely to these changes and implemented robust research agendas comprised of formative and summative evaluations as well as needs assessments and context studies. The evaluations consistently demonstrated the power of transmedia for enhancing children’s learning, while the needs assessments and context studies provided insight into transmedia adoption and use by low-income families.

Significance:

Over the course of the RTL initiative, transmedia storytelling has not only evolved but has become deeply integrated into children’s daily media use. Evidenced-based practices from the RTL projects are advancing our understanding of how transmedia experiences with high-quality content not only support children’s learning, but enhance the educational effectiveness of parents and formal and informal educators who engage with them. However, these new practices are also raising new challenges for access and equity, particularly for ensuring that children, caregivers, and community-based outreach sites have access to a growing variety of digital media. Additionally, these practices present new challenges for researchers who must create research designs that account for even more open-ended and exploratory user experiences than other forms of educational technology and content delivery.

Author

• Brian Lekander, U.S. Department of Education