The development of interactive video for children’s education

Abstract

INTERACTIVE VIDEO AND OTHER MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES can be applied very effectively to teach children in both informal and formal learning environments. However, the medium itself is not a panacea. Only by incorporating good principles of design and education can truly effective products be built.

This article will address how a successful interactive product can be created cost-effectively. The development of two interactive videodisc products for children will be discussed. The first isBeyond Earth, A Space Adventure, an interactive video, touchscreen-based exhibit developed for the Interactive Video Science Consortium, an international group of 20 science museums and technology centers. This exhibit was designed for ten- to twelve-year-old children who have come to the museum with their families or in school groups.

The second product,Space Probe 3000, is now under development as part of the Star Schools Program funded by the Department of Education. Its topic is also space sciences. It is a videodisc- and computer-based product to be used in middle school science classrooms as part of a planetary sciences unit. The entire class will participate, with the teacher controlling one interactive video system.