PBS’ Quest to Build a Better Kids’ App
PBS Kids‘
history of producing strong and purposeful learning content for
children has continued into the mobile space. With a series of quality
apps aligned to PBS Kids programs like
Super Why,
Arthur and
Dinosaur Train,
it is setting up a platform that demonstrates how to convert existing
content and characters into digital content that both respects the
mobile space, but also the children who will be engaging with it.
Overall, the design of each app reflects the nature of the characters
and show to which it is aligned. The apps have not been squeezed into
the same format, and the learning process of children is considered and
designed into apps that have appropriate prompts, audio and visual for
the different age groups for which the apps are developed.
PBS’ digital team has also
presented its apps in a well-designed portal that makes it easy for parents to establish which apps are targeted at their children’s age, interest and their own device.
To further understand and capture how PBS Kids goes about developing
its interactive, mobile content, GeekDad interviewed PBS Kids
Interactive vice president Sara DeWitt about the process and about what
PBS is trying to achieve with its suite of mobile apps.
GeekDad: PBS covers such a broad space; can you talk to the breadth of interactive media for kids?
Sara DeWitt: At PBS Kids we look for learning
opportunities in every new technology. The technology landscape is
changing so rapidly, which gives us exciting ways to innovate, extend
our mission and grow our relevance. Just as we did with television in
the 1960s, PBS Kids is now looking at new platforms and saying, “How can
we use this to create age-appropriate, educational content to engage
kids and help them prepare for success in school and in life?”
The proliferation of new media platforms has enabled us to extend the
reach of our educational content and beloved characters to new
frontiers, from touchscreen mobile apps to streaming video to
gesture-based and augmented reality games. It’s exciting to track what
the next technological advances are, and to think of ways that we can
leverage them to help kids build key skills.
Of course, as we look at all of these new platforms, we’re also
thinking about parents. With every new launch for kids, we’re also
providing tools for their parents to help them make the most of the
media, thinking about ways they can support learning away from screens,
and helping them develop the media diet that is right for their
household. You can find many of these tools on
pbskids.org/lab and
pbsparents.org.
GeekDad: Given your history and different platforms, how does PBS approach the app space?
DeWitt: We believe that mobile apps can be great
learning tools for children — they can help provide learning moments on
the go, they can encourage children to look at the world around them,
and the touchscreen technology makes it much easier for young children
to navigate.
At PBS Kids, our approach is to offer mobile content that is both
educational and entertaining, and that provides a consistent experience
with our programming. At the beginning of each new production season, we
work closely with our series producers to think about how their TV
episodes, websites, and mobile content will work together and
consistently. Apps are a key piece of this cross-platform experience
that we continue to build to offer families high-quality learning
content wherever they are.
Our approach is also highly research-based. We do a great deal of
testing in the development process of our apps, and have also done some
of the earliest studies in the kids mobile apps space to test our apps
for educational impact. A past study showed that kids who played with
our
Martha Speaks Dog Party app made significant learning gains, including a 31 percent increase in vocabulary tested.
With 17 apps available on the App Store, one Android app, and many
more projects in the pipeline, PBS Kids continues to develop content
across media platforms to both engage and educate America’s children,
reaching increasingly more kids and families on-air, online, on mobile,
and beyond.
GeekDad: What is most important in developing mobile content for children?
DeWitt: When we are developing an app we think about
what kids love most — true, immersive character engagement that’s
exciting. But this is the most important rule in developing PBS Kids
content for any platform! It’s important that the mobile experience is
consistent with the characters and worlds kids know from PBS Kids on-air
and on pbskids.org.
We know kids want to play with our characters and that parents want
their kids to learn from the experience. Apps should center on relevant,
age-appropriate content that balances engagement with learning. Other
networks will tell you this balance is impossible, but PBS Kids
continually draws new audiences to content that is both funny and smart.
Finally, apps should also account for children’s developing motor
skills. All of our apps are tested to be sure they meet developmentally
appropriate standards.
GeekDad: Do you think developers understand enough
about how children learn to produce digital media that is purposeful for
kids? How does PBS approach it?
DeWitt: There is a lot of research going on in this area, but many folks are developing faster than the research can be analyzed.
PBS has assembled two advisory boards to help us make sure we’re
being thoughtful, purposeful and appropriate as we develop on these new
platforms. Advisory board members include academics, teachers,
organizations that advocate for children, and digital content experts.
In addition to working with these outside folks on a regular basis, we
also make sure all of our producers do usability testing throughout
production. In addition, many of our games are included in rigorous
formative and summative evaluations, including pre- and post-tests to
understand what children may have learned from playing with our content.
PBS Kids’ goal is to provide quality educational programming and
digital media. Whether created for web, mobile, interactive white boards
or televisions, our games are developed around curriculum goals in
literacy, math, science and beyond to supplement and extend school-based
learning.
GeekDad: Some of the challenges are making the most
of the space; how does PBS look beyond apps to simulate real-life
activities or re-purpose TV content without re-imagining it?
DeWitt: PBS Kids builds a transmedia experience for
kids. We have made a strategic investment to offer our content wherever
kids and parents are — on TV, online, mobile devices, in the classroom —
to be truly multi-platform. Our characters go beyond the television
screen, and most importantly, our audience can expect to have a
consistent experience with them whether they are interacting with them
in a mobile app, watching them on-screen, or playing games with them
online. We also work closely with our producers to create content that
is right for each platform — to use the unique benefits of each
technology to help enhance kids’ learning. For example, online games
give us the opportunity for leveling and scaffolding, so that kids can
advance to more challenging material in a way that is customized to
them.
Finally, we are committed to helping kids recognize the real-world
applications of the skills they learn through our content. Our apps and
the characters in them model positive behaviors and skills that children
can apply beyond the screen. And many of our games are launched with
offline activities that kids can play with their peers, parents and
educators. For examples, visit
pbskids.org/lab.
GeekDad: Anything else you’d like to share?
DeWitt: We are constantly exploring what new
opportunities can come from emerging technologies. Last year we launched
an augmented reality app (
Fetch! Lunch Rush) and a virtual reality app (
Dinosaur Train Camera Catch). Right now we’re doing experiments with body input navigation using webcams — you can check out the
Wild Kratts games
Going Batty and
Caracal Leap
as examples. We’re also working on a 3-D rendered collaborative game to
support math education, launching several new mobile-friendly HTML5
games, and beginning development on a new virtual world. In all, we’re
producing some of the most cutting-edge media available to young
learners today.
Many of these experiments are funded through the Ready to Learn
program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and focuses
on new math and literacy interactive content. Through this project,
which we work on in partnership with the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (CPB), we are researching the educational impact of
engaging with our content on more than one platform, compared to just
one standalone platform.
Via
Wired
