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.
