WaaZam!: supporting creative play at a distance in customized video environments
Name
Maes_WaaZam.pdf
Size
1.76 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
eb2ac0ed2fb7f5b72ffa78e7610280f2
Author(s)
Hunter, Seth Edward
Maes, Patricia
Tang, Anthony
Inkpen, Kori M.
Hessey, Susan M.
Date Issued
May 2014
Journal
Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human factors in computing systems - CHI '14
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery
Citation
Hunter, Seth E., Pattie Maes, Anthony Tang, Kori M. Inkpen, and Susan M. Hessey. “WaaZam!” Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI ’14 (2014), May 7-12, 2014, Toronto, Canada. ACM.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We present the design, and evaluation of WaaZam, a video mediated communication system designed to support creative play in customized environments. Users can interact together in virtual environments composed of digital assets layered in 3D space. The goal of the project is to support creative play and increase social engagement during video sessions of geographically separated families. We try to understand the value of customization for individual families with children ages 6-12. We present interviews with creativity experts, a pilot study and a formal evaluation of families playing together in four conditions: separate windows, merged windows, digital play sets, and customized digital environments. We found that playing in the same video space enables new activities and increases social engagement for families. Customization allows families to modify scenes for their needs and support more creative play activities that embody the imagination of the child.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Media Laboratory
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557382
