Contingent interaction with a television character promotes children's science learning and engagement

Talking with machines: Can conversational technologies serve as children's social partners?

“…Children with lower levels of language proficiency might benefit more from language scaffolding, gaining more in terms of learning. Two studies mentioned earlier tested this question (Xu, Aubele, et al, 2022; Xu, Vigil, et al, 2022), yet the studies' relatively small samples rendered the results inconclusive. Furthermore, even though these studies are quite diverse in terms of race/ethnicity, almost all are of typically developing children growing up in households with relatively high socioeconomic status.…”

“…PBS KIDS is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. In a recent study, researchers integrated conversational agents into PBS KIDS children's television shows, allowing children to simultaneously watch their favorite television show and engage in conversation with that show's characters (Xu, Vigil, et al, 2022). The study involved two experiments with 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds from a working‐class Latino community in the United States.…”

“…The characters posed questions throughout the episode, listened to and comprehended the child's responses, and replied to the child or provided clues or support when the child struggled to answer the questions. Children who watched the conversational programs scored higher on a posttest assessing their understanding of science concepts introduced in the episode and perceived the character more positively than children who watched the standard, noninteractive version of the TV show (Xu, Vigil, et al, 2022) and children who watched episodes in which the character carried out noncontingent parasocial interactions (Xu et al, 2023). This kind of conversational programming represents one of many ways that conversational technologies can enrich children's media.…”

Understanding early learning in an evolving digital media landscape.

“…These features allow social robots to create a sense of presence and social connection, enhancing engagement and facilitating natural interactions with young children (Belpaeme et al, 2018). Researchers have started examining the effects of integrating conversational AI into children's TV programs (Xu et al, 2022) and coviewing with social robots with embedded screens on young children's learning and transfer (Sommer et al, 2023). These innovative tools open up new avenues of research, not only for social contingency but also for joint media engagement with technological partners.…”

Supervision of Educational Functions on Television Films During the Covid 19 Pandemic

“…Television shows use a program planned to achieve the purpose of teaching, not only entertaining but, more importantly, educating. Television is one electronic mass media that provides audio and visual information and entertainment (Gever et al, 2021;Padmanabhan & Barfar, 2021;Xu et al, 2022). During the Covid-19 pandemic, television can be used as an efficient and effective educational medium.…”