The practical application of art and technology: delivering interactive educational content to young children

I like simple things. More precisely I like taking complex things and distilling them to their simplest elements, those things that define their nature. Art and technology are two very different subjects. Simple and complex. Intuitive and analytical. Combining art and technology to deliver educational material with simple navigation, a child-friendly environment and playful, imaginative sounds that enhance rather than complicate the learning process, is the objective of my project. An interactive, educational CD for young children is the product of this thesis. Art has always been used to communicate ideas, thoughts and emotions; it expedites the delivery of the message. The visual language is a universal one. Seeing is believing. Believing is understanding. Understanding is learning. Blending art and technology for a practical purpose intrigues me. I enjoy children’s books and have collected them for many years. Children’s picture books rely heavily on images to support the story and ultimately to teach. Because a child uses all of the senses to learn, interactive multimedia is the perfect vehicle to deliver educational content to young children. Technology allows us to depart from traditional methods of delivering educational content, like books, and produce materials enriched with images, sounds and interactivity. The possibilities for creating unique educational experiences have greatly increased. The goal of this project is to create a fun, learning environment, encouraging interactivity by the target audience, young children ages three to six. The product of this thesis, the Character Critters Storytime CD, includes three animated stories about Cindy the Citizen Crab, Fran the Fair Frog and Roy the Responsible Rabbit, written by LSU AgCenter Family and Consumer Sciences specialists Dr. Rebecca White and Leslie Cooper Parsons. The copyrighted stories are used with permission from the LSU AgCenter. Through sight, sound and touch, with parent/teacher participation, children are invited to hear stories and play games that teach positive character traits. Each story includes an interactive game that reinforces the character concepts taught in the stories. Macromedia Flash, an interactive multimedia software, is used to develop the CD