Paper Info
Title
WaaZam!: supporting creative play at a distance in customized video environments
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.
Year
DOI
Venue
2014
10.1145/2556288.2557382
human factors in computing systems
Keywords
Field
DocType
customized digital environment,customized video environment,video mediated communication system,creative play,creative play activity,digital asset,video session,digital play set,video space,formal evaluation,customized environment
World Wide Web,Computer science,Multimedia
Conference
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
19
0.93
17
Authors
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Seth Hunter119910.68
Patricia Maes279411719.73
Anthony Tang395752.57
Kori M. Inkpen41776153.69
Susan M. Hessey5190.93