Today, The Electric Company will re-launch its third season with an all new transmedia story, “The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet.” Airing in a new segment at the end of the TV series and a new area of the website, this transmedia story engages and immerses participants in an experience through multiple forms of media, each element making a unique contribution to the story. Here, key members of the interdisciplinary team behind this new transmedia effort share their thoughts on the iterative testing process that helped shape “Prankster Planet.”
One of the most compelling aspects of my job as the Assistant Director of Research for Sesame Workshop is the opportunity to collaborate on projects through ongoing formative evaluation. The Domestic Research Team conducts formative research with targeted audiences to inform the development of educational media with the overarching goal to engage children in such a way that maximizes learning. This process, while it is an integral component to the development of educational products, comes with many challenges. For example, research tends to unearth issues that require testing numerous iterations of innovative ideas within a limited timeline and budget. These challenges can only be faced by working collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team that respect the expertise of each practitioner (producer, educator, researcher, and developer).
(more…)Today, The Electric Company will re-launch its third season with an all new transmedia story, “The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet.” Airing in a new segment at the end of the TV series and a new area of the website, this transmedia story engages and immerses participants in an experience through multiple forms of media, each element making a unique contribution to the story. Here, key members of the interdisciplinary team behind this new transmedia effort share their thoughts on the iterative testing process that helped shape “Prankster Planet.”
One of the most compelling aspects of my job as the Assistant Director of Research for Sesame Workshop is the opportunity to collaborate on projects through ongoing formative evaluation. The Domestic Research Team conducts formative research with targeted audiences to inform the development of educational media with the overarching goal to engage children in such a way that maximizes learning. This process, while it is an integral component to the development of educational products, comes with many challenges. For example, research tends to unearth issues that require testing numerous iterations of innovative ideas within a limited timeline and budget. These challenges can only be faced by working collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team that respect the expertise of each practitioner (producer, educator, researcher, and developer).
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