An OWL in the classroom: development of an interactive storytelling application for preschoolers

Abstract

In research there is a considerable interest in developing interactive educational systems. However, the typical classroom remains a rather lowtech environment. Allowing teachers to create, adapt and share interactive learning applications might increase the uptake of technology in the classroom. In this paper a study is presented that explores the deployment of a robotstorytelling application for preschoolers, while simultaneously investigating the teacher's requirements for a toolkit to create stories for the robot. The results suggest that a robotstorytelling application can be a valuable addition to the classroom and that indeed a toolkit for creating stories would increase its usefulness in the curriculum.