Ding- dong: the Storybell and its wizard

Abstract

In this note the Storybell robot is described as the main touch-point of a remote reading aloud service which enables senior readers to read stories from their home to children. The Storybell acts as a tangible interface for children to interact with the community of readers as well as with the single reader. A research strategy based on Wizard of Oz (WoZ) and experience prototyping methods is described with the aim of probing parents' trust towards the remote readers as well as making parents reflect on their parental responsibility into guiding respectful interactions of their child with the community of readers. The note highlights the potential of the Storybell as both a tangible interface for children and a domestic embodiment for remote people and suggests involving parents as the wizards in WoZ experiments with their children to overcome trust issues and inspire strategies to guest the embodied remote readers at home.