Isabelle Perraut
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Ying Xu
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Educational Studies / Education
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 7 (4:40pm – 5:30pm)
Authors: Isabelle Perraut, Annalise Aponte, Zhen Li, Ying Xu
Abstract
With the rapid development of AI, its prevalence in the lives of children is increasing. The integration of AI in media forms provides children with new opportunities for interactive and personalized learning. Previous research has established that contingent interaction, such as engaging in conversation with a parent, while watching videos can enhance children’s learning. In our project, we aimed to build on this finding by exploring children’s interactions with media characters powered by AI while watching a science show on PBS KIDS. To achieve this, we conducted an experimental study in which children watched either “conversational video” with an AI-powered character or a pseudo-interactive video where the character posed questions, paused for a fixed amount of time, and provided a generic response. We recorded and coded the children’s interactions with the media character along three dimensions – visual attention, verbal output, and cognitive engagement – and analyzed the data using ANOVA. Additionally, we conducted a qualitative analysis to identify specific interaction patterns between children and AI-powered media.
