Telling tales : a new way to encourage written literacy through oral language

This thesis presents a new approach and a new interface to let children practice written literacy skills using oral language. Specifically, I argue that language composition is learned by practicing a set of cognitive skills that are independent of the medium in which the linguistic meaning is represented. Furthermore, I claim that tangible, technology-enhanced toys with specific features can support the development of these skills through open-ended language play. To investigate this claim, I developed a new model of composition, called the TellTale Composition Model, to address aspects of both oral and written language. This model supports the following features of children's language play: voice; structure; reference; reflection and revision; and sharing and discussion. A new toy, called TellTale, was built to support this composition model. Three studies were conducted to evaluate both its usability and the model's validity. The findings indicate that a toy that lets children create, segment, organize and link oral language through play with a tangible toy in a social setting helps them practice important cognitive skills crucial for later literacy. Preliminary data also suggest that such a toy can help identify children's language learning disabilities and the linguistic strategies used by children of different socio-economic strata. Both TellTale and the composition model on which its design was based suggest several new ways digital media can let children become engaged and skillful authors.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2001

Author dc:creator

• Ananny, Michael J. (Michael Joseph), 1976-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hiroshi Ishii.

• Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61118

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/61118