Developing a media space for remote synchronous parent-child interaction

Abstract

While supporting family communication has traditionally been a domain of interest for interaction designers, few research initiatives have explicitly investigated remote synchronous communication between children and parents. We discuss the design of the ShareTable, a media space that supports synchronous interaction with children by augmenting videoconferencing with a camera-projector system to allow for shared viewing of physical artifacts. We present an exploratory evaluation of this system, highlighting how such a media space may be used by families for learning and play activities. The ShareTable was positively received by our participants and preferred over standard videoconferencing. Informed by the results of our exploratory evaluation, we discuss the next design iteration of the ShareTable and directions for future investigations in this area.