Interaction With Television companion apps

Abstract

Companion apps for television programmes provide additional, synchronized and interactive content on mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones. With the television screen they create dual screen interfaces with multiple modalities and require viewers to actively manage their visual attention. We outline a model of interactions with companion apps used with information-rich television programmes where a primary purpose the app is to support understanding and learning. Our model summarises perceptual and cognitive processes involved by drawing on theories and findings from Human Factors and the learning sciences. We use the model to assess CompanionMap, an app for accompanying science documentaries with synchronized, animated concept maps. We show how the model provides explanations for four key results obtained from an experiment with CompanionMap, including how users managed their visual attention and how they learnt about astrophysics when using the app to watch an astronomy programme.