Interactive Storytelling Research Articles

Exploring Parent's Needs for Children-Centered AI to Support Preschoolers' Interactive Storytelling and Reading Activities

Interactive storytelling is vital for preschooler development. While children's interactive partners have traditionally been their parents and teachers, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked a surge of AI-based storytelling and reading technologies. As these technologies become increasingly ubiquitous in preschoolers' lives, questions arise regarding how they function in practical storytelling and reading scenarios and, how parents, the most critical stakeholders, experience and perceive these technologies. This paper investigates these questions through a qualitative study with 17 parents of children aged 3-6. Our findings suggest that even though AI-based storytelling and reading technologies provide more immersive and engaging interaction, they still cannot meet parents' expectations due to a series of interactive and algorithmic challenges. We elaborate on these challenges and discuss the possible implications of future AI-based interactive storytelling technologies for preschoolers.

Digital narratives and historical representation: A review - analyzing how digital mediums are revolutionizing the way history is taught and perceived

This study critically examines the transformative impact of digital narratives on historical representation, focusing on how digital mediums have revolutionized the way history is taught, perceived, and interacted with. Employing a systematic literature review and content analysis methodology, the research analyzes data from peer-reviewed articles, books, and digital platforms published between 2013 and 2023. The study's objectives include exploring the emergence and evolution of digital narratives in historical education, assessing their methodological approaches, and evaluating their educational, cultural, and technological impacts. Key findings reveal that digital narratives have significantly altered historical representation, introducing interactive storytelling techniques, democratizing historical knowledge, and integrating advanced technologies like AI and VR in historical education. These narratives have enhanced accessibility and engagement but also presented challenges such as the digital divide, the need for standardization, and potential biases in historical interpretation. The study concludes that the future landscape of historical representation in the digital age is poised to balance traditional and digital methodologies, emphasizing inclusivity and technological innovation. Recommendations are provided for educators, policy makers, and technologists to collaboratively create an accessible, accurate, and engaging digital historical landscape. Future research directions include investigating the long-term impacts of digital narratives on historical understanding, developing pedagogical strategies for digital history education, and exploring ethical considerations in digital historical representation. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamic role of digital narratives in shaping historical knowledge and education in the digital era.

Digital storytelling as a tool for global citizenship and sustainability

In this study, we explore the transformative impact of digital storytelling in education, with a focus on promoting global citizenship and sustainability awareness among students. We examine how digital storytelling platforms can enhance traditional literary curricula by fostering deeper cross-cultural understanding and engaging students with global sustainability challenges. We evaluate the effectiveness of digital narratives in increasing student engagement with literature while cultivating a sense of global responsibility and environmental stewardship. By enabling students to connect with diverse cultures and global issues through immersive and interactive storytelling, the research highlights the role of innovative educational strategies in aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The findings provide valuable insights for educators and policymakers seeking to leverage digital technologies in fostering a globally aware and responsible generation, ultimately contributing to the discourse on the integration of technology in education.

Sensory Enhanced Interactive Storytelling Technique (SEIS-T): Supporting Active Communication Through Short, Multimodal Narratives

ABSTRACT Creating meaningful interaction can be challenging for communication partners of persons with intellectual disabilities and hearing impairment (IDHI). To elicit moments of interaction and communication, the sensory-enhanced interactive storytelling technique (SEIS-T) has been developed within clinical and educational practice for people with IDHI and their communication partners. SEIS-T uses custom-made storybooks, referential objects and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Although many positive communicative moments with SEIS-T have been mentioned by practitioners, scientific research regarding this approach is limited. The present study aimed to alleviate this by examining changes in communication patterns and engagement of children with IDHI over the course of 10 repeated SEIS-T sessions and comparing the results to regular storytelling sessions. Six children participated in a multiple-baseline study. An event-sampling method was applied to analyse videos of the reading sessions, with respect to the children’s verbal and nonverbal communicative acts (role, form and complexity), and their attention to the storytelling. Non-overlap of all pairs (NAP)-analysis was used to test differences between the baseline and intervention phase for each participant. Promising improvements were seen in the frequency and variety of communicative acts by the children and in their focused attention during storytelling, when employing the SEIS-T.

Tackling child criminal exploitation (CCE): an arts-based approach

ABSTRACT This article discusses the efficacy of a freely available arts-based intervention used to tackle Child Criminal Exploitation. A digital, interactive story (Cold Chips & Money) was used in school and youth settings in Hampshire, England with 1,451 young people aged 11–13 in 2021 as part of a project of the same name. Its use has continued since. I was and continue to be the Project Lead and oversaw the development of the story, the supporting resources and the evaluation framework. I worked with a project facilitator and evaluator throughout. Cold Chips & Money was designed to help students understand, recognise and manage external influence and pressure. The story and supporting resources which included a lesson plan and access to the project evaluation lead, enable professionals to have conversations with young people about how they can keep themselves safe, as well as how they can support one another to resist unwanted attention that might lead to exploitation. The resources relate directly to the PSHE Association Key Stage 3 Core Theme Relationships: Social Influence section R42–47. The development and use of the resources was planned to complement multi-agency work on Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines and had input from multiple professionals. Project evaluation evidenced a significant increase in awareness of county lines, and the issues surrounding it. Teachers stated that the interactive storytelling format was effective at and provided the opportunity to facilitate in-depth dialogue around the cause and effect of the decisions we make.

DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES AND THEIR BENEFITS IN TEACHING LANGUAGE

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a dynamic language teaching method that combines physical movement with verbal input to enhance language acquisition. This article examines various TPR activities, such as commands, storytelling, role-playing, and games, which engage students physically while they learn. These activities accommodate diverse learning styles, benefiting kinesthetic learners who excel with movement. The article emphasizes TPR's effectiveness in improving vocabulary retention, listening skills, and engagement. By linking actions to the language being taught, TPR reduces anxiety, creating a more enjoyable and less intimidating learning environment. Variations like group commands and interactive storytelling offer flexibility for different age groups and proficiency levels, making TPR a versatile method. Additionally, TPR promotes natural language acquisition by mirroring how children learn their first language—through listening and physical response before speaking. The article concludes that incorporating diverse TPR activities accelerates learning and fosters a dynamic, inclusive classroom atmosphere.

ZoAM GameBot: A Journey to the Lost Computational World in the Amazonia

The search for alternative teaching–learning processes that attract more interest and involvement of young people has inspired the development of a game with a chatbot architecture based on interactive storytelling and multiple learning paths. Thus, we introduce in this article the GameBot ZoAm, developed for the Discord instant messaging and social platform. ZoAm offers a unique learning experience centered around storytelling, focusing on fundamental computing concepts and logical challenges that enhance computational thinking skills. Furthermore, the game also promotes an appreciation for Amazonian culture and folklore, with decision-making with human values. An action research study was conducted involving students from the last years of the end of elementary school. The research utilized a heuristic analysis based on the Gameplay Heuristics (PLAY) by Desurvire and Wiberg (ANO) and the evaluation model proposed by Korhonen and Koivisto (ANO) for mobile devices. The analysis employed a reduced and merged set of heuristics from these models, suited for the GameBot's context, focusing on (I) usability, (II) gameplay and immersion, and (III) mobility. Regarding the reliability coefficient used to evaluate the survey applied to students after playing the GameBot, Cronbach's Alpha and Guttman Lambda-6 (G6(smc)) coefficients were applied. These metrics were chosen to ensure the internal consistency and reliability of survey items, reflecting on how effectively the questions measured the focuses proposed by the heuristic analysis. The findings indicate that the game has the potential to facilitate the assimilation of the integrated concepts and sustain student interest throughout gameplay.

A Study on the Freedom of Interactive Storytelling in Open World Games

A Study on the Freedom of Interactive Storytelling in Open World Games

Integrating restoration and interactive exploration to enhance cultural heritage through VR storytelling

Redtory was transformed from an old industrial site into a creative park in Guangzhou. Unfortunately, it was demolished in May 2019. It holds a dual significance, representing both Guangzhou’s old industrial era and its first creative park (Art and Design). The objective of this study was to utilize Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to design an immersive environment with a narrative experience and restore the historical memory of Redtory. The project designs the interactive storytelling tour based on Bartle’s taxonomy theory. The VR project includes four primary scenes to tell the Redtory’s story: Starting Scene, Factory Buildings, Historical Square, and Creative Corridor. The study designs various interactive elements to engage tourists during exploration. The study conducted user tests to evaluate the system. A comparative experiment (N = 40) is conducted to evaluate the overall performance of the VR platform. The results indicate that the platform provides a smooth storytelling experience during the virtual tour with minimal bugs or disruptions. The project provides valuable user data and a design flow as a case study reference to contribute to the field of VR historical education.

AIstory-bot: An AI-Based Digital Story Writing Platform for Children

AIstory-bot, a text-based chatbot designed to teach students about artificial intelligence (AI), guides students through creative writing activities that provide an inquiry-based, interactive storytelling experience to enhance young learners' engagement, motivation, and efficacy toward AI.

Evaluating User Engagement and Preference in Virtual Reality and Augmented Virtuality for Interactive Storytelling

Abstract Technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented virtuality (AV) based on head-mounted display (HMD) have made immersive interactive narrative experience possible. To investigate the differences between HMD VR and HMD AV for interactive storytelling, an app entitled the Extended Journey has been designed, developed and deployed on both VR headsets and optical see-through (OST) mixed reality (MR) headsets. Subsequently, a within-subjects design experiment with sixty participants was conducted to measure different factors of user experience in HMD VR and HMD AV conditions. Additionally, a between-subjects design experiment with 62 participants was conducted to evaluate narrative immersion and presence. Quantitative results from the experiments reveal that HMD VR narrative had statistically significantly better narrative immersion, presence, enjoyment and perceived affinity of computer-generated (CG) characters compared with HMD AV narrative in the context of galleries and museums. Based on Sundar's Modality-Agency-Interactivity-Navigability (MAIN) model, we proposed and validated that sense of being-there and interaction mediated the relationship between immersive media modality and narrative immersion as well as empathy. Qualitative data and behavioral tests showed that young people have a higher preference for HMD VR over HMD AV, but for specific use scenarios, there is still a certain possibility of choosing HMD AV due to security and space limitations. These findings have theoretical implications for the psychology of VR and AV, and practical applications for HMD-based immersive narrative in general.

The Potential of Using Interactive Storytelling in a Mixed Reality Environment in Teaching Kazakh Sign Language

The Potential of Using Interactive Storytelling in a Mixed Reality Environment in Teaching Kazakh Sign Language

Comic Life: An Effective Intervention to Reduce Aggressive Behavior in Early Childhood

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Comic Life intervention in reducing aggressive behavior among early childhood students. Utilizing an experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups, the research was conducted over four weeks at RA As-Syafiiyah. Initial assessments identified potential issues through observations and interviews. Comic Life, an educational medium, was then developed and validated by experts. During the intervention phase, 21 children from class B engaged with Comic Life media through interactive storytelling sessions. Pre- and post-intervention data on aggressive behavior were collected using a validated questionnaire tailored to early childhood social-emotional development. The data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results indicate a significant reduction in aggressive behaviors post-intervention, with a large effect size (p = 0.003) and a rank-biserial correlation of -0.76. The findings underscore the potential of comic-based educational media in promoting positive behavioral outcomes among young children. This study highlights the importance of innovative and engaging methods in behavioral interventions, offering valuable insights for educators and policymakers. Future research should explore long-term effects and broader applications of similar interventions in different cultural and educational contexts to further validate these findings. Expanding the scope to include a range of behavioral issues and exploring the role of various types of educational media could provide a more comprehensive understanding of effective strategies for early childhood education.

A Study on Interactive Storytelling for Digital Picturebooks - Focusing on Connection with Story-Based Game Apps -

A Study on Interactive Storytelling for Digital Picturebooks - Focusing on Connection with Story-Based Game Apps -

Incel bonding: Stories and storytelling in online misogynist spaces

Involuntary celibates, or incels, are part of a misogynistic, extremist subculture that has been linked to acts of mass violence. Unlike other alt-right communities, the incel subculture exists entirely online, and participants rarely, if ever, interact in face-to-face settings. Using an original dataset of 76 discussion threads drawn from two self-identified incel Web sites, this paper investigates how participants on incel discussion boards engage in bonding activities that foster a sense of commitment to the online incel community. We build on sociological understandings of narrative and storytelling to identify and describe three interactive storytelling practices that are facilitated by the affordances of these digital spaces: repetition, co-creation, and elaboration. These practices enable incel participants to share similar experiences, apply elements of the incel ideology to interpret off-line events, and elaborate boundaries between incels and those that they perceive as “normies”. Our study reveals how online bonding activities generate robust collective identities in the incel subculture. It also highlights crucial differences between online and face-to-face storytelling practices in alt-right communities.

Employing gamification strategies to prepare school students for journalism competitions

This paper aims to conduct a thorough analysis of the effectiveness of incorporating gamification elements in the preparation of school students for journalism competitions. The authors have examined eighteen competitions facilitated by prominent institutions including the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov (MSU), and Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU). Drawing from openly available sources, a classification of seven gamification formats for student preparation has been proposed: quizzes, interactive storytelling, games employing virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), process tracking, role-playing games, textual expansions, and games that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. Furthermore, the authors have delineated the primary stages of the journalism competitions, which are categorized into theoretical and practice-oriented segments. The theoretical segment encompasses tasks in a test format that assess basic factual knowledge, while the practice-oriented segment comprises written tasks. These tasks are designed to evaluate the students’ proficiency in creating and writing informational materials, encompassing mastery of text style, literacy, and structured logical narration. The results indicate that gamification not only enriches the educational landscape, rendering learning more engaging and interactive, but also significantly enhances students’ proficiency in refining complex journalistic skills.

Every Lesson Needs a Gandalf: How Interactive Storytelling can Enhance the Collaborative Learning Experience!

Every teacher aspires to create the ideal lesson! You want to convey the knowledge and skills in the best possible way while also keeping learners motivated. In our design case, we focus on the complex skill of collaborative problem-solving (CPS). In today’s complex world, the acquisition of CPS competencies is considered an important learning goal in education. However, there is limited knowledge on how to teach and assess CPS competencies. In addition to tackling these challenges, we search for new ways of interactive storytelling to implement in the learning materials. Our main design challenge was how to design a learning experience that encourages CPS. To address these challenges, we started in 2020 the project titled Supporting TEamwork in AMbient learning Spaces (STEAMS). In this project, we designed the EDUbox Teamwork, a four-hour learning activity for children between the ages of 10 to 14. In this paper, we describe the iterative process of designing the materials to learn about CPS (i.e., CPS as a learning goal) by doing CPS (i.e., CPS as a method), enhanced by interactive storytelling, for which the design-based research approach was used. The design team consisted of a diverse group of educational researchers, computer scientists, instructional graphical designers, digital storytellers, and teachers. Given the strong collaboration between a research group specialized in computer-supported collaborative learning and specialists in digital storytelling, our design case incorporated insights from both parties. The learning activity was piloted both in in-vivo and in-vitro contexts in collaboration with at least 400 students.

The Influence of Digital Media on Creative Writing

This study examines the impact of digital media on creative writing practices. Through a review of existing literature and analysis of relevant case studies, the study explores how digital platforms such as online blogs, social media, and interactive storytelling websites have reshaped the creative writing landscape. The findings reveal that digital media offer writers new tools and opportunities for experimentation, including multimedia elements and real-time audience engagement. However, challenges such as digital literacy and concerns about content authenticity also emerge. Overall, digital media have both positive and negative influences on creative writing, highlighting the need for further research and adaptation in the evolving digital environment.

Interactive storytelling elements in R. L. Stine’s “Give Yourself Goosebumps #2: Tick Tock, You’re Dead!”

This study explores the captivating world of interactive storytelling, focusing on how it brings horror narratives to life through the lens of R.L. Stine’s “Give Yourself Goosebumps #2: Tick Tock, You’re Dead!”. With storytelling evolving in the digital age, this study aims to unravel the elements behind what keeps readers hooked. This study uses qualitative descriptive method, specifically using literary analysis approach, dissecting the novel to uncover hidden gems and patterns. This study shows that interactive storytelling within horror narrative is not just about scaring the readers—it is a powerful tool that entertains, challenges, and inspires readers and authors alike. This study touches on interactive storytelling elements such as decision points, reader agency, consequences of choices, multiple storylines, and replay-ability, these techniques add layers to the horror narrative experienced by the readers.

Research on 2D Animation Simulation Based on Artificial Intelligence and Biomechanical Modeling

Animation techniques have been completely transformed by the union of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and biomechanical modeling, particularly in 2D animation. This study looks at a combination of AI and biomechanics to address the challenges of simulating 2D animation. Current approaches in 2D animation often struggle to achieve lifelike and fluid movements, especially when representing complex motion or interaction. These traditional techniques rely on manual keyframing or physics simulation, which may be time-consuming and do not provide the rich detail needed for realism in animations. To meet these aspects, this study suggested 2D animation using Artificial Intelligence with Biomechanical Modeling (2D-AI-BM). Our approach thus harnesses Deep Neural Network (DNN) for moving forecasts and improvement using biopsychological principles to help us imitate natural human actions better. In addition to character animation, it could apply to interactive storytelling and educational simulations. As a result, animators get more control over motion generation while drastically reducing the necessity for manual intervention through this fusion of AI and biomechanics, which smoothens the production pipeline for animations. This paper considers several important metrics to evaluate the proposed approach’s effectiveness, including user satisfaction, computational efficiency, motion smoothness and realism. Comparative studies with classical animation methods showed that the method generates realistic movements on 2D characters while saving time during production. The numerical findings exemplify that the recommended 2D-AI-BM model improves an accuracy rate of 97.4%, computational efficiency ratio of 96.3%, motion control ratio of 95.4%, pose detection ratio of 94.8% and scalability ratio of 93.2% compared to other popular techniques.