Old ideas, new technologies and childhood

The paper describes a project which used a new technology, Digital Video Interactive (DVI) Technology, to design and develop educational materials for children. DVI Technology is an all digital medium which allows full motion video, realistic audio and high quality graphics to be combined on one source, the personal computer. DVI was announced by General Electric's RCA Laboratories on March 3, 1987, at Microsoft's Second Annual CD-ROM Conference in Seattle, Washington. The description of the project will focus on two application pilots for children which were developed jointly with Children's Television Workshop and Bank Street College of Education. The design process will be described in light of the assumptions surrounding contemporary childhood and research about children and learning which were underlying much of the design process.