Using Machinima as Cultural Probes to Study Communication in Children's Virtual Worlds: An Exploratory Approach
iConference 2014 Proceedings · 2014
Understanding children’s digital play in immersive virtual spaces, specifically those with limited communication affordances, demands new methods and approaches that move beyond interviews and participant observation. This paper illustrates the process of creating machinima videos of scripted play scenarios as “cultural probes” to elicit young users’ insider knowledge of communication and socialization practices. We discuss our ongoing development and use of these videos, supplementing other qualitative methods to develop a richer understanding of information sharing, particularly non-verbal communicative action.