PBS KIDS Transmedia Suites Gaming Study: A Report to the CPB-PBS “Ready to Learn Initiative”

Introduction

Educators are well aware that in order to positively impact children’s learning, media and technology must be integrated into the teaching and learning activities of instructional environments. In order to be a powerful catalyst for learning, media and technology resources must complement the learning goals, the instructional practices, and the curricular materials used in a learning environment. Good tools, no matter how well designed, require planning, preparation, and careful implementation in order to be effective. While content creators, practitioners, and researchers believe that transmedia and digital games are valuable new tools
with promise for supporting learning, it is important to identify how these tools are shaped by different learning environments and what possibilities and points of entry for the use of media resources are present in different types of learning contexts.