Integrating Interactive Learning Experiences into Augmented Toy Environments

The Augmented Knight’s Castle is a pervasive computing playset which enriches the children’s pretend play by using background music, sound effects and verbal commentary of toys that react to the childrens’s play. We argue that such an augmented playset offers ideal possibilities of seamlessly integrating interactive learning experiences: toy figures such as the king, a knight or a farmer teach children about the life in the Middle Ages from their perspective and depending on the context of play. In addition to these interactive stories, a variety of other learning scenarios can be integrated (e.g., children learn songs or poems from the troubadour by simply pointing at the figure with a magic wand). Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is used to automatically and unobtrusively identify the toys in the playset. Mobile devices equipped with RFID readers are introduced into the playset to provoke further interaction and to enhance the play.