You might be wondering why a 40 year-old communication manager who works primarily with college students would go to a session about Elmo. First, I love PBS. I unabashedly love PBS. And, I will always add anything PBS-related to my SxSW schedule. They never disappoint. Second, this year I was really focusing on Gen Z research, and I hoped I pick up a few worthwhile tidbits of generational research.
While I can't say that I got a ton of concrete take aways relevant to my work at OSU at this talk, I can say it was super interesting. Members of the Sesame Street Workshop team talked about the research, creative process and testing that went into updated the children's program, "Elmo's World."
I don't think "Sesame Street" gets the credit it deserves for innovation, but it's a legacy they try to maintain. The research and testing that went into developing this series was really interesting. The team was able to screen the show at various pre-schools. As the children watched (or didn't watch) the show they tracked things like how long the children looked at the screen, when they looked away, and if they engaged with the content (i.e. answering questions, talking to the characters, dancing along). The team used this information to identify which segments were most successful and how long segments should be.
The group also talk about the creative process and how the various units worked together to successfully combine curriculum, animation, puppetry, gaming, and live action. The aspect I found most interest was the media mixing. The original Sesame Street was groundbreaking in its combination of live action and puppetry. Critic thought it would be confusing to mix the universes, but turns out kids don't care. Elmo's World updates this concept, mixing animation and puppetry in a similar fashion.
The team readily admits that adults will find some of the program pretty annoying, but kids love it. They have the research to prove it.
While I can't say that I got a ton of concrete take aways relevant to my work at OSU at this talk, I can say it was super interesting. Members of the Sesame Street Workshop team talked about the research, creative process and testing that went into updated the children's program, "Elmo's World."
I don't think "Sesame Street" gets the credit it deserves for innovation, but it's a legacy they try to maintain. The research and testing that went into developing this series was really interesting. The team was able to screen the show at various pre-schools. As the children watched (or didn't watch) the show they tracked things like how long the children looked at the screen, when they looked away, and if they engaged with the content (i.e. answering questions, talking to the characters, dancing along). The team used this information to identify which segments were most successful and how long segments should be.
The group also talk about the creative process and how the various units worked together to successfully combine curriculum, animation, puppetry, gaming, and live action. The aspect I found most interest was the media mixing. The original Sesame Street was groundbreaking in its combination of live action and puppetry. Critic thought it would be confusing to mix the universes, but turns out kids don't care. Elmo's World updates this concept, mixing animation and puppetry in a similar fashion.
The team readily admits that adults will find some of the program pretty annoying, but kids love it. They have the research to prove it.
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