StoryFaces: Children Exploring Emotional Expressions in Storytelling with Video
Abstract
We introduce StoryFaces, a new composition and
storytelling tool for children to explore the role of
emotional expressions in children’s narrative.
StoryFaces invites children to record emotional
expressions and then automatically composes these
recordings in storybook illustrations. After children
watch their faces bring a story to life, they can “go
backstage” to play with the story by rearranging the
videos and altering the story text. This paper presents
our exploratory prototype, a design rationale that
focuses on supporting children’s emotional growth
through storytelling play and reflection, and reports on
a formative evaluation with two children ages 4-6.
Results from the evaluation suggest that children ages
4-6 are engaged in the activity, are excited to create a
variety of emotional expressions, find the narratives
funny yet clear, and work to re-craft and reinterpret
story meanings through iterative editing and play with
both video and textual content. Our goal is to provoke
new ideas about how pretend play with digital tools can
Copyright is held by the author/owner(s). empower young children in a narrative process.
storytelling tool for children to explore the role of
emotional expressions in children’s narrative.
StoryFaces invites children to record emotional
expressions and then automatically composes these
recordings in storybook illustrations. After children
watch their faces bring a story to life, they can “go
backstage” to play with the story by rearranging the
videos and altering the story text. This paper presents
our exploratory prototype, a design rationale that
focuses on supporting children’s emotional growth
through storytelling play and reflection, and reports on
a formative evaluation with two children ages 4-6.
Results from the evaluation suggest that children ages
4-6 are engaged in the activity, are excited to create a
variety of emotional expressions, find the narratives
funny yet clear, and work to re-craft and reinterpret
story meanings through iterative editing and play with
both video and textual content. Our goal is to provoke
new ideas about how pretend play with digital tools can
Copyright is held by the author/owner(s). empower young children in a narrative process.
