"The main innovation comes in providing children with very familiar materials that they can play with and adding the technology on top of that," said Juan Pablo Hourcade, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Iowa.
But there are always challenges when designing electronic toys for children, said Hourcade.
"Children are moving targets. Something perfect for a child today, six months later it won't be right," he said. "We need to have technologies that support a child's growth. I think in this case Jabberstamp does that." A four year old can use it, albeit for different stories, just as well as an eight year old.
The biggest challenge, said Hourcade, is tracking the child's use of such a tool over a long period of time. Are they creating more sophisticated stories or getting bored?
"Are we making a positive impact or are they better off drawing on their own without any computing power?" Hourcade asked.
At least in the short term, the Jabberstamp kept children engaged, according to the researchers. They collaborated with one another and in some cases worked together for hours on a single, interactive story.
