Penny's Birthday
Why Interactive DVD?
You may have never heard of Interactive DVD. Up until now DVD players have been considered a technology that delivers passive content i.e. insert a DVD, press play, then sit back and watch. The fact is DVD players have more to them. New technologies in the way the content is put on the DVD means that publishers like Early Years Entertainment (EYE) are able to create a much richer experience using the equipment already in your living room. There is no need to buy a 'different' DVD player to use interactive DVDs.
The technology used in producing Wigglebottom Farm DVDs is called DVDExtra. It was developed by ZOOtech Limited and is set to revolutionise the way other content providers (film studios, cartoon makers etc.) make DVDs for you.
EYE believe that the best use of this new technology is in engaging younger children. Your child, and you as their parents, probably don't care very much about the technology but you do see and experience the added value it delivers when it is delivered in a relevant way. All children love stories and want to learn all the time. Most 'passive' stories only do one thing, tell a story. If a story was told and interspersed with interactive content that helps your child learn it must be a good thing. Older children are probably less likely to engage with interactive DVD, except when focusing on a passion such as their favourite football club, because they have, more than likely, experienced 'game play' on games 'consoles' such as Playstation or Xbox. These consoles are design specifically to delivery in depth game play, something a DVD can not match. As a result of this console manufacturers, and the publishers who write games for them, do not consider the 3-6 year age group a target audience. At 3-6 your child is at his/her most receptive to basic learning. Your child has not yet experienced all a vagaries of life so what they see engages them and they enjoy the experience. It therefore makes sense to deliver something more than just game play to them.
Our research has shown that nearly all 3-6 year olds do not judge interactive DVD on the depth of game play, they have not developed that sense of difference yet. They happily adopt the experience and are very comfortable with it. All children like to succeed and they relish a sense of achievement. EYE Wigglebottom Farm stories are specifically designed to tap into these emotions and then deliver learning disciplines almost seamlessly. The children do not realise they are learning, to them they just having a good time.
Using an EYE interactive DVD will not make your child smart. It is not designed to do that. We leave that task to you, the parents, and the educationalist you have entrusted to teach your children. What our DVDs do is engage your child and then re-enforce the type of learning they are experiencing in their formal early years education. Because the medium we use, i.e. DVD, is so powerful we are also able to weave in some 'moral' issues such as friendship, caring and sharing, all of which are just as important as academic subjects. The latest console game of Invaders From Outer Space or Kung Fu Fighter VII (we made those titles up) do not deliver this important subject matter, and even if it were somehow offered it probably would not work as there is a difference in the expectation of the medium it is delivered from.
By giving your child a EYE interactive DVD you are helping them to discover and learn at the same time. The issue is not confused by super hi-res multiplayer surround-sound multi-level gaming.
You can leave your child alone with the DVD safe in the knowledge that they are in a secure environment i.e. not on the internet. You can do this in your living room or your child's bedroom (if they are lucky enough to have a DVD/TV in their room). New incar DVDs mean that this experience can be offered when on that nightmare trip to Granny's.