Discusses a study to determine if anticipatory reactions contribute significantly to children's television-viewing behavior. Four form complexity variables (set, shot, verbal interaction, and modal complexity) and two visual/verbal interaction variables (congruence and independence) are studied using groups of children 4 to 5 years old and 7 1/2…

Based on the conviction that research findings on effective design of educational television programs may have useful lessons for designers of educational computing software, this paper reviews research on children's educational television and discusses ways in which the findings can be applied. The paper divides the research findings into the…

The relationship between television program variables and children's attention was examined using sample shows from two nationally distributed educational programs. Shows were coded at 30-second intervals on four measures of program complexity and two measures of the relationship between verbal and visual content. Children's visual-attention…