Toys, Games, and Media

This book is a state-of-the-art look at where toys have come from and where they are likely to go in the years ahead. The focus is on the interplay between traditional toys and play, and toys and play that are mediated by or combined with digital technology. As well as covering the technical aspects of computer mediated play activities, the authors consider how technologically enhanced toys are currently used in traditional play and how they are woven into childrens' lives. The authors contrast their findings about technologically enhanced toys with knowledge of traditional toys and play. They link their studies of toys to goals in education and to entertainment and information transfer. This book will appeal to students, researchers, teachers, child care workers and more broadly the entertainment industry. It is appropriate for courses that deal with the specialized subject of toys and games, media studies, education and teacher training, and child development.

Book Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- List of Contributors -- Chapter 1 Introduction: Toys, Games, and Media -- PART I: TOY CULTURE -- Chapter 2 The Toy Theater: The Revival and Survival of an English Tradition -- Chapter 3 War Toys in the World of Fourth Graders: 1985 and 2002 -- Chapter 4 Toy Culture in Preschool Education and Children's Toy Preferences -- Chapter 5 Kitty Litter: Japanese Cute at Home and Abroad -- Chapter 6 From Pokémon to Potter: Trainee Teachers Explore Children's Media-Related Play, 2000-2003 -- PART II: CHILDREN AND DIGITAL MEDIA -- Chapter 7 The Internet Playground -- Chapter 8 The Internet and Adolescents: The Present and Future of the Information Society -- Chapter 9 Learners, Spectators, or Gamers? An Investigation of the Impact of Digital Media in the Media-Saturated Household -- Chapter 10 Learning With Computer Games -- PART III: HOW TECHNOLOGY INFLUENCES PLAY -- Chapter 11 Tangible Interfaces in Smart Toys -- Chapter 12 Preschool Children's Play With "Talking" and "Nontalking" Rescue Heroes: Effects of Technology-Enhanced Figures on the Types and Themes of Play -- Chapter 13 "Hey, Hey, Hey! It's Time to Play": Children's Intera…