Interactive Fiction: ‘New Literacy’ Learning Opportunities for Children

Abstract

Interactive fiction has great potential for use in schools, providing engaging and empowering opportunities for learning and literacy. Experiences with interactive fiction provide two key components lacking in contemporary storytelling mediums: autonomy (the ability to act and change on its own) and interactivity (or the ability to think and react intelligently to the user). This descriptive study analyzes a work of interactive fiction created specifically for this research, which illustrates essential traits of character-driven e-literature. The story is evaluated in terms of a set of principles, listed under a heading of empowered learners. Finally, the educational implications of using interactive fiction in an educational setting are discussed.