My Child Does More Than Sit for Virtual Read‐Aloud: An Exploratory Human Pose Estimation Study

Abstract

Virtual storytime programs supported young children and families when in‐person library services were discontinued in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United States. These virtual storytimes offered via videoconferencing systems allowed for the inclusion of some in‐person storytime elements such as the librarian read‐aloud, and children are the target audience of these picturebook read‐alouds. Children's nonverbal behavior symbolizes a powerful clue as to when they are engaged with the read‐aloud story. What is unclear is how a child nonverbally engages with the storytime readings. This study shows how human pose detection software, OpenPose, was instrumented with custom Python scripts to track and code a preschooler's nonverbal behavior during a virtual storytime read‐aloud. Results demonstrate considerable nonverbal attentiveness and engagement by this child during the read‐aloud.