Icanlearn: A Mobile Application For Creating Flashcards And Social Stories\u3csup\u3etm\u3c/sup\u3e For Children With Autistm

The number of children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise, presenting new challenges for their parents and teachers to overcome. At the same time, mobile computing has been seeping its way into every aspect of our lives in the form of smartphones and tablet computers. It seems only natural to harness the unique medium these devices provide and use it in treatment and intervention for children with autism. This thesis discusses and evaluates iCanLearn, an iOS flashcard app with enough versatility to construct Social StoriesTM. iCanLearn provides an engaging, individualized learning experience to children with autism on a single device, but the most powerful way to use iCanLearn is by connecting two or more devices together in a teacher-learner relationship. The evaluation results are presented at the end of the thesis

Interactive technologies for preschool game-based instruction: Experiences and future challenges

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Entertainment Computing. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Entertainment Computing, vol. 17 (2016). DOI 10.1016/j.entcom.2016.07.001.[EN] According to current kindergarten curricula, game play is an important basis for children development and it is the main driving force when designing educational activities during early childhood. This paper presents a review of the current state of the art of game technologies that support pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children development. Moreover, the most emergent technologies for developing educational games for preschool children are identified and a set of future challenges are discussed. The main goal of this work is to review the state of the art in interactive technologies which will help educators, game designers and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) experts in the area of game-based kindergarten instruction. 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work received financial support from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and funded by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER) with the project TIN2014-60077-R (SUPEREMOS). This work is also supported by a predoctoral fellowship within the FPU program from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports to V. Nacher (FPU14/00136) and from GVA (ACIF/2014/214) to F. Garcia-Sanjuan.Nácher-Soler, VE.; García Sanjuan, F.; Jaén Martínez, FJ. (2016). Interactive technologies for preschool game-based instruction: Experiences and future challenges. Entertainment Computing. 17:19-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2016.07.001S19291

I\u27m Listening with Dabdoop: A Phonological Stimulation App for Arabic Preschoolers

Recognizing the sounds around us is the first step humans take to develop reading skills. Children who are at risk of dyslexia have a weakness in differentiating between sounds that make up our language. Testing for phonological awareness, a crucial part of reading development, can aid in detecting dyslexia. English speaking children have the luxury of being able to access varied programs designed to promote phonological awareness, knowledge of which, in turn, can assist as an early intervention instrument for dyslexia. In Saudi Arabia there are no programs that exist to detect dyslexia in children at an early age. The current lack of such programs in Arabic encouraged me to design an application to serve Arabic-speaking preschool children who may be at risk of dyslexia. Therefore, the focus of my thesis is to: Help promote reading skills for children in Saudi Arabia by designing a variety of games that stimulate listening and hearing skills. Select appropriate words and phrases that will appeal to Arabic preschoolers who are at risk of dyslexia. Define and illustrate an appropriate visual style for Arabic children aged 4-6 years who are at risk for dyslexia. http://manalalyaba.com/I%27m%20Listening%20with%20Dabdoop.htm

Evaluating Simultaneous Visual Instructions with Kindergarten Children on Touchscreen Devices

[EN] A myriad of educational applications using tablets and multi-touch technology for kindergarten children have been developed in the last decade. However, despite the possible benefits of using visual prompts to communicate information to kindergarteners, these visual techniques have not been fully studied yet. This article therefore investigates kindergarten children¿s abilities to understand and follow several visual prompts about how to proceed and interact in a virtual 2D world. The results show that kindergarteners are able to effectively understand several visual prompts with different communication purposes despite being used simultaneously. The results also show that the use of the evaluated visual prompts to communicate data when playing reduces the number of interferences about technical nature fostering dialogues related to the learning activity guided by the instructors or caregivers. Hence, this work is a starting point for designing dialogic learning scenarios tailored to kindergarten children.This work is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and funded by the European Development Regional Fund (EDRF-FEDER) with Project TIN2014-60077-R; by VALi+d program from Conselleria d¿Educació, Cultura i Esport (Generalitat Valenciana) under the fellowship ACIF/2014/214, and by the FPU program from Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport under the fellowship FPU14/00136Nácher, V.; García-Sanjuan, F.; Jaén Martínez, FJ. (2020). Evaluating Simultaneous Visual Instructions with Kindergarten Children on Touchscreen Devices. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. 36(1):41-54. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2019.1597576S4154361Allen, R., & Scofield, J. (2010). Word learning from videos: more evidence from 2-year-olds. Infant and Child Development, 19(6), 649-661. doi:10.1002/icd.712Cristia, A., & Seidl, A. (2015). Parental Reports on Touch Screen Use in Early Childhood. PLOS ONE, 10(6), e0128338. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128338Derboven, J., De Roeck, D., & Verstraete, M. (2012). Semiotic analysis of multi-touch interface design: The MuTable case study. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70(10), 714-728. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2012.05.005Egloff, T. H. (2004). Edutainment. Computers in Entertainment, 2(1), 13-13. doi:10.1145/973801.973822Fernández-López, Á., Rodríguez-Fórtiz, M. J., Rodríguez-Almendros, M. L., & Martínez-Segura, M. J. (2013). Mobile learning technology based on iOS devices to support students with special education needs. Computers & Education, 61, 77-90. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.09.014Furió, D., González-Gancedo, S., Juan, M.-C., Seguí, I., & Rando, N. (2013). Evaluation of learning outcomes using an educational iPhone game vs. traditional game. Computers & Education, 64, 1-23. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.12.001Hanna, L., Risden, K., & Alexander, K. (1997). Guidelines for usability testing with children. Interactions, 4(5), 9-14. doi:10.1145/264044.264045Honomichl, R. D., & Chen, Z. (2012). The role of guidance in children’s discovery learning. WIREs Cognitive Science, 3(6), 615-622. doi:10.1002/wcs.1199Hourcade, J. P. (2007). Interaction Design and Children. Foundations and Trends® in Human-Computer Interaction, 1(4), 277-392. doi:10.1561/1100000006Ioannou, A., Zaphiris, P., Loizides, F., & Vasiliou, C. (2013). Let’S Talk About Technology for Peace: A Systematic Assessment of Problem-Based Group Collaboration Around an Interactive Tabletop. Interacting with Computers, 27(2), 120-132. doi:10.1093/iwc/iwt061Keenan, T., Ruffman, T., & Olson, D. R. (1994). When do children begin to understand logical inference as a source of knowledge? Cognitive Development, 9(3), 331-353. doi:10.1016/0885-2014(94)90010-8Levine, S. C., Huttenlocher, J., Taylor, A., & Langrock, A. (1999). Early sex differences in spatial skill. Developmental Psychology, 35(4), 940-949. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.35.4.940Nacher, V., Garcia-Sanjuan, F., & Jaen, J. (2016). Interactive technologies for preschool game-based instruction: Experiences and future challenges. Entertainment Computing, 17, 19-29. doi:10.1016/j.entcom.2016.07.001Nacher, V., Jaen, J., & Catala, A. (2016). Evaluating Multitouch Semiotics to Empower Prekindergarten Instruction with Interactive Surfaces. Interacting with Computers, 29(2), 97-116. doi:10.1093/iwc/iww007Nacher, V., Jaen, J., Navarro, E., Catala, A., & González, P. (2015). Multi-touch gestures for pre-kindergarten children. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 73, 37-51. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2014.08.004Nacher, V., Jurdi, S., Jaen, J., & Garcia-Sanjuan, F. (2019). Exploring visual prompts for communicating directional awareness to kindergarten children. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 126, 14-25. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.01.003Neumann, M. M. (2017). Parent scaffolding of young children’s use of touch screen tablets. Early Child Development and Care, 188(12), 1654-1664. doi:10.1080/03004430.2016.1278215Pecora, N., Murray, J. P., & Wartella, E. A. (Eds.). (2009). Children and Television. doi:10.4324/9781410618047Plowman, L., Stevenson, O., Stephen, C., & McPake, J. (2012). Preschool children’s learning with technology at home. Computers & Education, 59(1), 30-37. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.11.014Smith, S. P., Burd, E., & Rick, J. (2012). Developing, evaluating and deploying multi-touch systems. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 70(10), 653-656. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2012.07.002Van der Meij, H., & van der Meij, J. (2014). A comparison of paper-based and video tutorials for software learning. Computers & Education, 78, 150-159. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.06.003Vatavu, R.-D., Cramariuc, G., & Schipor, D. M. (2015). Touch interaction for children aged 3 to 6 years: Experimental findings and relationship to motor skills. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 74, 54-76. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2014.10.00

Higher Education Course Curriculum for a Distance Learning Model Reinforced with Robotics for 3 to7 Years Old Children

The curriculum is organized in five different modules, with different focus. The first module is about Basic Concepts of Computational Thinking, presenting the foundations for the rest of the learning. The second module, on Computational Thinking with Block-Based and Text-Based Coding Environments, and the third module, on the Fundamentals of Physical Programming and CT with Robotic Activities, further expand the learning about computational thinking by providing information on the potential of preschool children for computational thinking and how this can be developed through different environments and tools. The fourth module changes the focus to planning and evaluating activities with children by presenting information on Designing Activities and Learning through Distance Education. This is the module that deals with the challenges and potential of distance education in Early Childhood Education, connecting practice with reflection and further learning for educators through self-evaluation and reflection. Finally, the fifth module, on Building Partnerships for Learning, looks at the development of digital skills for early age as a societal endeavour, supporting practitioners in identifying partners and initiatives as well as building communities that can leverage the educational offer. The whole curriculum was planned to provide knowledge and competences that support the development of a distance learning model reinforced with robotics for 3-7 years old children. But each module is a stand-alone learning opportunity based on the lesson plans, slides presentation and materials available. Interested users are also welcome to combine different modules into unique training experiences.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio