Mobile games and science learning: A comparative study of 4 and 5 years old playing the game Angry Birds

A popular activity among young children is the use of mobile devices and apps. Yet, the impact of mobile devices on learning and development is rather underexplored. The limited studies identified explore effects on literacy development and communication and report on mixed findings. A considerable gap is observed as to how the use of mobile apps relates to young children's understanding in diverse domains including science learning, and to extend, whether and how mobile apps should be used and how in early years' settings. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this area by examining the learning effects of touch screen mobile game applications, in particular the game Angry Birds, on two groups of preschoolers 4 and 5 years old respectively. Evidence from a comparative study with 32 participants reveal significant differences between the two groups in terms of game skills and their understanding of projectile motion. Implications for educational stakeholders, parents and app designers are discussed along with future research directions

Transmedia Education in Non-formal Context: A Systematic Literature Review

La proliferación de medios de comunicación y la expansión de Internet ha propiciado la aparición y utilización de narrativas transmedia. Su aplicación en la educación, conocida como educación transmedia, ha sido investigada principalmente en ámbitos educativos formales. No obstante, desde la perspectiva de la ecología del aprendizaje destaca la importancia de todos los ámbitos educativos. Este estudio tiene el objetivo de conocer los antecedentes de la literatura científica sobre el uso de las narrativas transmedia en la educación no formal a partir de una revisión sistemática de la literatura científica con el fin de identificar y analizar tanto los Objetos Educativos Transmedia (OET) como de los Procesos Educativos Transmedia (PET), que se llevan a cabo en este ámbito educativo. Se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura siguiendo las orientaciones PRISMA (Page et al, 2021) a partir de cinco fases: 1) Búsqueda, 2) Filtrado, 3) Elegibilidad, 4) Clasificación y 5) Revisión y análisis. Tales fases resultaron finalmente en la revisión y análisis cualitativo de 29 documentos. El estudio expone el escaso desarrollo de PET en el ámbito educativo no formal, los cuales son a menudo adaptados del ámbito formal sin especial atención a las características del ámbito no formal. Desde un punto de vista ecológico, se reflexiona que la educación transmedia posee propiedades para potenciar los PET y diversificar oportunidades de aprendizaje, participación e implicación de distintos colectivos propios del ámbito educativo no formal. Se pone de manifiesto el interés de realizar investigaciones y proyectos orientados a la práctica en un campo poco explorado, donde la adaptación de los materiales a un entorno transmedia podría favorecer avances en múltiples colectivos para promover su desarrollo e inclusión social.Media proliferation and the Internet expansion have led to the emergence of transmedia storytelling. Its application in education, known as transmedia education, has mainly been studied in formal educational contexts. However, the learning ecologies approach, underlines the importance of all educational contexts is highlighted. This study aims to know the background of the scientific literature about the use of transmedia storytelling in the non-formal education. For this purpose, a systematic literature review is carried out, willing to identify and analyze both Transmedia Educational Objects (TEO) and Transmedia Educational Processes (TEP) performed in the non-formal educational context. The systematic literature review was carried out following the PRISMA guidelines (Page et al, 2021) in five phases: 1) Search, 2) Filtering, 3) Eligibility, 4) Classification and 5) Review and analysis. These phases resulted in the review and qualitative analysis of 29 documents. The study exposes the scarce development of TEP in the non-formal context, which are often adapted from the formal educational context, without special attention to the characteristics of the non-formal settings. From an ecological point of view, transmedia education has characteristics that could enhance TEPs and diversify learning opportunities, participation, and involvement for diverse groups in the non-formal educational context. It highlights the need and interest in conducting research and practice-oriented projects in a little explored field, where the adaptation of materials to a transmedia environment could promote progress in multiple groups to promote their development and social inclusion.Este trabajo se ha realizado con el apoyo del Programa Santander Predoc UdL, el Grupo de Investigación en Intervenciones Socioeducativas en la Infancia y la Juventud (GRISIJ) SGR 2017 905 y la Cátedra Educación y Adolescencia “Abel Martínez Oliva” de la Universidad de Lleida

An Exploratory Case Study: Using Web-based Micro Videos as a Parent Involvement Tool to Support Families with Preschool Age Children in Early Numeracy Development

The United States Federal Government recognized the importance of parent involvement in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Parent involvement has been associated with lower grade retention rates (student repeating a grade level), higher graduation rates, and higher student achievement rates. Reported obstacles to parent involvement include lack of child development knowledge and time constraints. In early childhood, a major focus has been placed on early literacy skills. However, studies that involve early numeracy skills especially in the home environment are lacking. Therefore, this study attempted to fill that void. An instrumental exploratory case study research design was utilized in which information was gathered on parents’ numeracy skill knowledge, numeracy perceptions, numeracy home activities and perceptions on the implementation of the numeracy micro videos as a parent involvement tool. A total of 41 preschool parents participated in the study who were randomly assigned to either a video user or nonuser group. Beginning in January 2019, the user group received a weekly micro video YouTube link for the parent to watch. A total of 6 videos were provided on early numeracy skills and support practices. Data analysis suggested the videos impacted preschool skill knowledge. For the user group, parental confidence grew as well as the need for additional support. In addition, an increase in home activities was observed. According to the participants, the physical activity micro videos seemed to be enjoyed more than the measurement cooking videos. From this study, it is believed that micro videos could provide another parent involvement outlet that encourages parent participation in their child’s learning process. Information from this study can help develop more micro videos that address parent’s need and concerns regarding early numeracy development

Η αξιοποίηση βιβλίου Επαυξημένης Πραγματικότητας για την ενίσχυση της χωρικής σκέψης στο Νηπιαγωγείο

Ο ορισμός του χωρικού συλλογισμού φαίνεται ότι έχει απασχολήσει έντονα πολλούς ψυχολόγους και ερευνητές της διδακτικής των Μαθηματικών ήδη από τις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα. Η αναζήτηση των παραγόντων που τον συνιστούν και η ανάλυσή τους οδήγησε στη διαπίστωση της πολυσύνθετης φύσης του, γεγονός που φανέρωσε και την πολυδιάστατη προσέγγισή του στον χώρο της εκπαίδευσης. Μελέτη βιβλιογραφικής ανασκόπησης ανέδειξε τη συμβολή της τεχνολογίας της Επαυξημένης Πραγματικότητας (Ε.Π.) στη διδασκαλία της χωρικής σκέψης, καθώς φαίνεται να προσφέρει νέες δυνατότητες μάθησης. Ωστόσο, παρά τα θετικά ευρήματα στον ελληνικό εκπαιδευτικό χώρο, στην προσχολική εκπαίδευση παρατηρήθηκε απουσία ευρημάτων σχετικά με την ένταξη της Ε.Π. στη διδασκαλία χωρικής σκέψης. Η παρούσα εργασία, υιοθετώντας τη μεθοδολογία της έρευνας που βασίζεται στον σχεδιασμό, στοχεύει στην παρουσίαση της ανάπτυξης και αξιολόγησης διδακτικού σεναρίου για τη χωρική σκέψη στο Νηπιαγωγείο με τη χρήση βιβλίου Ε.Π. και τη χρήση παραδοσιακών μεθόδων. Ο σκοπός της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας έγκειται στη διερεύνηση της ανάπτυξης της χωρικής σκέψης με τη χρήση της τεχνολογίας Ε.Π. Στο διδακτικό σενάριο αξιοποιούνται σελίδες επαυξημένου βιβλίου του εμπορίου για την πειραματική ομάδα (Π.Ο.) και συμβατική μέθοδος για την ομάδα ελέγχου (Ο.Ε.). Οι μαθητές/τριες και στις δύο περιπτώσεις (Π.Ο. και Ο.Ε.) εμπλέκονται σε δραστηριότητες χωρικού προσανατολισμού και λήψης προοπτικής, ώστε να αναπτύξουν τη χωρική τους σκέψη. Τα ευρήματα της έρευνας δεν έδειξαν σημαντική διαφορά στην ανάπτυξη χωρικού προσανατολισμού και λήψης προοπτικής ανάμεσα στις δύο ομάδες του δείγματος.The definition of spatial reasoning seems to have been of intense concern to many psychologists and mathematics teaching researchers since the beginning of the 20th century. The search for the factors that constitute it and their analysis led to the finding of its complex nature, which revealed its multidimensional approach to the field of education. A literature review study highlighted the contribution of Augmented Reality (AR) technology to the teaching of spatial thinking, as it seems to offer new learning possibilities. However, despite the positive findings, in the Greek educational field and especially in pre-school education, there was an absence of findings regarding the integration of AR in teaching spatial thinking. This paper, adopting the design-based research methodology, aims to present the development and evaluation of a teaching scenario for spatial thinking in Kindergarten using an augmented reality book and the use of traditional methods. The purpose of this thesis lies in the investigation of the development of spatial thinking with the use of AR technology. In the teaching scenario, augmented book pages of the trade are used for the experimental group and conventional method for the control group. Students in both cases (E.G and C.G.) are involved in spatial orientation and perspective-taking activities in order to develop their spatial thinking. The research findings did not show a significant difference in the development of spatial orientation and perspective taking between the two sample groups

Recomendações para transformar conteúdos educacionais em jogos e promover o engajamento

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento, Florianópolis, 2022.Os jogos se apresentam como recursos de aprendizagem utilizados como suporte ao engajamento do estudante, de modo a fomentar a motivação em interagir com a mídia e, consequentemente, com o conteúdo. Entretanto, literatura aponta que artefatos de baixa qualidade contribuem para a redução de seu caráter lúdico, consistindo em um obstáculo para uma aplicação mais promissora desses recursos. Para enfrentar este esse problema, essa dissertação propõe recomendações para a tradução de conteúdos educacionais em jogos. O método de pesquisa seguiu a estrutura de uma pesquisa qualitativa, com foco na pesquisa de campo. Assim, a revisão da literatura sobre os temas mídias, aprendizagem e jogos elencaram algumas recomendações para o processo de conversão de conteúdos educacionais em jogos. Estas recomendações foram utilizadas na pesquisa de campo, a qual traduziu o curso ?Diversidade linguística no atendimento à saúde: curso introdutório em Política Linguística e Saúde?, oferecido pelo Instituto de Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Política Linguística (IPOL), em um projeto de jogo. Reuniões com o IPOL foram realizadas para levantar informações sobre a necessidade do instituto. A pesquisa de campo ainda procedeu uma análise de similares, que permitiu a aquisição de insights trazidos de produções de sucesso. Foram examinados dois aplicativos de aprendizagem de idiomas e três jogos independentes. A partir das recomendações da literatura e das ideias geradas optou-se por projetar um RPG, permitindo a aprendizagem por meio da interpretação de papéis, a transmissão de conteúdo do curso em diálogos com os personagens e missões baseadas em resoluções de problemas. A tradução do módulo 1 do curso em projeto de jogo foi realizada utilizando a técnica do storyboard, o que permitiu a apresentação do projeto para os membros do IPOL e para um grupo de imigrantes haitianos que concordou em verificar sua consistência. Por fim, as recomendações foram comparadas com a pesquisa de campo, o que resultou em 38 recomendações para a conversão de conteúdos educacionais em jogos. Estas recomendações foram categorizadas em aspectos de aprendizagem, aprendizagem e motivação, motivação e design. A pesquisa confirmou a importância da participação de especialistas do conteúdo no desenvolvimento de jogos desse tipo para a melhor resolução dos conflitos encontrados durante o processo. A abordagem colar de pérolas destacou-se como método narrativo promissor para jogos com conteúdo sério, preservando a autonomia do jogador sem prejudicar a qualidade narrativa. Espera-se que as recomendações e contribuições trazidas por esse trabalho possam facilitar o diálogo entre educadores e designers de jogos no desenvolvimento de jogos com conteúdo sério.Abstract: Games are presented as learning resources used to support student engagement, in order to encourage motivation to interact with the media and, consequently, with the content. However, literature points out that low quality artifacts contribute to the reduction of their playful feature, constituting an obstacle to a more promising application of these resources. To face that problem, this dissertation proposes recommendations for the translation of educational content into games. The research method followed the structure of a qualitative research, focusing on field research. Thus, a literature review on media, learning and games topics listed some recommendations for the process of converting educational content into games. These recommendations were used in the field research, which translated the course ?Linguistic diversity in health care: an introductory course in Language Policy and Health?, offered by the Institute for Research and Development in Language Policy (IPOL), into a game project. Meetings with IPOL were held in order to gather information about the institute's needs. The field research also carried out an analysis of similar works, which allowed the acquisition of insights brought by successful productions. Two language learning apps and three independent games were examined. Based on the recommendations in literature and its generated ideas, it was decided to design an RPG, which allowed the process of learning through role-playing, as well as the transmission of course content in dialogues with the characters and missions based on problem solving. The translation of module 1 of the course to a game project was carried out using the storyboard technique, which allowed the project to be presented to IPOL members and to a group of Haitian immigrants who agreed to verify its consistency. Finally, the recommendations were compared with the field research, which resulted in 38 recommendations for converting educational content into games. These recommendations were categorized into aspects of learning, learning and motivation, motivation and design. The research confirmed the importance of the participation of content specialists in the development of games of this type in regards to the best resolution to the conflicts encountered during the process. The pearl necklace approach stood out as a promising narrative method for games with serious content, since it preserves player autonomy without harming narrative quality. It is hoped that the recommendations and contributions brought by this work are able to facilitate the dialogue between educators and game designers during the development of games with serious content

PBS KIDS Mathematics Transmedia Suites in Preschool Homes: A Report to the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative

This study evaluates the efficacy of three PBS KIDS Transmedia Suites in increasing preschoolers' mathematics skills and enhancing their parents' ability to support mathematics learning in the home