Visuo-spatial attention and reading abilities : an action game prototype for dyslexic children

The ability to play action videogames \u2013 not directly related to phonological or orthographic training \u2013 seems to be a teaching tool able to intervene specifically on spatial attention and drastically improve the reading skills of dyslexic children. The MADRIGALE project aims at the design and development of an action game, simultaneously involving both phonological and attention training in order to adapt educational game strategies for special needs. Within the MADRIGALE project, the design of the prototype was presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Networking and Collaborative Systems, while an experimentation about educational effectiveness of the prototype, conducted using \u2018Prove MT2\u2019 as a benchmarking tool for measuring accuracy and speed of reading, was published in the International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET). This paper is an extension of the work presented in SIREM \u2013 SIEL 2014 Conference, and presents the results of a Game Evaluation Sheet administered to 50 primary school teachers with experience of dyslexic student

Self-regulation competence in music education

This work starts from a systematic review about music education and self-regulation during learning processes. Then the paper identifies those meta-cognitive strategies that music students should adopt during their instrumental practice. The goal is applying such concepts in order to rethink the structure of a didactic e-book for instrumental music education. Thanks to the adoption of the IEEE 1599 standard, the paper outlines a model of active e-book able to improve learners\u2019 performances through proper cognitive and multi-modal scaffolds. In the last section the design principles for an implementation will be proposed

Teaching adaptively for music : smart opportunities emerging from the representation of score notation

Many developmental approaches have been proposed in literature and are currently in use in order to define music education curricula for young students. In this context, our research aims at describing a computer-based framework for the adaptive teaching of music. A music learning environment can be considered as smart when adaptive technologies are employed in order to improve student performance. Research about effective teaching practice pointed out that adaptive instruction can provide school settings able to foster inclusion and differentiation. Adaptive instruction can be conceptually defined as a set of alternative didactic strategies \u2013 either formal or non-formal \u2013 within a curricular program which are able to meet the student needs In our proposal, adaptivity is involved from two different points of view: in fact, adaptivity implies the possibility for the teacher to choose an instruction method fit for the single student, as well as the possibility for students to have a learning environment modelled on their personal plans, , preferences and previous knowledge. This approach can be adopted thanks to a computer-based framework including: i) a multi-layer format to encode music, and ii) an advanced application oriented to music educational content design and fruition. As regards the former aspect, we will briefly introduce an international standard known as IEEE 1599, specifically designed for the comprehensive description of music. The latter aspect will be covered by a software prototype \u2013 namely an advanced media player supporting IEEE 1599 documents \u2013 freely available via Web

Music coding in primary school

This work stems from the recent reforms made to the Italian education system. On one side, a relevant aspect is the introduction of coding in primary school, where coding is seen as a way to improve learning processes in young students. On the other side, music education is considered a key element to promote the integration of the various aspects of personality: the perceptual-motor, the logic, and the affective-social component. After reviewing the state of the art, this work aims at defining a new discipline - called music coding - presenting the key elements of the two pedagogical approaches. A computer-based tool to foster the development of both coding and music skills in young students will be proposed

An active e-book to foster self-regulation in music education

Purpose \u2013 The purpose of this work is to analyze the concept of self-regulated learning and applying it to a web-based interface for music teaching. Design/methodology/approach \u2013 This work starts from a systematic review about music education and self-regulation during learning processes. Then, the paper identifies those meta-cognitive strategies that music students should adopt during their instrumental practice. The goal is applying such concepts to rethink the structure of a didactic e-book for instrumental music education. Thanks to the adoption of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1599 standard, the paper outlines a model of active e-book able to improve learners\u2019 performances through proper cognitive and multi-modal scaffolds. In the last section, the design principles for an implementation will be proposed. Findings \u2013 This work applies theoretical research on self-regulated learning to the design and implementation of a working prototype. Research limitations/implications \u2013 A limitation is the lack of experimentation data, required to test the efficacy and effectiveness of the proposed e-book model and its impact on self-regulated music abilities. A validation strategy \u2013 e.g. based on scenarios \u2013 will be proposed in our future works, thanks to the support of music learning centres and focus groups composed by young Italian students. Originality/value \u2013 This work has been invited as an extension of the paper presented by the authors at EL2014 International Conference held in Lisbon. The previous work has been awarded as the best paper of the conference. In this extension, the authors provide further details about the proposed framework, highlighting in particular the implementation of scaffolds in the interface

Combining individualization and intuitive guided learning through compound learning resources

Individualized teaching approaches try to find the best sequence of learning resources capable of satisfying individual goals and preferences. On the other side, intuitive guided learning approaches see the learning experience as "non-linear": each learner can chose a personal path across the material according to his/her interests and preferences. In this paper we present a method and a prototype able to combine the advantages of both approaches by introducing the concept of "compound learning resource": a complex didactic artifact bringing together multiple semantically connected learning resources that can be freely browsed by the learner. Included semantic connections have a twofold function: from one side they guide the learners' navigation, from the other side they allow the dynamic reconfiguration of the resource according to learners' needs and preferences (individualization). Experimental results with real users in a University context are also presented. © 2012 Crown Copyrigh

Enhancing performance music games in education through the IEEE 1599 standard

This work aims at proposing an innovative way to approach music education, focusing performance games and advanced natural interfaces. The key idea is coupling the power of IEEE 1599, an XML-based international standard for music description, with the concept of music meta-instrument. Meta-instruments are ad hoc interfaces which allow a simplified interaction among the student and music contents. The proposed framework will provide a tool for music practice, powered by the typical features of an IEEE 1599 document. Both a brief overview of the standard and a meta-instrument case study will be presented

A web framework to develop computational thinking through music coding

Music coding is a new discipline aiming to develop a computational way of thinking through music experience even in musically-untrained subjects. In this work we will show how music can represent both a valid learning tool and an engaging reinforcement technique to approach coding at an early stage of children education, i.e. in the primary school. This work starts from the discussion of the educative guidelines that make music coding suitable to the current context. In fact, music coding can foster analytical processes, but it is able to encourage artistic expression, creativity and collaborative learning, too. Educational goals are reinforced by peculiarities such as a prompt feedback of user actions in terms of music performance. After analyzing different types of scaffolding to support computational thinking processes, a publicly available Web framework for music coding will be presented. Finally, the paper will discuss some applications to enhance analytical skills and support creative processes

A new paradigm for music education : creating active e-books through the IEEE 1599 standard

After a short review about music education and selfregulation in learning processes, this paper identifies the metacognitive strategies that music students should adopt during their instrumental practice. The goal is re-thinking the structure of a didactic e-book for instrumental music education. Thanks to the adoption of the IEEE 1599 standard, the paper outlines a model of active e-book able to improve learners\u2019 performances through proper cognitive and multi-modal scaffolds