Experimental Development of Competitive Digital Educational Games on Multi-touch Screen for Young Children

Abstract

Abstract. Multi-touch technology offers us a new opportunity to develop digital educational games (DEGS) for children. Current researches are focusing on the area of cooperative learning, and the devices used are mostly horizontal. Can we develop competitive DEGS for children? How would it look like if these games are shown on vertical screens? Based on these assumptions, we did some experimental development researches. In this paper, the design and implementation of four competitive DEGS are introduced, each of which targeting a specific kind of intelligence (verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical and visual-spatial) based on the theory of multiple intelligences. Tryout was made on some preschool children and the problems encountered are analyzed. The experiences gained in the whole process are summarized in the end.

Multi-touch gestures for pre-kindergarten children

“…Harris et al (2009) analyzed the differences between single-touch and multi-touch interaction in 7-10 year-old children's groups and found that although touch did not affect the interaction in terms of frequency or equity, it did influence their communication and encouraged them to talk to each other about their joint actions. Yu et al (2010) assessed the design of the interaction aspect of touch screens in order to develop digital educational games. They tested the effectiveness of 5-6 year-olds in four game prototypes while dragging, clicking, rotating and zooming in and out.…”

Substitutive competition: Virtual pets as competitive buffers to alleviate possible negative influence on pupils

“…However, from a review of the characteristics of digital games, ‘competition’ is seldom taken into account (Yu, Zhang, Ren, Zhao & Zhu, 2010), although it is acknowledged as a significant factor (Lo, Ji, Syu, You & Chen, 2008). This might be due to the fact that ill‐designed competition possibly has a negative influence on students' self‐confidence (Chan, Chung, Ho, Hou & Lin, 1992), self‐efficacy (Stapel & Koomen, 2005), attitude towards failure (Collins, Brown & Newman, 1989) or interpersonal relationships (Dunn & Goldman, 1966).…”

Multitouch Tables for Collaborative Object-Based Learning

“…While many desktop computer applications are inherently single-user, a multitouch table provides opportunities to learn about diverse topics, such as history [6], math [7], music [7], and even basic social skills [8]. Other future work includes quantitative and qualitative study of the multitouch gestures and point and click interfaces, and distribution of applications.…”