Assessing the educational potential and language content of touchscreen apps for preschool children
Assessing the educational potential and language content of touchscreen apps for preschool children
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DOI：
10.1016/j.caeo.2022.100102
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发表时间：
2022-12-01
影响因子：
3.6
通讯作者：
Monaghan, Padraic
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Taylor, Gemma;Kolak, Joanna;Monaghan, Padraic
触屏应用程序有可能教会孩子们一些重要的早期技能，包括口语。然而，很少有实证数据评估应用程序市场上儿童应用程序的教育潜力，或者应用程序如何与认知发展理论联系起来支持学习。我们比较了有学习目标的流行儿童应用程序（N=18）和没有学习目标的流行儿童应用程序（N=26），使用系统评估工具来评估可能支持学习的教育潜力和应用程序功能。我们还转录了应用程序中包含有学习目标的语言（N=18）和没有学习目标的语言（N=12）的所有话语，以便比较一些与语言可及性相关的心理语言学指标。具有学习目标的应用具有更高的教育潜力，更多的反馈机会，更高比例的显性反馈，以及适合年龄的语言来支持学习和语言发展。因此，我们认为基于学习目标选择儿童应用程序是为学龄前儿童选择教育应用程序的良好的第一步。然而，应用程序开发者可以做更多的事情来促进应用程序的探索性使用，根据孩子的表现调整内容，并利用应用程序中与屏幕上的角色的社交互动来增强教育潜力。儿童应用程序也可以更好地利用反馈，确保反馈是具体的、有意义的和建设性的，以更好地促进学习。
Touchscreen apps have the potential to teach children important early skills including oral language. However, there is little empirical data assessing the educational potential of children's apps in the app market or how apps link to theories of cognitive development to support learning. We compared popular children's apps with a learning goal (N=18) and without (N=26) using systematic evaluation tools to assess the educational potential and app features that may support learning. We also transcribed all utterances in the apps that included language with a learning goal (N=18) and without (N=12) in order to compare a number of psycholinguistic measures relating to accessibility of the language. Apps with a learning goal had higher educational potential, more opportunities for feedback, a higher proportion of ostensive feedback, and age-appropriate language to support learning and language development. Thus, we argue that selecting children's apps based on the presence of a learning goal is a good first step for selecting an educational app for pre-school age children. Nevertheless, app developers could do more to promote exploratory app use, adjust content to a child's performance, and make use of social interactions with characters onscreen in their apps to enhance the educational potential. Children's apps could also make better use of feedback to ensure that it is specific, meaningful and constructive to better facilitate learning.