Interactive Pre-School Toy for Early Reading Skill

描述（由申请人提供）：一个全球性的技术经济需要越来越高的识字技能，但大量的美国儿童仍然努力成为合格的读者，导致医疗，失业和社会服务的高成本。这个项目的主要目标是帮助孩子们提高阅读和写作技能。具体目标是设计、开发、测试和评估一种低成本、以研究为基础、高度激励的互动玩具，该玩具将向大量3-5岁奥尔兹教授早期阅读技能。通过视频游戏技术，孩子们将学习字母和单词，并通过名字和声音来选择它们，只需[将三轮车的前轮放在支架上]并在虚拟道路上“驾驶”一辆（固定的）三轮车，将三轮车的扶手转向左边或右边以收集目标字母。这个团队以前已经制作了两个SBIR资助的，基于研究的阅读产品。第一阶段项目将开发一个原型三轮车游戏和四个原型三轮车[看台]。本研究将探讨这种技术指导的可行性，以及是否有效地教授学龄前儿童原型游戏的内容。通过让孩子们为阅读做好准备，这个产品可以帮助实现我们的国家愿望，建立一个更有文化、更好就业、更健康和更有生产力的社会。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A global, technical economy requires increasingly higher literacy skills, yet large numbers of American children still struggle to become competent readers, resulting in high costs for health, unemployment and social services. The broad goal of this project is to help children improve reading and writing skills. The specific aims are to design, develop, test, and evaluate a low-cost, research-based, highly motivating interactive toy that will teach early reading skills to large numbers of 3-5 year olds. With video-game technology, children will learn about letters and words and select them by name and by sound simply by [placing the front wheel of their tricycle on a stand] and "driving" a (stationary) tricycle down a virtual road, turning the handlebars of the tricycle to the left or right to collect target letters. This team has previously produced two SBIR-funded, research-based reading products. The Phase 1 project will develop a prototype tricycle game and four-prototype tricycle [stands]. The research will examine feasibility and whether this technological instruction is effective in teaching pre-school children the content of the prototype game. By preparing children for reading, this product could help fulfill our national aspirations toward a more literate, better employed, healthier, and more productive society.