Design and development of a voice-based smart speaker application for young children

RQDN Labs是一家总部位于多伦多的公司，为4-10岁的儿童提供科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)编程。他们的目标是使用蒙台梭利学校启发的方法，教孩子们数字技能，为他们未来的工作和数字创新做好准备。虽然加拿大有许多以STEM为基础的倡议，但几乎所有倡议都涉及相当多的屏幕时间，这已被证明对儿童发展产生了负面影响。随着新冠肺炎疫情的持续，这是一个特别紧迫的问题，因为许多家庭一直并将继续在家工作，以平化这一曲线。作为回应，RQDN实验室和百年大学的可穿戴、互动和移动健康技术接入中心(WIMTACH)正在合作设计和制作一款基于语音的智能扬声器应用程序，该应用程序将提供基于STEM的内容和活动。该项目的成果是一个功能齐全和经过测试的语音应用程序最低可行产品(MVP)，它实施了支持认知技能发展的关键课程，如解决问题、讲故事和建立词汇。

RQDN Labs is a Toronto-based company that provides science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programming to children aged 4-10. Using a Montessori-school-inspired approach, their aim is to teach children digital skills that will prepare them for the future of work and digital innovation. While there are many STEM-based initiatives that exist in Canada, almost all of them involve a considerable amount of screen-time, which has shown to negatively affect child development. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this is an especially pressing issue as many families have been and continue to work from home to flatten the curve. In response, RQDN Labs and Centennial College's Wearable, Interactive and Mobile Technologies Access Centre in Health (WIMTACH) are partnering to design and prototype a voice-based smart speaker application that will deliver STEM-based content and activities. The outcome of the project is a functional and tested voice application Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that implements key lessons supporting the development of cognitive skills - such as problem solving, storytelling and vocabulary-building.