Lucia Ferlino

Developing strategic and reasoning abilities with computer games at primary school level

The paper reports a small-scale, long-term pilot project designed to foster strategic and reasoning abilities in young primary school pupils by engaging them in a number of computer games, mainly those usually called mind games (brainteasers, puzzlers, etc.). In this paper, the objectives, work methodology, experimental setting, and tools used in the project are outlined, together with an analysis of some findings. In particular, we perform a brief analysis of some of the cognitive processes involved in playing with the computer games considered; we then discuss software features that, in our experience, help children tackle different cognitive tasks. The quantitative data collected during the pilot allow us, also, to take account of childrens performance according to a number of different parameters, such as their level of achievement, the games degree of difficulty and the type of data handled. Moreover, we reflect on the general impact of the project on childrens reasoning abilities. The extent and duration of the study mean that, whilst the findings are not generalizable, they do offer insights into mechanisms underpinning basic strategic and reasoning skills as well as the educational potentialities offered by some of the existing computer games; they also point to some areas for further research.

Educational software and low vision students: evaluating accessibility factors

The aim of this paper is to draw a few guidelines for the evaluation of the accessibility and usability of educational software programs from the point of view of low vision students. The presented findings are based on the results of a long term research project carried out by the Italian National Research Council’s Institute for Educational Technology (ITD-CNR) and the David Chiossone Institute for the Blind, both based in Genoa, Italy. The educational project, whose general aims and results are not a matter of discussion here, involves a significant number of visually impaired students from primary to upper secondary school; in such a context, the researchers have the opportunity to assess and evaluate whether, and to what extent, the selected educational software products meet the needs of low vision students. In this perspective, the paper takes into account the features which can be considered significant from an educational point of view: general readability, working field extension and position, menu location and coherence, character dimension, colour brightness, etc. Bearing in mind the ultimate goal of providing children with appropriate, effective educational tools, an educational software accessibility checklist is proposed which is meant to be used by teachers with no, or scarce, experience of low vision, and not by professionals; it has already proved to be an effective tool for helping teachers select suitable educational software products “usable” by low vision students.

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Knowledge at their fingertips: kids’ learning and playing in the app age

Clear signs are emerging of changes in the ways that the current generation of preschoolers learn and play. These changes are closely linked to their familiarity with mobile devices and the availability of digital resources that support learning by exploring, by manipulating and especially by playing. The trigger for this change is the medium, which is based on direct interaction, bringing new opportunities for learning by doing. At the same time, teachers and parents alike are expressing doubts about whether to use mobile applications (apps) early on and how to choose them. Given the novelty of these tools, research has yet to provide answers to these questions. This contribution examines current studies and pedagogical considerations as a basis for formulating a classification of educational apps, for identifying affordances, and for establishing indicators that guide app choice.

Training of Spatial Abilities with Digital Games: Impact on Mathematics Performance of Primary School Students.

The “A me gli occhi project” has been organized to support the development and consolidation of visuospatial abilities in students of the last two years of primary school, with the hypothesis that such a training would have a positive impact on their performance in mathematics. The present paper focuses on the second phase of the project, during which twenty game based training sessions have been organized along the whole school year. Students’ mathematical abilities have been measured at the beginning of the project and at the end using a standardized math test. Results show some improvements in the experimental group compared to the control one, confirming the initial hypothesis.

Accessibility of Educational Software: A Problem Still to Be Solved

In recent years the issue of accessibility of digital resources has been increasingly studied by the world of research, training, associations and law-makers. If educational software is built without keeping in mind the principles of Design for all, might be considered a new obstacle to learning and an occasion to highlight the limits and not the potential of disabled people. Starting from this, we have carried out a survey among more than four thousand (italian and foreign) educational softwares available on our Educational Software Documentation Service. The result - as one could predict - shows that there are very few software products that can be used for educational purposes which completely satisfy the main accessibility criteria.

Open Source educational software in schools, we tried!

Note sulla sperimentazione di un CD Live, SoDiLinux, contenente una raccolta selezionata di software didattici Open Source.