Mobile games and science learning: A comparative study of 4 and 5 years old playing the game Angry Birds

Abstract

Christothea Herodotou is a Lecturer in Innovating Pedagogy at The Open University, UK. She is interested in the design and use of innovative technologies, in particular web-based technologies, digital games and mobile applications for learning and their relationship to human motivation and cognition. She is also particularly interested in how learning analytics can inform our understanding of the use of technologies and improve the learning experience. She has recently received funding from the British Educational Research Association (BERA) to examine the learning impact of mobile applications on young children under the BERA BJET Fellowship. Address for correspondence: Dr Christothea Herodotou, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK. Email: christothea.herodotou@open.ac.uk Abstract A popular activity among young children is the use of mobile devices and apps. Yet, the impact of mobile devices on learning and development is rather underexplored. The limited studies identified explore effects on literacy development and communication and report on mixed findings. A considerable gap is observed as to how the use of mobile apps relates to young children's understanding in diverse domains including science learning, and to extend, whether and how mobile apps should be used and how in early years' settings. The aim of this paper is to shed light on this area by examining the learning effects of touch screen mobile game applications, in particular the game Angry Birds, on two groups of preschoolers 4 and 5 years old respectively. Evidence from a comparative study with 32 participants reveal significant differences between the two groups in terms of game skills and their understanding of projectile motion. Implications for educational stakeholders, parents and app designers are discussed along with future research directions.

Revisiting five decades of educational technology research: A content and authorship analysis of the British Journal of Educational Technology

“…Articles early in the decade explored how social media could be used to enhance student learning, such as using Twitter to enhance meaning‐making (eg, Charitonos, Blake, Scanlon, & Jones, ) and engagement (eg, Junco, Elavsky, & Heiberger, ), and also how social media could be harnessed to expand professional learning networks (eg, Pimmer, Linxen, & Groehbiel, ). More recent articles have focused on the use of mobile messaging apps to enhance social interaction (eg, Sun, Lin, Wu, Zhou, & Luo, ), as well as the role of games to boost child interest in STEM (eg, Herodotou, ). However, there has been ongoing concern about the uptake of web 2.0 and collaborative tools by educators and students alike (James, ), as well as the psychological challenges mobile learning can pose for students (Terras & Ramsay, ).…”

Encouraging Diversity in Computer Science among Young People: Using a Games Design Intervention based on an Integrated Pedagogical Framework

“…The use of games for learning also referred to as 'serious games' [6,7] has been suggested to have impacted positively on young people's learning experiences [8,9,10]. Studies suggest that motivation to engage with specific subject topics are higher when there is an association between the subject topic to be learnt and how the content is expressed or presented through games [11].…”

“…15, 16]. Several research studies have approached serious games for learning from the perspective of young people playing the games [17,18,19] rather than building games. Studies involving young people as producers of games [20,21] have concentrated on older children in secondary schools and above with less focus on the younger age group.…”

Kes Sesi: A mobile game designed to improve kindergarteners' recognition of letter sounds

“…Ketamo () examined 6‐year‐old students' achievement in geometry through a game and a no‐game condition using mobile devices and obtained results favouring the game condition. Even Angry Birds game was used with 4‐ to 5‐year‐old kids, and a significant difference was found in science learning (Herodotou, ). In another study, Sung, Chang, and Lee () carried out an experiment with preschool children (4–5 years old) on concept learning and geometric shapes with a game and a no‐game condition.…”