We wanted to combine our research on design and education to create the ultimate solution to recycling. We have created a game for kids of any age to play that is fun, engaging, and helps them learn properly what is and is not recyclable around the house through eye catching and simple design!
There is no denying that children love to use educational apps. They are stimulating and fun. While teachers may have difficulty getting children to pay attention to a classroom lesson, they rarely have difficulty motivating a student to use a computer. While students are not always interested in a lecture, they may find they are curious about a particular subject due to an app. Using education apps is a way to promote interest in topics that students might otherwise disregard.
It is no secret that children learn in different ways. Some are more visual learners, while others may rely on auditory cues or other senses. An app can appeal to many different types of students. Additionally, children can go at their own pace rather than have to follow the teacher's rate of instruction. Having the opportunity to learn without a teacher's direct influence encourages students to value independent study.
Although there is limited research in this area, there is evidence that the use of educational apps does help children learn. For example, education researcher Maya Lopuch found that elementary and middle school students who used various iPad apps as part of their learning curriculum improved their performance on a national assessment of Common Core domains. Students raised their performance nine percentage points, from the 51st to the 60th percentile after using iPads for just three months. University of Southern California professor Michelle Riconscente found that fifth graders' test scores improved just over 15 percent, compared with a control group, after playing a fractions game app for 20 minutes each day over a five-day period. Finally, Houghton Mifflin conducted a study measuring the effectiveness of using an app to help learn algebra in middle schoolers. They found that 20 percent more students scored 'Proficient' or 'Advanced' in understanding algebra using the app rather than a textbook. It should be noted that all of these studies were funded by companies that have a financial interest in the apps' success. There is sure to be much more research conducted as the popularity of app-based learning grows.
Anything that supports a teacher also helps students. In addition to assisting teachers with grading and organization, technology helps a teacher educate their students. Apps can act as built-in lessons and aid a teacher in tracking a student's progress. Furthermore, the right app can enhance a teacher's lesson by offering another approach to a subject.
https://www.educationcorner.com/learning-apps-helping-hurting-education.html
Young children live in a digital era in which technology and interactive media are pervasive. Given rapid changes in the types and uses of new media, the knowledge base of their effects on children’s development and learning continues to grow and shift. Technology and interactive media can help to support developmentally appropriate practice. For example, technology and interactive media can facilitate communication between families, children, and teachers. It can also support learning, comprehension, and communication across language differences and provide adaptations that support inclusion of children with disabilities. The use of digital media can facilitate reflection through documentation and formative assessment by children, educators, and families. The use of media can also provide isolated children (for example, children with health problems that prevent them from participating in group settings or those with less well-developed social skills) with opportunities to engage effectively with peers.
Effective uses of technology and media by children are active, hands-on, engaging, and empowering; give children control; provide adaptive scaffolds to help each child progress in skills development at their individual pace; and are used as one of many options to support children’s learning. Technology and interactive media should expand children’s access to new content and new skills; they should not replace opportunities for real, hands-on experiences. When truly integrated, uses of technology and media become normal and transparent—the child or the educator is focused on the activity or exploration itself, not the technology.
https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/principles
Being a camp counselor and working with kids, I was able to put my suspicions to the test. I had noticed that kids learned better when they were unaware that they were learning through things like games and challenges. There is a negative connotation with ‘learning’ among kids that it is boring and they dread it. However, a game is fun and exciting and adds a little completion. So, I decided to try teaching my campers about recycling and then making a game out of it to see which was more effective. When I taught them, many kids were zoning out, complaining, and retained not a lot. Then, at lunch I made recycling a game and would let the kid who collected the most recycling from people’s lunches go to the big recycling bin and recycle it. It sounds like a mundane activity to us adults, but to the kids, all they wanted was to get the opportunity to be the one to open the recycling bin and put everything in there. Because of this, I had kids every day during lunch asking me if certain things in their lunch were recyclable. After a few days they didn’t need to ask anymore, and started to learn and understand what was and was not recyclable. It made me so proud, and when I interviewed my boss who has two kids at camp about this, she further proved my hypothesis, telling me multiple situations about her kids learning better from fun games than in a classroom setting, really stressing the value of games like the one I created, which inspired me to make the Recyclops App as a deliverable for this studio.
