Evaluation of digital applications in learning and interactivity of young children

Avaliação de aplicativos digitais no aprendizado e interatividade na primeiríssima infância

Abstract

Introduction:  Early childhood (0 to 36 months of age) is a crucial period for a child's physical, cognitive and social development, being a decisive moment for the foundations of learning and social interaction.

Objective:  To evaluate the interactivity, age-appropriateness, learning potential, and motivational appeal of free games and apps for children in early childhood.

Methods:  This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study that observed the following steps: search and selection of free apps available on Google Play®; use by children aged 24 to 36 months attending public daycare centers; participant observation and evaluation by two independent researchers, according to the following criteria: interactivity, learning, appropriateness, and results. A form was created for the analysis to assess the aforementioned criteria, with response options on a Likert scale from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("quite a bit") for each criterion. Scores were calculated with a maximum value of 1.00, with 0.60 being the minimum appropriate value.

Results:  Twenty apps were found, and 7 were selected based on the established criteria. The average score was 0.74 for learning (0.59–0.84), 0.82 for interactivity (0.41–0.95), 0.78 for adequacy (0.53–0.90), and 0.81 for outcomes (0.47–0.96).

Conclusion:  Just over 2/3 of the seven free-access applications performed well on the criteria, revealing potential for use in research and by educators and parents.

Keywords:
Mobile applications; Digital media; Interactive multimedia; Child development; Child