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In many developing countries such as India and China, low educational levels often hinder economic empowerment. In this paper, we argue that mobile learning games can play an important role in the Chinese literacy acquisition process. We report on the unique challenges in the learning Chinese language, especially its logographic writing system. Bas...
Citations
... Two low-quality studies (see quality research review in Appendix I)- Lan et al. (2007) and Tian et al. (2010)-explored phone and mobile games. Some other studies (Comings, 2018;Jere-Folotiya et al., 2014) also utilised phones to deliver their educational interventions, but because they included computer software, they were categorised under computer games and software. ...
... Clearly defining the research questions and the specific collaborative learning behaviours that the researchers were looking for could have further supported them when making conclusions from the data. Tian et al. (2010) developed and informally evaluated two mobile games for improving Mandarin Chinese reading outcomes in Xin'an, China. This study was considered low-quality due to a lack of justification of the research design, no detail about how participants were selected, and little detail about the specific methods used. ...
... For example, the researchers observed the participants' behaviour, but did not outline specific protocols or tools to do this and how this related to the research question. Therefore, while the researchers found that 'digital games have the potential to enhance the intuitiveness and engagement of traditional games' (Tian et al., 2010(Tian et al., , p. 1611 due to their interactive nature, this preliminary study did not offer much data to justify mobile games as an educational intervention. The researchers themselves admit that 'the results do not yet validate our approach quantitatively' (Tian et al., 2010(Tian et al., , p. 1611, and more research is needed. ...
Despite significant initiatives to improve education globally, policy makers and researchers are concerned about literacy outcomes in developing countries, as students lack basic literacy skills even after many years in schooling. Educational technology has been championed as a potential solution to low‐quality education in developing countries, yet little rigorous research on this topic exists. Since Covid‐19 has caused enormous global disruption and teachers have been forced to adopt technology globally, research into the effectiveness of using technology for teaching literacy in low‐income contexts is vital. This systematic review of the literature analyses and synthesises the range of international research available on educational technology to improve reading in developing countries. This review includes primary qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies, which were analysed using thematic synthesis. The review concludes that there is some suggestive evidence that reasons for the success of educational technology literacy interventions may include ongoing teacher professional development, interactive multimedia features, and a focus on phonics and progressive reading skills. The current limited research base supports technology designs that are adaptive, engaging, and child‐centred, utilising software that can differentiate for students' levels. Engaging the community using context‐specific resources and incorporating the technology into a broader literacy programme and pedagogy, were also features highlighted in multiple studies. However, with a limited number of studies the strength of the evidence is weak; therefore, definitive conclusions cannot be made. The findings provide some suggestive evidence that could guide future research.
Context and implications
Rationale for this study
This systematic review addresses the gap in current research into which types of educational technology are effective for the teaching of reading in developing countries. By synthesising the findings of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods primary studies, this review presents tentative recommendations for policy makers and future research.
Why the new findings matter
The findings present specific features of effective educational technologies that could be used by policy makers to improve literacy outcomes. This is directly relevant for the millions of students in developing countries who lack literacy skills even after many years in school. Educational technology is widely used and promoted as a solution for improving educational or literacy outcomes in developing countries, yet little rigorous research exists. This systematic review addresses this by synthesising existing research and highlighting areas for future research. Since Covid‐19 caused teachers to adopt technology globally, research into the effectiveness of using technology for teaching literacy in low‐income contexts is vital.
Implications for research and practice
This systematic review synthesises current research so that policy makers have guidelines when designing interventions. The review provides a comprehensive map of existing literature and gaps for researchers. Based on the findings from this systematic review, policy makers are encouraged to consider how technology engages students through multimedia and interactive features, is adapted to the local context and language, and is differentiated to students' different ability levels. Policy makers should also consider how technology supports student learning through the scaffolding of specific reading skills with a holistic connection to a broader literacy programme, teacher training and the local curriculum. Since little quality data exists in this area, these recommendations for policy are tentative, and it is recommended future research further explore some of the promising features that were found in numerous successful interventions.
... Considering the fact that formal literacy teaching is not allowed in kindergartens in Mainland China, informal literacy practice becomes more valuable. Enriching the literacy learning environment, for example, by increasing teacher-children interaction in classroom literacy activities, such as shared book reading [46], and learning the composition of Chinese characters in games [47,48], could be effective educational practices. ...
In the present study, we investigated the development of Chinese character reading and its predictors in 55 children from K3 (the last year of kindergarten) to G1 (first grade) in Mainland China. It was examined to what extent first graders’ Mandarin Chinese character reading was related to their phonological awareness, Pinyin letter knowledge, and visual perception skills in kindergarten. The results showed that phonological awareness, Pinyin letter knowledge, and Chinese character reading improved from kindergarten to Grade 1, with Pinyin showing ceiling effects in Grade 1. Children’s character reading in first grade was not predicted from phonological awareness in kindergarten. However, visual discrimination showed an indirect effect on Grade 1 character reading via its effect on kindergarten character reading. It can be concluded that both kindergarten visual discrimination and character reading ability facilitate first-grade reading ability for children in Mainland China.
... Besides, Feng et al. [24] reported the unique challenge in learning Chinese words because of its logographic system. And we only found a few numbers of educational games research [6,24] that targeted a logographic language like Chinese. ...
... Besides, Feng et al. [24] reported the unique challenge in learning Chinese words because of its logographic system. And we only found a few numbers of educational games research [6,24] that targeted a logographic language like Chinese. Multimedia Word and Drumming Strokes are two multiplayer digital games that assist pupils in learning Chinese characters as a group [24]. ...
... And we only found a few numbers of educational games research [6,24] that targeted a logographic language like Chinese. Multimedia Word and Drumming Strokes are two multiplayer digital games that assist pupils in learning Chinese characters as a group [24]. Fan et al. [6] proposed using tangible shapes to teach Chinese characters. ...
... Thus the pandemic not only transformed the educational technology landscape, but also brought about changes in pedagogical strategies. Such work has taken place to a limited extent in the Global South, mostly using cellphones, such as for English and local language literacies [36,46,50,89] and mathematics [33,51], but has seen little adoption. Collaborative games could also help address student social and emotional wellbeing, frequently overlooked in the Indian education system [22]. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the transition of workflows across sectors to digital platforms. In education settings, stakeholders previously reluctant to integrate computing technology in the classroom now find themselves with little choice but to embrace it. This move to the digital brings additional challenges in underserved contexts with limited, intermittent, and shared access to mobile or computing devices and the internet. In this rapidly evolving digital landscape, we investigate how educational institutions (schools and non-profit organizations) working with underserved populations in India are managing the transition to online or remote learning. We conducted twenty remote interviews with students, teachers, and administrators from underserved contexts across India. We found that online learning efforts in this setting relied on a resilient human infrastructure comprised of students, teachers, parents, administrators, and non-profit organizations to help navigate and overcome the limitations of available technical infrastructure. Our research aims to articulate lessons for educational technology design in the post-COVID period, outlining areas for improvement in the design of online learning platforms in resource-constrained settings, and identifying elements of online learning that could be retained to strengthen the education system overall.
... Thus the pandemic not only transformed the educational technology landscape, but also brought about changes in pedagogical strategies. Such work has taken place to a limited extent in the Global South, mostly using cellphones, such as for English and local language literacies [36,46,50,89] and mathematics [33,51], but has seen little adoption. Collaborative games could also help address student social and emotional wellbeing, frequently overlooked in the Indian education system [22]. ...
... Advancement of wireless and mobile technology has introduced a large number of programs or mobile applications in learning foreign languages. Mobile learning games (Tian et al., 2010) help to enrich learners' vocabulary and improve their knowledge of Chinese characters. The previous studies indicate that m-learning games can play an essential role in the learning Mandarin. ...
The brilliant advancement of mobile
technologies provides a vivid instructional approach
which suits the millennial students where learning
happens ubiquitously. Therefore, awareness that
mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) encourages
personalized learning is the focus. Smartphone, the most
excellent creation has impressed everyone, and it offers
enormous potential for integration into language learning.
Smartphone applications (SA) enable students to learn
nowhere, in the class or out of the formal class. However,
the way of students perceive SA as the Mandarin learning
tools have not yet explored broadly. Thus, this
preliminary study aims to examine Mandarin students’
perceptions of SA along with its usability, effectiveness,
and satisfaction and the correlations of gender, course, and
activities via SA against the items mentioned. A
quantitative method was used through questionnaires
distribution for data collection. 79 of undergraduates from
an east coast university were chosen as the respondents to
answer the survey. The survey was conducted in the 10th
week of a 14 weeks Mandarin course. The collected data
were then analysed using SPSS for the descriptive
statistics. Two types of smartphone applications included
dictionary based and teaching and learning based were
identified. The statistics show that all the respondents
consented that learning Mandarin via SA has influenced
their language performance; task accomplishment and
personal study positively. In addition, the students were
engaging, satisfied and willing to continue using
smartphones in their study. All in all, SA is a potential
tool for MALL. However, students need guidance in
ensuring the productiveness of SA in MALL.
... Some researchers try to get inspiration from the cultural elements to promote a better learning experience. Tian et al. [7] present the design and implementation of two culturally inspired mobile group learning games-Multimedia Word and Drumming Strokes to help children learn Chinese characters. They found that in group collaborative games, children learn better through observation and reflection. ...
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is one of the application fields of educational games. However, most of these applications are provided for the general public of cultural experience or information access, rather than designing for rural children’s cultural learning. We propose that rural children are critical learners and inheritors of ICH. ICH education has to be future-oriented and integrated with rural children’s learning needs and learning styles. This research is conducted in rural China with local children. We observe the learning behaviors of rural children through an experiment, and classify learners into activists, reflectors, negatives and entertainers. With the design case of “Logic Huayao”, we present a design model for educational games with cultural learning. In designing process, the players, culture, games, and learning contents should be considered as an inclusive model and integrated into the final interaction design process. Finding the relationship between them will enable us to develop educational games that include cultural meaning and problem-solving skills.
... Some researchers try to get inspiration from the cultural elements to promote a better learning experience. Tian et al. [7] present the design and implementation of two culturally inspired mobile group learning games-Multimedia Word and Drumming Strokes to help children learn Chinese characters. They found that in group collaborative games, children learn better through observation and reflection. ...
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is one of the application fields of educational games. However, most of these applications are provided for the general public of cultural experience or information access, rather than designing for rural children's cultural learning. We propose that rural children are critical learners and inheritors of ICH. ICH education has to be future-oriented and integrated with rural children's learning needs and learning styles. This research is conducted in rural China with local children. We observe the learning behaviors of rural children through an experiment, and classify learners into activists, reflectors, negatives and entertainers. With the design case of "Logic Huayao", we present a design model for educational games with cultural learning. In designing process, the players, culture, games, and learning contents should be considered as an inclusive model and integrated into the final interaction design process. Finding the relationship between them will enable us to develop educational games that include cultural meaning and problem-solving skills.
... Some researchers try to get inspiration from the cultural elements to promote a better learning experience. Tian et al. [7] present the design and implementation of two culturally inspired mobile group learning games-Multimedia Word and Drumming Strokes to help children learn Chinese characters. They found that in group collaborative games, children learn better through observation and reflection. ...
Craft is characterized by tacit knowledge, which is featured as embodiment and contextualization. In the circumstances that the rural craft learning socio-cultural context have already changed significantly, this paper tries to probe the issue that how to capture those characteristics of craft knowledge and transfer them successfully into an attractive craft learning experience for rural children.
... Educational games [45,46,90] or a system that allows women to gain self-knowledge by looking at their vaginas [3]. ...
... Synopsis: Other papers presented systems to improve career development skills [87], language skills [46,90], or scientific understanding [50]. Three of these focused on children in underdeveloped regions [45,46,90]. ...
... Synopsis: Other papers presented systems to improve career development skills [87], language skills [46,90], or scientific understanding [50]. Three of these focused on children in underdeveloped regions [45,46,90]. Two papers focused on task-specific knowledge and skills, namely on "critiquing" computer users to support their problem-solving and learning activities [30] and on informing design practices through data , and therefore on empowering designers [57]. ...
Empowering people through technology is of increasing concern in the HCI community. However, there are different interpretations of empowerment, which diverge substantially. The same term thus describes an entire spectrum of research endeavours and goals. This conceptual unclarity hinders the development of a meaningful discourse and exchange. To better understand what empowerment means in our community, we reviewed 54 CHI full papers using the terms empower and empowerment. Based on our analysis and informed by prior writings on power and empowerment, we construct a framework that serves as a lens to analyze notions of empowerment in current HCI research. Finally, we discuss the implications of these notions of empowerment on approaches to technology design and offer recommendations for future work. With this analysis, we hope to add structure and terminological clarity to this growing and important facet of HCI research.
