MOBILE DEVICES AND E-LEARNING IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION: DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF AN EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION

E-learning and mobile learning have found extensive application and use in all levels of typical education. Preschool education is already experimenting with new educational technologies and innovative educational scenarios. However, given the fact that preschool pupils can hardly (if at all) read or write, special attention has to be given to the design and implementation of educational interventions that focus on the use of new technological media. In this paper is described the design, development and evaluation of an educational intervention for a preschool class, that took place in Athens, Greece in spring 2016.

The focus of this project is dual:
(i) to develop material that relies mostly on images and narration as opposed to reading or writing, and which pupils access via mobile devices (tablets), and
(ii) to structure the material along with the educational scenario so that it is suitable for the use of the pupil assisted by an adult: either the teacher in class or the parent at home.

The core educational subject “taught” is Emotional Intelligence; the objective is to exploit new technologies such as e-learning and mobile learning in order to “teach” or promote this subject in a preschool pupils class. The basic research questions seeking answers through this research refer to:
(i) the capacity of mobile devices to promote collaboration and interaction among pupils of this age through a medium / device (tablet) that is highly personalized in its design and intended uses,
(ii) the learning outcomes on Emotional Intelligence, obtained after an educational intervention based on new technological media, and
(iii) the change of attitude of pupils and parents towards mobile devices and e-learning as a result of their participation in the program.

To investigate these questions, the e-learning environment “I discover my feelings” is designed and implemented in the moodle platform; it is addressed to preschool pupils and an assisting adult (teacher or parent). The environment is used as the central point of an educational intervention that takes place in class. The educational program includes activities that pupils have to carry out in teams and that require collaboration and interaction within each team and across teams.

The tools used for the evaluation of the program and the results include videotaping of the activities, personal notes taken by the instructor (first author) and questionnaires addressed:
(i) to the pupils and
(ii) to their parents.

Results are very encouraging both as to the potential of mobile devices and of e-learning to produce learning outcomes of high quality for preschool pupils, and as to the change of attitude of pupils and parents towards e-learning and mobile learning resulting from their experiences in this program.