Abstract:

Today's children, representatives of the so-called Generation Z, are constantly using the latest information and communication technologies in their daily lives (games, training, social communication, etc.). They even feel more confident about a mobile device than a personal computer. In addition, no matter of the environment, games prove a strong motivator in education for every generation which is utilized by educators. Therefore, according to the authors, the integration of games in a mobile environment is the most appropriate approach to enhance the learning motivation of this generation of children. The ultimate goal of the authors' research is to create a package of mobile mathematical games for primary school education and to test mobile applications with 3rd grade students.

The article begins with an argument about the place of games in training and the relevance of different types of so-called serious games. This paper presents the views of other scientists on the topic of games in the educational process of primary school children, as well as classifications of educational games for this age group according to pedagogy specialists.

With the development of modern information and communication technologies, a number of the well-known didactic games have been created as computer games. They are successfully used both for the realization of cognitive activities and for motivating children to study and support the understanding of the educational content. This article presents a study of the sources of educational games for Bulgarian children, as well as an overview of the existing educational computer games for children, mainly in the Bulgarian language, for mathematics and Bulgarian training.

This paper offers a reasoned conclusion, about for which operating systems for mobile devices should be developed gaming applications, based on the statistics of the used mobile operating systems worldwide and in Bulgaria. The results of the study on existing mobile educational games for children are briefly presented, and it is found that the number of games in Bulgarian is small while the variety of English games is large, however they prove inappropriate for children because of the language barrier.

The article presents a classification of game types suitable for mobile implementation in primary school mathematics education. There are 13 types of games available that are suitable for children in primary school mathematics, as well as for mobile implementation. Each type is visualized with a real-life example of a 3rd grade mathematics textbook in Bulgaria.

An approach for creating a software package with mobile games to support the teaching of mathematics students in primary school is presented. The games will be able to be used for self-study at home, with children solving tasks by playing on their own mobile device or at school if the teacher wishes to use the new technologies in the classroom. This game-based approach for learning through mobile games aims to further develop students' mathematical skills and to offer an entertaining environment where learning is easier and fun even for children who do not fancy mathematics.

Keywords:

Mobile learning games, game-based learning, serious games, mobile applications.