Abstract:

New technologies have long demonstrated great potential as tool to provide competence stimulation and to complement educational programs. In the game “Matemáquina do Tempo” we implemented an environment where children interact with the virtual world using their own motion patterns to train mathematical competences. In the work we present here, there were several interaction tests in a counting task. The users, from 5 to 7 years old, had to count egg marks in dinosaur nests and had to order them across different nests using same/different estimations. We trained three test groups in three different motion interaction patterns: pointing, full arm motion, and full body motion. There were five consecutive games at random order. We demonstrate that children learn to perform the numerical task at different speeds and with different error patterns when engaged in different motion patterns. We conclude providing a list of requirements that computer games should present when training mathematical competences. Finally, we present a prototype of a full motion-based video game implemented in a well-known gaming platform.

Keywords:

Mathematics, Motion, Learning, Games, Interaction.