Moved to learn: The effects of interactivity in a Kinect-based literacy game for beginning readers

Bruce D. Homer, Charles K. Kinzer, Jan L. Plass, Susan M. Letourneau, Dan Hoffman, Meagan Bromley, Elizabeth O. Hayward, Selen Turkay, Yolanta Kornak

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Reading to young children has a number of benefits, including supporting the acquisition of vocabulary and literacy skills. Digital reading games, including ones with new modes of interface such as the Kinect for Xbox, may provide similar benefits in part by allowing dynamic in-game activities. However, these activities may also be distracting and detract from learning. Children (ages 5-7 years, N = 39) were randomly assigned to either i) jointly read a story with an adult, ii) have the story read by a character in a Kinect game, or iii) have the story read by a character in a Kinect game plus in-game activities. Both Kinect-Activities and Book Reading groups had significant gains for High Frequency Words, Active Decoding, and Total Reading Score, but only Kinect-Activities group had significant gain for Sight words (p <.05). Overall, these findings are encouraging for the next generation of digital literacy games.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)37-49
Number of pages13
JournalComputers and Education
Volume74
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dialogic reading
  • Digital games
  • E-book
  • Gesture-based interactions
  • Literacy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Computer Science
  • Education

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