ABSTRACT

Selecting high-quality apps can be challenging for caregivers and educators. We here develop tools evaluating educational potential of apps for preschool children. In Study 1, we developed two complementary evaluation tools tailored to different audiences. We grounded them in developmental theory and linked them to research on children’s experience with digital media. In Study 2 we applied these tools to a wide sample of apps in order to illustrate their use and to address the role of cost in quality of educational apps. There are concerns that a social disadvantage may lead to a digital disadvantage, an “app gap”. We thus applied our tools to the most popular free (N = 19) and paid (N = 24) apps targeting preschoolers. We found that the “app gap” associated with cost is only related to some aesthetic features of apps rather than any observable educational advantage proffered by paid apps. Our study adds a novel contribution to the research on children’s apps by developing tools to be used across a wide range of audiences, providing the first description of the quantity of app design features during app use and evaluating the educational potential of free and paid apps.

摘要

对于护理人员和教育工作者来说，选择高质量的应用程序可能具有挑战性。我们在这里开发评估学龄前儿童应用程序教育潜力的工具。在研究 1 中，我们开发了两种针对不同受众量身定制的互补评估工具。我们将它们建立在发展理论的基础上，并将它们与儿童数字媒体体验的研究联系起来。在研究 2 中，我们将这些工具应用于广泛的应用程序样本，以说明它们的用途并解决成本在教育应用程序质量中的作用。有人担心社会劣势可能会导致数字劣势，即“应用程序差距”。因此，我们将我们的工具应用于针对学龄前儿童的最流行的免费（N = 19）和付费（N = 24）应用程序。我们发现，与成本相关的“应用差距”仅与应用的某些美学特征有关，而与付费应用提供的任何可观察到的教育优势无关。我们的研究通过开发可在广泛受众中使用的工具，对应用程序使用过程中应用程序设计功能的数量进行首次描述，并评估免费和付费应用程序的教育潜力，为儿童应用程序的研究做出了新的贡献。