1. Akasha: Custom Application to Support Elementary Geometry Learning First-Grade Children in Colombia
- Author
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Martha Leonor Sabogal, Angela Carrillo-Ramos, Jaime A. Pavlich-Mariscal, Juan Jesús Arenas, Monica Brijaldo, Juan Erasmo Gomez-Morantes, Javier Esteban Sandoval Albarracín, Carlos Parra, Mariela J. Curiel H., Alexandra Ramos Marroquin, and Karen Sommer Henao
- Subjects
Computer science ,05 social sciences ,Educational technology ,050301 education ,Face (sociological concept) ,050801 communication & media studies ,Elementary geometry ,Science education ,Computer Science Applications ,Education ,Task (project management) ,Student assessment ,Human-Computer Interaction ,Akasha ,0508 media and communications ,Mathematics (miscellaneous) ,ComputingMilieux_COMPUTERSANDEDUCATION ,Mathematics education ,Look and feel ,0503 education - Abstract
Geometry teaching in elementary schools in Colombia is a challenging task. Students’ problems with this topic have led to below-average performances in the Program of International Student Assessment. To face this challenge, this paper presents Akasha, a personalized software application to reinforce geometry teaching to elementary school children between 5 and 7 years old. Akasha provides ludic activities to identify and characterize polyhedra, polygons, and shape attributes. To further improve the experience, Akasha uses information about users to adjust the difficulty level, and to customize the look and feel of the application. To validate the approach, this study assessed student performance before and after using Akasha in three different schools (public and private) of Bogota (Colombia). The results suggest that the use of Akasha may have a positive impact on students’ learning, regardless of their social, economic, or technological background.
- Published
- 2021