Evaluation scale for the design of digital educational resources for children

Abstract

   The use of digital resources in the learning process becomes a must for educators who strive to use most current instructional technologies and appeal to the needs and interests of young generations of learners. Currently, teachers are faced with the choice of high-quality digital resources that could be implemented in the educational process, because the success of distance learning directly depends on this. This is especially true when it comes to digital tools for children. Unfortunately, not all educational materials, offered to young children, are developmentally appropriate, nor do they carry much educational value. Therefore, early childhood educators should have a tool that would provide them with a clear guidance on selecting and using the resources that would match their educational goals and benefit their learners’ cognitive, psychological and physical development. Based on the general principles of educational design and the study of Nielsen Norman Group Company, the research team has created an evaluation scale for assessing digital resources for children of preschool and primary school age. This scale enables educators to evaluate existing digital learning resources
for young language learners in terms of content (various tasks for the formation and improvement of speech activities, presence/absence of digital characters, quality of the texts, font), interactivity (animation, games, instructional recommendations for parents, feedback) and form (multimodality of presenting information).