Children’s Educational App

Background 

Children love to build things. They especially love to build various things that exist in relation to one another. Houses are made of parts and cities are made of buildings. Parents work and run errands at all sorts of places in the city. A play-universe can grow with a child and become more complex over time. 

Topic 

This app aims to teach a child about navigation as well as basic physics as buildings are tested for structural integrity. 

The primary action is to assemble a structure out of a selection of parts. A blueprint is presented, and the user assembles the described construction using the pieces available. When completed, the user can save the creation or customize it further. Once saved, the construction can be placed on a street, adding to an ever-growing town. 

As the town gets bigger, a second aspect of the game becomes available. The user now views the town from overhead and is tasked with finding various destinations within the town. This teaches navigation and map-reading skills. 

Audience 

Children aged 3-5 should be able to play this game at a basic level. It is intended to grow in complexity as the user ages. Parents and teachers will be able to see a child’s progress by looking at the overview of the town. The app encourages connection with the real world, and it will help spark conversation about the community in which children and parents live.

Assent Form 

Invitation 

You have been asked to help test a game. This should take no more than ten minutes at most and it should be fun.  

Why are you doing this Study? 

We want to know if this game works right. It might be broken, and you can help us fix it. 

What will happen? 

You will play a game where you try to put a house together. You will use this tablet and your hands to make choices in the game. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. You can try as many times as you like. 

Who is doing this study?

Our team is building a game for kids your age. We want to make it as good as we can, and we need your help.  

Do I have to do this?

You can stop whenever you’d like, and you won’t get in trouble. If you want to play something else and finish this later, you can. If you want to stop and never come back, that is okay too. 

Does this help me? 

This game is meant to be fun for kids like you. We hope that your help will make it a better game and you will have fun playing it. For helping us today, you will get a small treat with your parent’s permission.  

What If I have a question?

If there is anything you want to ask or say, you can tell us. The game isn’t finished yet, so you won’t hurt our feelings if you don’t like something. If you think something is bad, we want you to tell us. If you don’t understand something, you can ask us, and we will tell you. If you get stuck and need a hint in the game, we can tell you that too.