Since September 2007, Media Literacy has become part of the Ontario Language Curriculum. Children all over Ontario, beginning in Grade One, are learning to identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning, and are instructed by their classroom teachers to reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
Enter TVOKids. TVOKids has been conducting user testing and focus testing with children for the tvokids.com site for over 5 years now. We have always looked forward to working directly with the kids to find out how we can best serve their needs, and if we are indeed making a game that not only they can play with ease, but one where the main learning objective is clear and effective.
Four tvokids.com team members hiked out to a public school in York Region to test a new math game set to launch in mid November. The team came prepared with a list of questions, and tested 16 kids from grades 1-3 using computers in the school's library. The school's librarian was instrumental in the process, as she personally selected the kids that were tested, looking for a mix of kids who had never been on our site before, and those who were tvokids.com veterans.
At the end of the testing session, there were many suggestions given by the kids, including what they would add to our website if given the opportunity to do so.
The results were brought back to the development team, as well as the kids' suggestions. Changes were made to the math game, based on what the children's responses, and the game is ready to go!
Check out the new math game, Mathletics, featuring addition, subtraction, fractions, perimeter, money values, and analytical reasoning!
