DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY
Children generally have difficulty managing stress. As a result, stress may escalate to anxiety. Informal-learning, stress prevention interventions that are easily accessible on mobile devices could be one way for children to learn how to manage stress before it reaches the levels of anxiety. There...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Firenze University Press
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Italian Journal of Educational Technology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ijet.itd.cnr.it/article/view/1050 |
| _version_ | 1797720456918204416 |
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| author | Iolie Nicolaidou Federica Tozzi Philippos Kindynis Marinos Panayiotou Athos Antoniades |
| author_facet | Iolie Nicolaidou Federica Tozzi Philippos Kindynis Marinos Panayiotou Athos Antoniades |
| author_sort | Iolie Nicolaidou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Children generally have difficulty managing stress. As a result, stress may escalate to anxiety. Informal-learning, stress prevention interventions that are easily accessible on mobile devices could be one way for children to learn how to manage stress before it reaches the levels of anxiety. There are less than a handful of stress management apps targeting children presently available and these do not combine gamification techniques with behavior change theory. This study describes the design and development of a gamified interactive storytelling mobile app to teach young children how to manage stress through relaxation exercises. It evaluates the app’s usability using learning analytics data and the SUS usability scale. The gamified app called Kids’ Stress Relief received a satisfactory usability score (73.55) and was well accepted by a sample of 71 children (5-12 years old). It may have the potential to support children in learning how to perform stress relief techniques as a stand-alone application. Instructional and design implications, of interest to developers of psychology-based apps, are drawn. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:19:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8d02c71b71042cbb5f502a729e8a8dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2532-4632 2532-7720 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:19:42Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Italian Journal of Educational Technology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8d02c71b71042cbb5f502a729e8a8dc2023-09-02T14:38:15ZengFirenze University PressItalian Journal of Educational Technology2532-46322532-77202019-07-01DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDYIolie Nicolaidou0Federica TozziPhilippos KindynisMarinos PanayiotouAthos AntoniadesCyprus University of Technology, Department of Communication and Internet StudiesChildren generally have difficulty managing stress. As a result, stress may escalate to anxiety. Informal-learning, stress prevention interventions that are easily accessible on mobile devices could be one way for children to learn how to manage stress before it reaches the levels of anxiety. There are less than a handful of stress management apps targeting children presently available and these do not combine gamification techniques with behavior change theory. This study describes the design and development of a gamified interactive storytelling mobile app to teach young children how to manage stress through relaxation exercises. It evaluates the app’s usability using learning analytics data and the SUS usability scale. The gamified app called Kids’ Stress Relief received a satisfactory usability score (73.55) and was well accepted by a sample of 71 children (5-12 years old). It may have the potential to support children in learning how to perform stress relief techniques as a stand-alone application. Instructional and design implications, of interest to developers of psychology-based apps, are drawn.https://ijet.itd.cnr.it/article/view/1050Stress ManagementPrevention InterventionChildrenInteractive StorytellingGamified Mobile Application (App)Educational Technology |
| spellingShingle | Iolie Nicolaidou Federica Tozzi Philippos Kindynis Marinos Panayiotou Athos Antoniades DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY Italian Journal of Educational Technology Stress Management Prevention Intervention Children Interactive Storytelling Gamified Mobile Application (App) Educational Technology |
| title | DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY |
| title_full | DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY |
| title_fullStr | DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY |
| title_full_unstemmed | DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY |
| title_short | DEVELOPMENT AND USABILITY OF A GAMIFIED MOBILE APP TO HELP CHILDREN MANAGE STRESS: AN EVALUATION STUDY |
| title_sort | development and usability of a gamified mobile app to help children manage stress an evaluation study |
| topic | Stress Management Prevention Intervention Children Interactive Storytelling Gamified Mobile Application (App) Educational Technology |
| url | https://ijet.itd.cnr.it/article/view/1050 |
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