Boosting Reading Acquisition Through Game-based Tools
What if the secret to reading better were hidden in a video game? Our project EduGame set out to find out – and the answer might surprise you. By training attention through action games, children improved their reading fluency. Turns out, playing and learning aren’t so different after all!
Reading is one of the most important skills we learn. It helps us communicate, discover new things, and make sense of the world. But it doesn’t come easy for everyone. It means juggling many abilities at once recognizing sounds, decoding written words, reading them smoothly, and understanding their meaning.
One hidden ingredient? Attentional control. Being able to focus, filter out distractions, and track what matters is crucial when leaning to read. Nevertheless, here’s the exciting part: scientists have discovered that playing action video games can sharpen your attention in remarkable ways. Not just any games, but the kind that challenge you to react fast, stay focused, and think on your feet!
So we asked ourselves: what if a specially designed action video game could actually help children become better readers? That’s exactly what EduGame is investigating.
We developed two digital tools to find out: “Legends of Hoa’Manu”, an adaptive action game that specifically trains attention, and “CRAB” a fun battery of gamified tests to see if and how reading skills improved in Italian, French, and German. Want to see how it works? Grab a tablet and try them!
