A New Tool To Facilitate Learning Reading For Early Childhood

Abstract

This paper propose a new android application creativity for early childhood learning reading. The description includes a design, development, and an evaluation experiment of an educational game for learning reading on android. Before developed the game, Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams, interfaces, animation, narrative or audio were designed. Hardware and software requirements were also determined. After designed the game, 2D objects created accordingly with the interface design. After that, the animation and narrative or audio created on these objects accordingly with the animation and narrative or audio design. The animation was given to these objects is translation, scaling, and rotation. To gave an action on the objects, ActionScript 3.0 added on these objects. Twenty-six students in kindergarten have participated in this evaluation experiment. Students were divided into two groups, i.e. an experimental group that learning with the developed android educational game and a control group that learning with a reading book. The result of development game is a 2D educational game that applying Belajar Membaca Tanpa Mengeja (BMTM) method. The game contains the rules, goals and objectives, outcomes and feedback, challenge, interactions and representations. The experiment results obtained that the post-test mean score of the experimental group is higher than the control group (the experimental group = 18.92 while the control group = 9.38) and the Gain score of the experimental group is 0.39, this score is in medium category. Finally, the android educational game can increase student’s reading ability, which in the medium category. So, the developed android educational game is a better alternative tool that can be used by early childhood for learning reading.