Sensitizing young children on internet addiction and online safety risks through storytelling in a mobile application
Keywords
Safer internet
Digital addiction
Game based learning
Mobile learning
Online activity
Risk prevalence
Publication details
| Year: | 2019 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10639-019-09952-w |
| Issued: | 2019 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 25 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page: | 163 |
| End Page: | 174 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Lazarinis F.; Alexandri K.; Panagiotakopoulos C.; Verykios V. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Education and Information Technologies |
| Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
| Topics: | Learning; Internet usage, practices and engagement; Risks and harms; Literacy and skills |
| Sample: | 6 elementary school teachers (4 women, 2 men), medium ICT skills, 4-10 years of working experience with students aged 6-12 years old. Moreover, 42 elementary students (32 girls, 10 boys). 9 students six years old, 23 students eight years old, 10 students nine or ten years old. |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Researchers |
Abstract
This study presents a novel application which through storytelling attempts to improve the understanding of students with respect to online risks. Each short story presents a situation that children face while surfing the Internet. Through the emotions of the virtual characters and the existence of specific visual clues the tool seeks to make students to deliberate on the online activities and alter their attitudes. The design goals of the application and specific visual stories are first presented in the paper and then the paper is evaluated with the participation of teachers and students who provided us with positive feedback and some ideas for future improvements. The main findings of our research are discussed and potential extensions are presented.
Outcome
"Having reviewed the relevant studies, it was made apparent that the problem of safe internet access is too complex to be only technically dealt with. Parental interventions, school activities and peer support are proved to be more effective." (Lazarinis et al. 2019: 172)
"The main contribution of our research is the development of the application which can be shared, re-used and extended with more stories. It is an applied technical solution which uses a medium, which students like and trust, to initiate a dialogue between teachers and students and to make students deliberate on the alternatives of spending too much time online. Similar approaches could be utilized to educate children to be more responsible online" (Lazarinis et al. 2019: 173)