Lingua Globe
The toy addresses primarily the linguistic aspect of development, as it can prove to be instrumental in teaching foreign languages to kindergarten and pre-kindergarten children. The toy represents a globe that features multiple buttons corresponding to different countries. Each button activates a record with a few replicas in a foreign language, followed by a soundtrack that resembles traditional music from the selected country. Thus, from a young age, children can learn about the planet, the location and size of the countries, and cultures while learning basic phrases in various languages.
Design Thinking Approach for Product Innovation Design of Educational Toys
An influx in gadget use has hampered the conventional use of toys among children. Educational toys emphasize the psychological, physical, and cognitive development of children (Naufal & Sunziati, 2019). Therefore, toys are vital mediums for children to relate to the environment while learning new skills due to their entertaining nature as well as a cure for curiosity. Studies indicate that various toys fail to satisfy children’s interests due to disconnection from their needs and aspirations. The study further indicated that the failure of most toys is attributed to manufacturing toys appealing to the parents and neglecting the children’s desires (Naufal & Sunziati, 2019). Design thinking is an approach that delves into the consumer’s needs and opinions prior to developing a product. Design thinking involves five stages that seek to develop the optimal product to fit a specific niche. The stages include empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and finally testing the product on the appropriate audience (Naufal & Sunziati, 2019). A study was conducted among primary school children aged 6 to 10 in Jakarta to test the foundation for their preference for various toys used by children in America. Tests were performed quantitatively via the usability testing approach. The aspects employed in the experiment were efficacy and contentment. the A/B/C Testing was done to evaluate the degree of efficacy and enjoyment of the optimized market toy in contrast with the personalized toys. The study indicated that the key aspects impacting user contentment with the toy were, the personalized degree of the toy, the experience and amusement, and the toy’s safety.
Developing an Electronic Device to Teach English as a Foreign Language
The existence of various devices such as computers and mobile phones offers great aid in learning new languages among children. Studies have concluded that electronic gadgets connected to the internet have dire effects on children due to access to harmful information, poor social interaction, and health problems. However, integrating electronic devices into physical toys is an excellent solution for children learning new languages. Abdi and Cavus conducted a study to test the success of an electronic device in learning English as a second language among children aged 4 to 5. The researchers evaluated the efficiency of a toy developed with Raspberry Pi and featured RFID technology. The toy tested the alphabet, numbers, words, color, and shape comprehension among kindergarten children (Abdi & Cauvus, 2019). The toy received an excellent recommendation among teachers 92% of the children loved it. The children posted splendid results in comparison to traditional language learning techniques. The toy, therefore, has great potential among kindergarten children in enhancing their studying abilities in languages, shapes, colors, and letters.
Selecting Appropriate Toys for Young Children in the Digital Era
Children have a strong connection to toys when growing up. In contemporary society, the advent of technological devices like phones has had tremendous effects on children’s preference for traditional toys. According to a scientific study carried out in the USA, 38 percent of children below two years of age and 80 percent between 2-4 years have actively used an electronic gadget (Healey et al., 2019). The statistics on electronic usage among children have continued to rise exponentially, raising concerns over potential risks such as obesity and aggression. Interactive media lack sufficient support from scientific sources as opposed to traditional interaction using toys (Healey et al., 2019). Physical toys are vital for the development of the child’s creativity, and physical, and brain functions. Recent studies have also stressed the negative effects of electronic devices and toys on children. The studies concluded that the children communicated less, and had less parental talk and engagement (Healey et al., 2019). However, the studies noted that newer electronic devices such as phones feature applications that seek to improve social and physical interactions among children despite a lack of conclusive research on their sustainability.
References
Abdi, A., & Cavus, N. (2019). Developing an electronic device to teach English as a foreign language: Educational toy for pre-kindergarten children. iJET, 14(22), 29–44. Web.
Healey, A., Mendelsohn, A., Council on Early Childhood, Sells, J. M., Donoghue, E., Earls, M., Hashikawa, A., McFadden, T., Peacock, G., Scholer, S., Takagishi, J., Vanderbilt, D., & Williams, P. G. (2019). Selecting appropriate toys for young children in the digital era. Pediatrics, 143(1), e20183348. Web.
Naufal, A. A., & Suzianti, A. (2019). Design thinking approach for product innovation design of educational toys. Proceedings of the 2019 5th International Conference on E-business and Mobile Commerce (pp. 69–74). Web.