In Peques and Más we have talked about the ABCKit and ABCKit for 5 applications designed so that children can get more out of learning the alphabet and numbers with touch devices. In Peques y Más we present to Karina Ibarra, interaction designer at her Arquinauta company and that he will present us the creations he has worked with in recent years: ABCKit and ABCKit for 5 available on iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) and that are the result of dedication and focus on the design of digital products for children. Before Arquinauta Karina has worked in Infonomia and IconMedialab Barcelona, one of the first consultants specialized in usability (UX). Karina is also a professor of the subject of Strategy, user experience and information architecture for five years in the Master in Web Project Design in Elisava. In the interview he allows us to know more about his work, his products, the methods followed in the design of the applications and his future plans.
How you take care of design and usability in the applications you create
The apps and all the design we developed in Arquinauta, especially for children, has 3 conditions: it has to be simple, honest and fun.
Simplicity is given by the ease of use of the app, its independence of use, that each screen is focused on a single action and on the limitation of the interaction so as not to distract the child. We understand honesty as transparency by not selling false promises about what the app will do, as well as by restricting inappropriate content for children, such as advertising or in-app purchases. That is a matter of parents, not children. And fun has to be an intrinsic condition, especially when it comes to children. An American author said that play is our brain's preferred way of learning. So if we want to guarantee an apprenticeship we have to make them play and have fun with our app.
What characteristics do the applications for children you develop meet?
So far the apps we have developed are educational. Our premise to create them is for children to learn by playing, so the "game" component is always present. We also work fine motor skills when the little ones are writing the letters or when they drag one to compose words.
These applications can be used at school through tablets or digital whiteboard
Without a doubt, in fact it is being used in some schools, especially in preschool with iPads. They have also contacted us of some centers that work with children with some cognitive disorder, such as autism to tell us that they are very happy with the results that the applications are giving them for learning letters and words.
What is the Montessori method and how do you apply it in application development
The Montessori method is a learning system for over 100 years.
The renowned Italian pedagogue and doctor Maria Montessori understood that the simplest way for a child to be able to enter literacy (that is, the step of writing to read) was by deconstructing the word to its minimum expression, which are phonemes. If a child learns the phonetic sound of a letter, and then brings them together, he is practically reading. In Spain and in many countries of the world, learning the letters of the alphabet is through its official name (the "Be" for B). This knowledge is not useful to a child until he begins to spell, a task he does not do until 7-8 years, so teaching the name of a letter is free and useless knowledge in the first years of life.
We in the cases of ABCKit have used the Montessori philosophy to be able to teach letters and words. The line of the spelling is also based on the Montessori system. We are lovers of this teaching philosophy, not only because of the cognitive advantages that we have confirmed that work, but also because of the philosophy of independence, freedom and respect for the child.
What plans do you have for the future by developing new applications
For now we want to consolidate apps in new markets, especially in America. It is also planned to update the apps and introduce new words.
And so far the interview with Karina Ibarra (@karinai) in which she has presented her applications, very recognized and valued in the educational environment. And it is that in Arquinauta they are very clear that the objective is to create and design quality digital products and services with a focus on simplicity so that children can use them in the best possible way.
